WESTERN

CLASSICAL
PLAYS/ OPERA
FOURTH QUARTER
 HISTORY OF THE THEATRICAL FORMS AND THEIR
EVOLUTION
Theater ― “a place of seeing”, but it is more than the
buildings where performance take place. To produce theater, a
playwright writes the scripts, the director rehearses the
performers, the designer and technical crew produce props
to create the scenes, and actors and actresses perform on
stage. Then it will only be a true theater act when an audience
witnesses it.
 ANCIENT THEATER (700
B.C.E – 410 C.E)
GREEK THEATER
European theater began in Ancient Greece. It
began around 700 B.C. with festivals honoring
their many gods.
One god, Dionysus, with a religious festival
called, ―The Cult of Dionysus, to honor
Dionysus (Di-on-i-sus), the god of wine and
fertility.
 ANCIENT THEATER (700
B.C.E – 410 C.E)
GREEK THEATER
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 performed.
The three well-known Greek tragedy playwrights are Sophocles,
Euripides and Aeschylus
The theater of ancient Greece consisted of three types of drama:
Tragedy, Comedy and the Satyr play.
TRAGEDY
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
performers.
TRAGEDY
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
character.
 TRAGEDY
Thespis was the first actor and
introduced the use of masks
and was called the "Father of
Tragedy”.
COMEDY
Comedy plays were derived from imitation; there were no traces of
their origin.
Aristophanes wrote most of the comedy plays.
Out of these 11 plays, Lysistrata survived, a humorous tale about a
strong woman who led a female coalition to end war in Greece.
Cyclops was an adventurous comedy by Euripides.
SATYR PLAY
Satyr Play contains comic elements to lighten the overall mood or a
serious play with a happy ending.
The satyr play was a short, lighthearted tailpiece performed after
each trilogy of the tragedies.
It is an ancient Greek form of tragic comedy. It featured choruses of
satyrs, based on Greek mythology, and with pretended drunkenness,
bold sexuality (including phallic props), tricks, and sight jokes.
SATYR PLAY
This featured half-man / half-goat
characters known as Satyrs. They were
awful, ridiculous, and usually drunk. 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, openair
structures constructed on the slopes of
hills.
They consisted of three main elements:
the orchestra, the skene, and the
audience.
ANCIENT THEATER TERMS:
Orchestra:
A large circular or rectangular area at
the center part of the theatre, where
the play, dance, religious rites, and
acting took place.
ANCIENT THEATER TERMS:
Theatron- viewing place on the
slope of a hill.
Skene –stage

Parodos- side entrance.

ELEMENTS
1. Movement, gesture, dance.
2. Sound and music
3. Costume
4. Mask
5. Makeup
FAMOUS GREEK PLAYS
1. Oedipus Rex by Sophocles – This
plays follows a cursed family whose
members try to escape their fate.
Oedipus, the main character, it told
by an oracle that he will kill his
father and sleep with his mother.
FAMOUS GREEK PLAYS
2. Prometheus Bound (usually
attributed to Aeschylus) – This is
based on the myth of the Titan
Prometheus who was punished by Zeus
for introducing fire to mankind.
FAMOUS GREEK PLAYS
3. Antigone by Sophocles – This is a
mortality tale against pride, focusing on
the story of the daughter of Oedipus and
Jocasta, his mother.
FAMOUS GREEK PLAYS
4. Medea by Euripides – This play
featuring Medea and Jason, is
considered by many as an early feminist
text. In addition to the issue of
misogyny, it also touches on issues that
are still relevant today – love, passion,
betrayal, racism, and justice.
FAMOUS GREEK PLAYS
5. Lysistrata by Aristophanes – This
comedy about the Peloponnesian War
has more than entertainment value; it
also exposes the sexual politics that
dominated the patriarchal society of
Ancient Greece.
REFLECTION (1/2 crosswise)
1. How is Greek theater different from modern theater?
2. What do you think is the connection between theater and life?
ASSIGNMENT NO. 4.1
1. How is Greek theater different from modern theater?
2. What do you think is the connection between theater and life?