WESTERN

CLASSICAL
PLAYS/
OPERA
 Theatrical
forms of the
different art
periods
 WHAT TO KNOW?
Theater- It is a place
of seeing, but it is more
than the buildings
where performance
take place.
To produce
theater:
1.playwright writes
the scripts
2.director rehearses
3. designer and technical
crew produce props to
create the scenes,
4. actors and actresses
perform on stage.
5. Audience to witness the
play
 Ancient Theater
700 B.C.E.-410 C.E.
(Greek and Roman
Theater)
Theater
It began around
700 B.C. with
festivals honoring
their many gods.
Dionysus, with a
religious festival called,
―The Cult of Dionysus,
to honor Dionysus (Di-
on-i-sus), the god of
wine and fertility.
The city-state of Athens
was the center of a
significant cultural,
political, and military
power during this period,
where the festivals and
competitions were usually
The three well-
known Greek
tragedy playwrights
are Sophocles,
Euripides and
Three types
of drama:
1. Tragedy is a compound
of two Greek words, ―tragos
or "goat" and (ode) meaning
"song, referring to goats
sacrificed to Dionysus before
performances, or to goat-
skins worn by the
 TRAGEDY PLAYS
In Greece, tragedy was the
most admired type of play.
 It dealt with tragic events
and have an unhappy ending,
especially one concerning the
downfall of the main
Thespis was the first
actor and introduced the
use of masks and was
called the "Father of
Tragedy‖ .
2. Comedy plays
were derived from
imitation; there
were no traces of
their origin.
COMEDY PLAYS
Aristophanes wrote
most of the comedy
plays.
Cyclops was an
adventurous comedy by
Out of these 11 plays,
Lysistrata survived, a
humorous tale about a
strong woman who led
a female coalition to
end war in Greece.
3. Satyr Play contains
comic elements to
lighten the overall
mood or a serious play
with a happy ending.
It was a short,
lighthearted tailpiece
performed after each
trilogy of the
tragedies.
It is an ancient Greek
This featured half-man /
half-goat characters known
as Satyrs.
The Satyr characters lusted
after everyone on stage, and
they delivered the most
humorous lines, often at the
expense of others.
Ancient Theater Terms:
Theatre buildings were called
theatron.
The theaters were large, open
air structures constructed on the
slopes of hills.
 They consisted of three main
elements: the orchestra, the
skene, and the audience
Parts of the Greek theater:
Orchestra- A large circular or
rectangular area at the center part of
the theatre, where the play, dance,
religious rites, and acting took place.
Theatron- viewing place on the slope
of a hill
Skene- stage
Parados –side entrance
 Theater
It started in the 3rd century BC.
 It had varied and interesting art
forms, like festival performances
of street theatre, acrobatics, the
staging of comedies of Plautus,
and the high-verbally elaborate
tragedies of Seneca.
Although Rome had a native
tradition of performance, the
Hellenization (historical spread
of ancient Greek culture) of
Roman culture had an intense
and energizing effect on Roman
theatre and encouraged the
development of Latin literature.
Greek theatres had a great
influence on the Roman’s
theater
1.The Triumvir Pompey-was
one of the first permanent
(non-wooden) theatres in
Rome, whose structure was
somewhat similar to the
Themes for Roman theater plays
chariots races
Gladiators
 public executions
Comedy plays were popular too in
the Roman Theater from 350 to
250 B.C. and women were allowed
to perform on stage.
Roman Chariots
“A winner of a Roman chariot race,
USA PD,
C. Medieval
Theater
During the Medieval era,
theater performances were
not allowed throughout
Europe.
To keep the theater alive, minstrels,
though denounced by the Church,
performed in markets, public places
and festivals. They travelled from
one town to another as puppeteers,
jugglers, story tellers, dancers,
singers, and other theatrical acts.
These minstrels were viewed as
dangerous and pagan.
Churches in Europe started
staging their own theater
performances during Easter
Sundays with biblical stories and
events. Eventually, some plays
were brought outside the church
due to their portrayal of the devil
and hell.
An example of this kind of play is
the ―Mystére d‟Adam” or "The
Mystery of Adam.The story revolves
around Adam and Eve and ends
with the devil capturing and
bringing them to hell.
Over the centuries, the plays
revolved around biblical themes
from the Story of the Creation to the
“-Book of Days” by Robert
Chamber
D. Renaissance Theater
(1400-1600)
Renaissance theater arts
were characterized by a
return of Classical Greek
and Roman arts and
culture.
During Middle Ages, mystery plays
formed a part of religious festivals in
England and other parts of Europe
during the Renaissance period.
Morality plays (in which the
protagonist was met by
personifications of various moral
attributes who try to choose a Godly
life over the evil) and the University
drama were formed to recreate
Commedia dell'arte
dell'arte (Italian comedy
and a humorous theatrical
presentation performed by
professional players who
traveled in troupes)
Knight Masque- It
elaborates
masques (a
dramatic
entertainment
consisting of
pantomime,
dancing, dialogue,
and song and
Queen Elizabeth I-She was
one of the most prominent
supporters of the theater.
