HISTORY OF

THEATRICAL FORMS
AND EVOLUTION
QUARTER 4 ARTS 9 LESSON 1
• Identify selected theatrical forms from the
different art periods
• Research on the history of the theatrical forms
and their evolution
HISTORY OF
THEATRICAL FORMS
AND EVOLUTION
QUARTER 4 ARTS 9 LESSON 1
Theater began from myth, ritual, and ceremony. Early
society perceived connections between actions performed by
groups of people or leaders to a certain society and these
actions moved from habit to tradition, to ritual, and to
ceremony due to human desire and need for entertainment.

Theater means “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 the actors and actresses
performs on stage, then it will only be a true theater act when audience
witnesses it.
 • European theater began in Ancient Greece. It began around 700 BC with festivals honoring their gods.
Dionysus (Di-on-i-sus), the god of wine and fertility, has religious festivals called “The Cult of
Dionysus” to honor him. The theater of ancient Greece consisted of three types of drama:

Tragedy - (a compound of
two Greek words tragos or
“goat” and “won” meaning
ode or song) was the most Satyr – these plays contains
admired type of play. It comic elements to lighten
Comedy – the plays were
dealt with tragic events and the overall mood or a
derived from imitation;
have an unhappy ending serious play with a happy
there were no traces of their
specially one concerning ending. This is a short,
origin. Aristophanes wrote
the downfall of the main lighthearted tailpiece
most of the comedy plays.
character. Thespis was the performed after each trilogy
first actor and introduced of tragedies.
the use of masks and was
called the “Father of
Tragedy.”
The theater building were called
Theatron. It is a large, open-air
structures constructed on the sloped of
hills and consisted of three main
elements: the orchestra, the skene and
the audience.
• The theater of ancient Rome started in the 3rd century BC. It had varied and
interesting art forms such as festivals performances of street theater, acrobatics,
the staging of comedies of Plautus, and the high-verbally elaborate tragedies of
Seneca. The usual themes for Roman theater plays were chariots races,
gladiators, and public executions. The Romans loved a good spectacle. They
loved to watch combat and admired blood sports and gladiator competition. The
more realistic the violence, the more pleased Roman audiences. The Christians
however opposed the barbaric themes of the plays and closed down all theaters.

❖ Comedy plays were popular too in the Roman

Theater from 350 to 250 BC and women were
allowed to perform.
The Triumvir of Pompey was one
of the first permanent (non wooden)
theaters in Rome, whose structure
was somewhat similar to the
Theatron of Athens. The building
was a part of a multi-use complex
that included a large quadriporticus
(a columned quadrangle), directly
behind the scaenae fron (an
elaborately decorated background
of theater stage), and is enclosed by
the large columned portricos with
an expansive garden complex of
fountains and statues.
• During the Medieval Era, theater
performances were not allowed
throughout Europe. To keep the theater
alive, minstrels, though denounced by
the Church, performed in markets,
public places and festivals. They
travelled from one town to another as
puppeteers, jugglers, story tellers,
dancers, singers, and other performers
in other theatrical acts. These minstrels
were viewed as dangerous and pagan.
• Renaissance theater arts were characterized by a return of Classical Greek Roman arts and culture. During
the Middle Ages, mystery plays formed a part of religious festivals in England and other parts of Europe
during the Renaissance period. Morality plays and University drama were formed to recreate Athenian
tragedy. Public theaters were developed like Commedia dell’arte (Italian comedy and a humorous theatrical
presentation performed by professional players who traveled in troupes) and elaborate masques (a dramatic
entertainment consisting of pantomime, dancing, dialogue, song and sometimes players who wore masks)
that were usually presented in court.
❖ The famous actor and poet who emerged in this period was William
Shakespeare. He was an English poet, playwright, and actor and was
regarded as the greatest writer and dramatist in the whole world.
Shakespeare was often called Engaland’s National Poet and the
“Bard of Avon.” His works consist of about 38 plays. Some of these
plays were well-loved: Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Midsummer
Night’s Dream, Cleopatra, Julius Caesar, Much Ado about Nothing.
❖ For the first time, ballet was performed during this period. Ballet is a
formalized form of dance which originated from Italian Renaissance
courts.
 Proscenium was developed. This is
the area of a theater surrounding the
stage opening. Arches frame and
divide the stage from the audience.

Backdrops for every scenery were

popularized by the art of painting
clothes.

Commedia dell’arte or “Comedy of

the Profession” was developed. It
was quick-witted performance of
the characters/players.
• The theater of Baroque period is marked by the use technology in current Broadways or
commercial plays. The theater crew uses machine for special effects and scene changes which
may be changed in a matter of seconds with the use of ropes and pulleys.

❖ The theater was richly

decorated, the multiplicity of
plot turns and a variety of
situations characteristic of
Mannerism (a variety of
approaches or intellectual
sophistication as well as
using artificial qualities of
the play) were succeeded by
opera.
• The Neoclassical period was a movement where the styles of Roman and Greek societies
influenced the theater arts. During this period, the theater was characterized by its grandiosity.
Costumes and sceneries were highly elaborate. The main concepts of the plays were to entertain
and to teach lessons. Stages were restyled with dramatic arches to highlight the scenes. Multiple
entry points on the stage were evident in many plays. Lighting and sound effects intensified the
mood and message of each scene, enhancing dramatic experience. s.

❖ The concept of decorum (right and proper

audience behavior) was applied in this period
which means classical concepts and
appropriate social behavior must be observed.
This period officially established just two
types of plays – tragedy and comedy. Tragedy
portrayed the complex and fateful lives of the
upper classes and royals, while comedy tended
to focus on the lower ranks of society.
• During the Romantic period, melodrama and operas became the most popular theatrical forms.
Melodramas originated from the French word melodrama, which is derived from Greek melos,
which means “music” and French drame, which is derived from the Greek dran to “perform”.

Opera – is an artform in which

Melodrama – a dramatic work
singers and musicians perform a
that puts characters in a lot of
dramatic work combining text
danger in order to appeal to the
(liberetto) and musical score.
emotions and in which
Acting, scenery, costumes, and
orchestral music or song was
dance were important elements
used to accompany the action.
of theater.
• Direction: Match column A to the correct answers
in column B.
 COLUMN A
____1. Romantic Period
Theater
____2. Medieval Theater
____3. Greek Theater
____4. Roman theater
____5. Renaissance Theater
____6. Baroque Theater
____7. Neoclassical Theater
COLUMN B
A. Grandiosity, highly
elaborate
B. Morality plays
C. Puppeteers, jugglers,
singers
D. Combats and blood sports
E. Tragedy, Comedy and
Satyr
F. Melodrama and operas
G. Use of technology
• Direction: Create a timeline on the history of theatrical
forms and illustrate the evolution of the stage. Decide
on your timeline design.
VALUING!

∙ What do you think is the importance

of theater in education?
• DIRECTION: Chose the letter with the
correct answer.
 A theater marked with the use of
technology.

A. Baroque Theater C. Medieval Theater

B. Greek Theater D. RomanTheater

 During this period, theater
performances were not allowed as
people associated with theater shows
are considered dangerous and pagan.
A. Baroque Theater C. Medieval Theater

B. Greek Theater D. RomanTheater

The following are the types of Greek
theater, except;

A. Comedy C. Satyr

B. Romance D. Tragedy
 During this period, theater was
characterized by its grandiosity.

A. Neoclassical Theater C. Renaissance Theater

B. Medieval Theater D. Romantic Theater

 Melodrama and operas became the most
popular theatrical forms during this
period.

A. Neoclassical Theater C. Renaissance Theater

B. Medieval Theater D. Romantic Theater