Gonzales, Rose Ann V.BSE- English

COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF ANCIENT WESTERN DRAMAGreek DramaRoman TheaterMedieval TrendsRenaissance Period

Use of masks to distinguish between the different characters Plays of the ancient Greek theatre always included a Chorus that offered a variety of background and summary information to help the audience follow the performance. Due to limited numbers of performers, same actors played in several roles. Womans role is played by male Tragedy central focus (concerning gods) Greek theater buildings were called a theatron. The theaters were large, open-air structures constructed on the slopes of hills. They consisted of three principal elements: the orchestra, the skene, and the audience Orchestra was circular and used as a performance space Romans borrowed Greek and Etruscan methods in their own theatre, but made them distinctly Roman by improving and modifying those methods. Stock characters are used. These characters that eject the shift in the story. The role of the Chorus diminished, until it functioned as little more than a source of interlude music during scene changes. Unlimited number of actors Comedy central focus (romantic situations) Much of the architectural influence on the Romans came from the Greeks, and theatre structural design was no different from other buildings. However, Roman theatres have specific differences, such as being built upon their own foundations instead of earthen works or a hillside and being completely enclosed on all sides. Medieval drama was for the most part very religious and moral in its themes, staging and traditions. Five notable types of Medieval drama: Mummings, Mystery play, Miracle play, Morality play and Manners. Actors, predominantly male, typically wore long, dark robes. Liturgical Drama: Before 1200, most were still being done inside the church as part of the liturgy. Most were probably still in Latin, the language of the Church. By 1350, plays were in the vernacular, rather than Latin. Laymen were the actors (male members of the community, unpaidthough there were some women on stage in France), no longer clerics and priests. Two major kinds of stages in the medieval theatre: Fixed and Moveable

Fixed Staging

>Mansions set up in available spaces (courtyards, town squares, etc.), usually arranged in straight lines or rectangles or circles, depending on the space.

>Heaven and Hell were at opposite ends, if possible.

Moveable

>pageant wagons moved through the streets while the audience stayed in one place like parade floats.

The major contributions of the Medieval theatre are the use of the vernacular, spectacle, stage direction and the use of farce.