SPEAKER EUGENIO PEREZ NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL SCHOOL

Roxas Blvd., San Carlos City, Pangasinan

MAPEH 9 – Arts
Third Quarter
Western Classical Plays/Opera
History of the Theatrical Forms and Their Evolution
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, to ceremony due to human desire and
need for entertainment. The repeated rehearsals, performances and creation of different actions broke the ground for theater. Let us now
study the theatrical forms of the different art periods.
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 actors and actresses perform on stage. Then it will only be a true theater act when an audience witnesses it.

Ancient Theater
GREEK Theater
European theater began in Ancient Greece. It began around 700 B.C. with festivals honoring their many gods such as, Dionysus
(Di-on-i-sus), the god of wine and fertility. This religious festival was called, ―The Cult of Dionysus.‖ The city-state of Athens was the
center of a significant cultural, political, and military power during this period and where the festivals and competitions were usually
performed. The three well-known Greek tragedy playwrights were Sophocles, Euripides and Aeschylus.
The theater of ancient Greece consisted of three types of drama: Tragedy, Comedy and the Satyr play.
Tragedy is a compound of two Greek words, ― ”tragos” or "goat" and ― “ᾠδή” (ode) meaning "song”, referring to goats
sacrificed to Dionysus before performances, or to goat-skins worn by the performers.
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. Thespis was the first actor and introduced the use of masks and was called the "Father
of Tragedy”.
The actors, directors, and dramatists were all the same person. After some time, only three actors were allowed to perform in
each play. Due to limited number of actors allowed on-stage, the chorus played a very active part of Greek theatre. Music was often
played during the chorus. Men performed songs to welcome Dionysus and women were not allowed to perform. Competitions in song,
dance, music, scenic representation and bodily exercises were done during the festivals. And to promote a common identity, Athenians
spread these festivals to their numerous allies.
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, an adventure comedy by Euripides.
Satyr plays contain 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 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 a theatron. The theaters were large, open-air
structures constructed on the slopes of hills. They consisted of three main elements: the
orchestra, the skene, and the audience.
 Orchestra: A large circular or rectangular area at the center part of the theatre,
where the play, dance, religious rites, and acting took place.
 Theatron: viewing place on the slope of a hill
 Skene: stage
 Parodos: side entrance.

Roman Theater
The theatre of ancient Rome started in the 3rd century BC. It had varied and interesting art forms, like festival performances of
street theatre, acrobatics, the staging of comedies of Plautus, and the high-verbally elaborate tragedies of Seneca. Although Rome had
a native tradition of performance, the Hellenization (historical spread of ancient Greek culture) of Roman culture in the 3rd century BC
had an intense and energizing effect on Roman theatre and encouraged the development of Latin literature.
According to Roman historian Livy, in the 4th century BC, the Etruscan actors were the
first who experienced theater. While in 240 BC, Roman drama began with the plays of Livius
Andronicus, remained popular throughout late Antiquity. By the mid 4th century AD, 102 out of
176 ludi publici (public games) being dedicated to theatre, besides a considerably lower number
of gladiator and chariot racing events.
Greek theatres had a great influence on the Roman’s theater too. The Triumvir Pompey - was
one of the first permanent (non-wooden) theatres 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 theatre stage, enclosed by the large columned
 SPEAKER EUGENIO PEREZ NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL SCHOOL
Roxas Blvd., San Carlos City, Pangasinan
MAPEH 9 – Arts
Third Quarter
porticos with an expansive garden complex of fountains and statues. There were rooms also that were dedicated to the exposition of art
and other works collected by Pompey Magnus which were located along the stretch of covered arcade.
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, admired for blood sports and gladiator competition. The more realistic the violence, the more it
would have 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 B.C.E. and women were allowed to perform on stage.

Medieval Theater
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 theatrical acts. These minstrels were viewed as dangerous and pagan.
Churches in Europe started staging their own theater performances during Easter Sundays with biblical stories and events.
Eventually, some plays were brought outside the church due to their portrayal of the devil and hell. An example of this kind of play is the
“Mystére d‟Adam” or "The Mystery of Adam”. The story revolves on Adam and Eve and ends with the devil capturing and bringing them
to hell. Over the centuries, the plays revolved around biblical themes from the Story of the Creation to the Last Judgment.