The companies of players
were called professional
players that performed on
the Elizabethan stage.
Gorboduc(authors were
Thomas Norton and Thomas
Sackville), also known as Ferrex
and Porrex, was an English play
and first performed at the
Christmas celebration in 1561,
and performed before Queen
Elizabeth I.
William Shakespeare
•He was the famous
actor and poet during
Renaissance Period.
•He was an English
poet, playwright and
actor and regarded as
the greatest writer and
dramatist in the whole
world.
 •Shakespeare was often called
England's national poet and the
"Bard of Avon".
•His works consist of about 38
plays. Some of these plays were
well-loved Romeo and Juliet,
Hamlet, Midsummer Night’s Dream,
Cleopatra, Julius Caesar, Much Ado
about Nothing.
comedy plays
The Shoemaker's
Holiday by Thomas
Dekker
 A Chaste Maid in
Cheapside by Thomas
Tragedy plays
Hamlet
Othello
King Lear
Macbeth
Christopher Marlowe (tragedies
such as Dr. Faustus and The Jew of
Malta),
Ballet was performed in public
during this period.
Ballet is a formalized form of
dance which originated from the
Italian Renaissance court.
Le Paradis d' Amour', a piece of
work presented at Catherine de'
Medici, (Queen of France).
daughter's wedding
PROSCENIUM
Innovations of the Stage:
Proscenium was
developed. This is the area
of a theater surrounding the
stage opening. Arches frame
and divide the stage from
the audience.
Backdrops for scenery were
popularized by the art of
painting clothes.
Commedia dell‟arte or
―Comedy of the Profession was
developed. It was quick-witted
performance of the
characters/players
E. Baroque Theater
1600-1750
The theater of the Baroque period is
marked by the use of technology in
current Broadways or commercial
plays. The theater crew uses machines
for special effects and scene changes
which may be changed in a matter of
seconds with the use of ropes and
This technology affected
the content of the
performed
pieces, practicing at its
best the Deus ex Machina(a
Latin word meaning "god
from the machine) solution.
The Teatro Regio in Turin
The use of
theatrical
technologies in the
Baroque period
may be seen in the
films Vatel (2000),
Farinelli(1999) and
in the different
stage productions
F. Neoclassical Theater
1800-1900
The Neoclassical period was a
movement where the styles of
Roman and Greek societies
influenced the theater arts.
The theater was characterized
by its grandiosity.
The main concepts of
the plays were to
entertain and to teach
lessons.
Stages were restyled
with dramatic arches to
This period officially established just
two types of plays, tragedy and
comedy.
Tragedies portrayed the complex and
fateful lives of the upper classes and
royals, while comedies, which were
either public discourse or comedies of
manners, tended to focus on the
lower ranks of society, Observance to
these genres was critical to a play's
Playwrights:
1. Pierre Cornielle (1606 – 1684)
- He was often called the father of
the French tragedy,
- He became playwright for more
than four decades.
Work: “The Cid.
2. JeanBaptiste
Poquelin(Molière) (1622 –
1673)
- He was known for his
comedies, “Tartuffe and
The Missanthrope”.
3. Jean Racine (1639 – 1699)
- He was a tragedian beloved
for his simple approach to
action and the linguistic
rhythms and effects he
achieved.
Work: Andromache and
Phaedra” was one of his
TRIVIA
1. The first "spotlight" was used in the U.S.
during this period and was called the
limelight.
2. The Theatre Regulation Act of 1843
banned drinking in legitimate theaters.
Many tavern owners took advantage of
the situation and renovated their
establishments to accommodate live
performances.
G. Romantic Theater
1800-2000
Melodrama and
operas became the
most popular
theatrical forms.
Melodrama
Melodrama originated from the French
word “melodrame”, which is derived from
Greek ―melos”, music, and French drame”,
which is derived from Greek ―dran” to
peform.
Melodrama can be also be described as a
dramatic work that puts characters in a lot
of danger in order to appeal to the emotions
and in which orchestral music or song was
used to accompany the action.
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers
and musicians perform a dramatic work
combining text (called a libretto) and
musical score.
Such as acting, scenery, and costumes
and dance were important elements of
theater. It is usually performed in an
opera house, accompanied by an
orchestra or smaller musical ensemble.
Romantic Playwrights:
1. Victor Marie Hugo
He was born on February 26, 1802
and died on May 22, 1885.
He is considered one of the greatest
and best known French writers.
He was a poet, novelist, and
dramatist of the Romantic
movement.
His Works:
1. Les Contemplations
2. La Légende des siècles
3. Les Misérables
4. Notre-Dame de Paris”
5. Quasimodo
2. Charles Nodier
3.George Sand
4.Heinrich von Kleist
5.Ludwig Uhland