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Chapter 5:Creating a Professional Theatre
Elizabethan England, Italian Commedia dellArte, andSeventeenth-Century France
Renaissance: revived interest in classical theatre of Greece andRome
English Decree of 1558: plays on religious and political subjectsbanned
New subjects: classical literature, historical chronicles, legend Patronage: church and state withdraw support; theatre becomes
commercial enterprise
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Elizabethan Theatre
Professional Groups:
Had to perform often
Had to have a large stock of plays to sustain audience interest
Had to play in space large enough to accommodate sizeablepaying audience; had to be able to control access to space
Had to control all production elements
Had to assemble company that could work full time
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Elizabethan Theatre
Professional Groups:
Acting was not considered an acceptable profession
Because acting did not fit into the guild system, actors wereconsidered masterless men
Companies petitioned noblemen to serve as patrons
Patronage legitimized companies to an extent
Patrons provided little financial support Companies had to be licensed
Plays had to be approved
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Elizabethan Theatre
Prominent Playwrights:
William Shakespeare (1564-1616)
Thomas Kyd (1558-1594)
Christopher Marlowe (1564-1593)
Ben Jonson (1572-1637)
John Fletcher (1579-1625) John Webster (1580-1634)
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Elizabethan Theatre
Companies:
Always 2 to 4 active companies in/around London (1580s-1642)
Performed 6 days per week in the afternoon
Usually changed bill every day
During the 1590s, a London company averaged a new playevery 17 days
Average life of play = 10 performances over a season or two Writers sold plays to companies for one-time fee
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The Globe Theatre
Used by Shakespeares company after 1599
Round with exterior diameter of 99 ft.
3 levels of roofed galleries enclosing open space
The yard = open space enclosed by galleries; 74 ft. indiameter
The stage = 41 ft. 3 in. wide x 24 ft. 9 in. deep x 5-6 ft. above
yard; extended to middle of yard; viewed from 3 sides Roof sheltered stage = the heavensorthe shadows
Back of stage platform = multilevel faade with2 doors
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The Globe Theatre
Theatrical Conventions:
Properties brought onto stage when needed (throne, bed)
Faade served as backdrop for all performances; location clarifiedby dialogue: spoken dcor
Most characters were costumed in contemporary Elizabethan dress
Companies composed of approximately 25 members:
Shareholders Hired men
Apprentices
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The Globe Theatre
Theatrical Conventions: All roles played by men
Performance style somewhat realistic
No use of masks, except as disguises All lines spoken
Musical elements:
Marked entrances of royal characters
Called attention to important announcements
Served as signal in battles
Accompanied songs and dances
Most performances concluded withjig= short, lively music-and-dancepiece
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The Globe Theatre
Theatrical Conventions:
Admission fee determined viewing location
Cheapest = yard
Moderate = galleries
Expensive = boxes, lords rooms
No intermissions
Circulating vendors sold wine, beer, ale, nuts, playing cards
Atmosphere similar to modern sports event
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Hamlet
Includes main plot and related subplot
All main characters drawn from nobility or aristocracy
Hamlet is among the most demanding roles ever written for tragicactors
Writing:
Blank Verse: dramatic poetry that retains flexibility of normal speechwhile formalizing it
Iambic Pentameter: Speech rhythm in an unstressed-stressed pattern,that makes up 5 feet per line:
to BE or NOT to BE that IS the QUEStion
Prose: used mostly for lower class characters
Figurative Language: sets up direct or indirect comparisons
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English Theatre
English public theatres were closed in 1642 dueto civil war, and did not reopen until 1660
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The Theatre Experience in Renaissance Italy
TheRenaissance, begun in the 14th century, revived interest inclassical theatre of Greece and Rome
Early 16th century, plays imitating classical forms were written in
Italian Performed at court festivals
Reliance on classical sources, especiallyDe ArchitecturabyVitruvius
Describes theatre layout Describes settings appropriate to: tragedy, comedy, pastoral
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The Theatre Experience in Renaissance Italy
Principles ofperspective drawing(developed in 15th century) added toscenery (in 16th century)
Signaled movement away from formal, architectural stage torepresentational,pictorialstage
