Life In The Theater

By Nicci, Maria, Emily, and Connor

Shakespeare’s Theater Company

• Male actors only• Called “Lord Chamberlin’s Men”• Later called “King’s Men”

Where They Performed• The courts of Queen Elizabeth I• Church of King James I• Lord Chamberlin’s Men staged

performances at The Theatre.• 1599-performed at The Globe

permanantly• Later the company performed at

The Blackfrairs

London Playhouses and Other Sites

• London Inns were important until the 1590’s.

• London Playhouses ~Outdoor/public playhouses or indoor/private playhouses• First London Playhouse was built

in Shoreditch by James Burbage in 1576

• Famous Theaters-Curtain, Fortune, Rose, Swan, Globe, and Hope.

Inside The Theaters• Shape- Polygonal/circular or

square.• Diameter-72-100 feet.• Could fit 2-3,000 people.• Groundings and Nutshells ~groundings are people in back of the audience that were exposed to bad weather.

Inside the Theaters (Continued)

• The Early Stage ~Roof was called “The Heavens” ~53 feet in width, 27 feet in depth.• A Private Theater in Blackfrairs ~1608 indoor/private playhouse at Blackfrair’s, built in 1596 by James Burbage ~Stage was lit by candles ~Could hold less than 1,000 people, expensive admission

Staging and Performance• Scene changes with no curtain ~At end of a scene, all actors would exit stage, and new ones would come on.• Bare stage with different levels ~Most of Shakespeare’s stages were bare ~Some actors went beneath satge and came up through a trap door

Staging and Performance(Continued)

• Boy Actors ~No women were actors. ~1660-women did act in public. ~Competition-Children of Paul’s and the Children of Chapel Royal

Business Arrangements• Phillip Henslowe owned the rose

and leased it to other companies.• Shakespeare was very involved in

the theatrical industry.

Work Cited"Shakespeare's Theater-Folger Shakespeare Library." -Folger Shakespeare Library. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Apr. 2012. <http://www.folger.edu/Content/Discover-Shakespeare/Shakespeares-Theater/>.