Greek Theatre Research Paper

Haylee Lininger

November 2nd, 2014

WOTA Section 21

WOTA Midterm

Bonus Question: exaggerated, overdramatic, musical.

Discuss the history of theater from the Greeks to present. The history of theatre is rich with many different styles. The Western tradition of theatre, being the most recognizable, is what I will discuss. The evolution of theatre goes through the Greeks and Romans, to Medieval and Commedia dell’arte, then Golden Age, and Renaissance, Restoration Comedy and Spectacular, Neoclassical, followed by 19th century and 20th century theatre. Theatre originated in ancient Greece as a significant part of their culture. The types of theatre of this time were drama/tragedy, comedy, and the satyr play. The oldest surviving form of tragedy

Their first theatrical experience was recorded as a performance by Etruscan actors in the 4th century BC. Others argue that the Romans were familiar with theatre before this recorded contact. The theatre of ancient Rome was thriving and diverse with a wide range of styles. It was more varied, extensive, and sophisticated than any other culture that had come before it. While expanding their empire, the Romans encountered Greek drama around 240 BC. This marks the beginning of Roman drama with a broader variety of theatrical entertainments. By the 2nd century, drama was fully developed and established in Rome and a guild of writers was formed. Comedies were also popular in the Roman culture. While re-working Greek originals, Roman comic dramatists eliminated the chorus that divided the drama into episodes. Instead they introduced musical accompaniment to dialogue. The settings of these plays were in exterior locations of a street and usually complicated by

It was an elaborately staged “machine play” that captivated audiences with action, music, dance, movable scenery, baroque illusionistic painting, gorgeous costumes, and special effects such as trapdoor tricks, “flying” actors, and fireworks. These shows may have had a bad reputation as vulgar and a threat to the witty, “legitimate” Restoration drama, but they drew the largest audiences and left them dazzled and delighted. These spectaculars were sometimes referred to as “English opera” but the immense variety of them leads most theatre historians to declare that they have no genre at all. Not very many of the works fell under the opera category; the musical dimension was far less comparable to the visual. Companies would spend so much on their special effects that if their show was not well received, then they would suffer huge losses, while blockbusters would be comfortably in the black for a long