Picture broken up and painted on 3 separate scenic elements:side wings, backdrops, overhead borders
Floor of stage rakedupwards towards back
Introduction ofproscenium arch, which framed the painted
elements to complete the picture Resulted in need for mechanisms to shiftscenery
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The Theatre Experience in Renaissance Italy
Intermezzi = interludes performed between the acts of regularplays
Suggested parallels between a mythological figure and the
person being honored at the festival Major features = music and dance
Elaborate special effects
Opera = combined drama, music, dance, spectacle, special effects
Originated in the 1590s
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Commedia dellArte
Commedia dellArte = comedy of professional artists
Actoras most essential element of form
Adaptability: could perform in virtually any space, with or
without scenery
Scenario = summary of situations, complications, outcome;functioned as script
Improvisation: distinguishing feature of commedia
Lazzi: bits of comic business
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Commedia dellArte
Stock Characters1. Lovers:
Most realistic roles Only characters that did not wear masks
Dressed fashionably2. Masters: 3 recurred most often
Pantalone: elderly Venetian merchant Dottore: lawyer or doctor Capitano: braggart and coward
3. Servants = zanni Minimum of 1 clever and 1 stupid Most popular =Arlecchino (Harlequin)
Acrobat, dancer, and used slapstick Wore black mask and hat
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Commedia dellArte
Troupes averaged 10-12 members
Performers were both male and female
Troupes traveled frequently
Most popular from 1575 to 1650, but continued into late18th century
Numerous scenarios have survived
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Commedia dellArte
Activity:
Read each of the commedia character descriptions below.
Think of characters from TV sitcoms that possess qualities similarto each commedia character.
1. Lover: young and handsome; stylish
2. Pantalone: an elderly, would-be lover; very frugal
3. Dottore: lawyer or doctor; supposedly intelligent, but easily
tricked4. Capitano: boasts about prowess in love and war, but cowardly
when challenged
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The Servant of Two Masters
Written in 1745 by Goldoni, from last days of Commedia dellArte
More than a scenario, so lacks most of commediasimprovisational elements
Conveys other key elements of commedia Characters:
2 pairs of Lovers
2 Masters
3 Servants
Plot relies on disguise, coincidence, misunderstanding
Divided into 3 Acts, with a total of 10 scenes; requires 5 settings
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The French Neoclassical Ideal
Firmgenre restrictions: tragedy and comedy should not mix
Tragedy must be about royalty and nobles
Comedy should deal with middle and lower classes
Characters should exhibit decorum All plays should be written in5 acts
Neoclassical Unities:
Time: all plays action should occur within 24 hour period
Place: all plays action should occur in one location
Action: there should be only one plot
Ending of play should upholdpoetic justice
Purpose of drama = to teach and to please
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Molire and Seventeenth-Century FrenchTheatre Practice
Unlike Elizabethan Theatre, French companies included both maleand female actors
Each actor played a limited range of roles, eventually organizedinto lines of business
Actors had to furnish own costumes; blend of contemporaryfashions and some historical dress
Plays were set in one place; no scene changes; generalized scenery
Plays performed indoors, using candlesand oil lampsfor lighting
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Tartuffe
A comedy of character, written by Molire
Shares some characteristics of Commedia dellArte
5 stages of plot:
1. Demonstration of Tartuffes hold over Orgon2. Unmasking Tartuffe
3. Tartuffes attempt at revenge
4. Foiling Tartuffes plan
5. Happy resolution
Written in verse: alexandrine = 12-syllable lines, with each pair ofadjacent lines rhyming
Neoclassical unities of time and place are observed
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The Elizabethan, Italian, andFrench Traditions
Although Shakespeare and Molire were separated intime by only a few years, they worked in differenttheatrical traditions
When the English theatres reopened in 1660, theinfluence of Commedia dellArte was clearly evident inthe new style of plays written
By the 18th century theatres throughout Europe sharedthe same basic conventions
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Making Connections
Consider the ways in which English, Italian, and Frenchtheatre practices of the 17th century are similar and theways in which they are different.
Make a list describing those theatrical conventions fromthe 17th century that you see today being used intheatre, television, or film.