Theatre+in+Ancient+Greece

The theatrical culture in Greece started between 550 and 220 BC Athens was the Centre for theatre where a majority of theatrical events occured. Including these theatrical events was a festival called, Dionysia. This was held to honor the goddess Dionysus.
 * This is the Dionysus Theater at the foot of the Athenian Acropolis, Greece where the festival took place*

The Dionysus Theater at the foot of the Athenian Acropolis is an amphitheater. An amphitheater is an open building that is free standing and has a stage in the middle. It has bleacher-like seats, however they are usually made of marble or stone. The seats are placed stacked going up, because it fits the most people possible. The earliest amphitheater that is still standing today is the one at Pompeii. It is sunken into the ground with the seats working themselves up the sides of the hilly-terrain around the theater.
 * Pompeii Amphitheatre still standing today*

Th ere were three dramatic genres that came from Ancient Greek Theatre. The three genres were: Tragedy, Comedy, and Satyr Play. **Tragedy** was a form of art that expresses the actor's suffering to the audience's pleasure. There were three classified periods of **Comedy** in Athenian Theatre, they were: Old, Middle, and New Comedy. Finally, Satyr Play was a combination of both tragedy and comedy, called tragicomedy. Surrounding colonies and allies were influenced by Athens phenominal theatrical performances. An example of satyr play is The Cyclops. An example of Comedy is the television show, "Whose line is it Anyway?" The two "happy/sad" faced masks that are often used to represent theater, originated from Ancient Greece theater. They are shown to represent the comedy and tragedy that appeared in theater in Greece. The masks started to show up during the Golden Age, from about 500-300 BC. These

In the performances, the actors incorporated the use of masks because it was symbolic of the origin from the Ancient Dionysiac Cult. The memebers of the chorus in a performance would wears masks that were almost identical to one another, however they were VERY different from the masks of the lead characters. All of the actors were male, therefore masks had to be used to portray the female characters in the performance. Actors would use boots to add to their height, and would also wear gloves so that their hand movements were exaggerated. *An example of a female mask that was used by men in theatrical performances*
 * An example of the masks that actors/actresses used in theatrical performances*

Ancient Greece theatre started with **Thespis**. He was the first person to appear on the stage as an actor in a play, and was named the originator of Tragedy. He was also known to have first introduced a chorus into performances.


 * A Map of Theatres in Ancient Greece*

It was important to have well-known and talented teachers in the theatre business. They were there to help teach morality, tutor the actors on how to be more appealing to the audience, as well as show build courage and bravery. These individuals include: Aeschylus,Sophocles, Euripides, and.
 * Aeschylus* *Sophocles* *Euripides* *Aristophanes*

The Greeks were constantly in competition with each other in the theater world and were always trying to out-do one another. This caused for all of the theatrical performances to be creative in their own ways. For example Sophocles, made painted scenery to create an aesthetically pleasing visual for the audience to view. This influenced the use of back-drops in theater works today. Greeks also came up with a standard dress code of how what the actors would wear. These new changes influenced theater life and are still used today.

The Greeks created a city-state system. This geographical move allowed for the Greek culture to be secluded from it's surrounding neighbors, and it also allowed for them to be competitive with their neighbors. If Greece were not always competing with their surrounding geographical neighbors, then Greek theater would not have been such large contributors to theater today. These two masks also represent duality and unity.


 * The masks of tragedy and comedy, still used today to symbolize theatre*

As evidence has has shown, theatre today is greatly influenced by Ancient Greek Theatre from everything from its costumes to competitions.

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