Renaissance Theater
Renaissance theater arts were characterized by a return of Classical Greek and Roman arts and culture. In the Middle Ages,
mystery plays formed a part of religious festivals in England and other parts of Europe during the Renaissance period. Morality plays (in
which the protagonist was met by personifications of various moral attributes who try to choose a Godly life over the evil) and the
University drama were formed to recreate Athenian tragedy. Public theatres were developed like, the Commedia dell'arte (Italian comedy
and a humorous theatrical presentation performed by professional players who traveled in troupes) and the elaborate masques (a
dramatic entertainment consisting of pantomime, dancing, dialogue, and song and sometimes players wore masks) that were usually
presented in court.
One of the most prominent supporters of the theater was Queen Elizabeth I. The companies of players (companies of actors)
were organized by the aristocrats and performed seasonally in many places. They were called professional players that performed on
the Elizabethan stage. The tours of these players gradually replaced the performances of the mystery and morality plays by local players.
Gorboduc (authors were Thomas Norton and Thomas Sackville), also known as Ferrex and Porrex, was an English play and first
performed at the Christmas celebration in 1561, and performed before Queen Elizabeth I on 18 January 1562, by the Gentlemen of the
Inner Temple (was one of the four Inns of Court -professional associations for barristers and judges in London).
The famous actor and poet who emerged in this period was William Shakespeare. He was baptized on April 26, 1564 and died
on April 23, 1616. He was an English poet, playwright and actor and regarded as the greatest writer and dramatist in the whole world.
Shakespeare was often called England'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. The
four tragedies considered to be Shakespeare's greatest works were Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth. Other contemporary
playwrights were Christopher Marlowe's (tragedies such as Dr. Faustus and The Jew of Malta), and Thomas Kyd (The Spanish Tragedy).
The history plays depicted English or European history. Shakespeare's plays were about the lives of kings, such as Richard III
and Henry V, Christopher Marlowe's Edward II and George Peele's Famous Chronicle of King Edward the First.
Comedies were common, too, that dealt with life in London after the fashion of Roman New Comedy. Some of comedy plays
were “The Shoemaker's Holiday” by Thomas Dekker and “A Chaste Maid in Cheapside” by Thomas Middleton.
For the first time, ballet was performed in public during this period. Ballet is a formalized form of dance which originated from
the Italian Renaissance courts. It developed and flourished from Italy to France with the help of Catherine de' Medici, (Queen of France).
An early example of Catherine's development of ballet is through ‘Le Paradis d' Amour', a piece of work presented at her daughter's
wedding, Marguerite de Valois to Henry of Navarre. Money of the Aristocrats was responsible for the initial stages of “court ballet” for the
Aristocrats’ entertainment. The first formal “court ballet” ever recognized was, 'Ballet des Polonais' in
1573. A true form of royal entertainment, 'Ballet des Polonais' was commissioned by Catherine de'
Medici to honor the Polish Ambassadors who visited Paris for the enthronement of King Henry in Poland.
Innovations of the Stage:
 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 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 Proscenium

Baroque Theater
The theater of the Baroque period is marked by the use of technology in current Broadways or commercial plays. The theater
crew uses machines for special effects and scene changes which may be changed in a matter of seconds with the use of ropes and
pulleys. This technology affected the content of the performed pieces, practicing at its best the Deus ex Machina (a Latin word meaning
 SPEAKER EUGENIO PEREZ NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL SCHOOL
Roxas Blvd., San Carlos City, Pangasinan
MAPEH 9 – Arts
Third Quarter
"god from the machine) solution. Where the character gods were finally able to come down from the heavens and rescue the hero in
dangerous situations.
As a result, the theater was richly decorated, and 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 the
opera. The use of theatrical technologies in the Baroque period may be seen in the films like Vatel (2000), Farinelli (1999) and in the
different stage productions of ―Orpheus‖ by Claudio Monteverdi.

Neoclassical Theater
The Neoclassical period was a movement where the styles of Roman and Greek societies influenced the theater arts. During
the Neoclassical 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 the dramatic experience. The idea of changing scenery and backdrops become more noticeable, particularly with the invention
of pulley systems that allowed parts to move more quickly across the stage.
The concept of decorum (meaning 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. They never mix these two together. This restriction
led to the use of the now well-known pair of happy and sad masks that symbolize the theatrical arts. Tragedies portrayed the complex
and fateful lives of the upper classes and royals, while comedies, which were either public discourse or comedies of manners, tended to
focus on the lower ranks of society, Observance to these genres was critical to a play's success.
Three playwrights achieved a significant amount of success. Pierre Cornielle (1606 – 1684) was often called the father of the
French tragedy, writing scripts for more than four decades. One of these was “The Cid”. Jean-Baptiste
Poquelin, better known as Molière (1622 – 1673) was known for his comedies, “Tartuffe and The Missanthrope”
was one of his works. Jean Racine (1639 – 1699) was a tragedian beloved for his simple approach to action
and the linguistic rhythms and effects he achieved. ”Andromache and Phaedra” was one of his scripts. These
men were able to take elements from classical Greek and Roman literature and transform them into plays.
TRIVIA about the Neoclassical Theater:
1. The first "spotlight" was used in the U.S. during this period and was called the "Limelight”
2. The Theatre Regulation Act of 1843 banned drinking in legitimate theaters. Many tavern owners took Limelight
advantage of the situation and renovated their establishments to accommodate live performances.

Romantic Theater
Romantic Playwrights
During Romantic period, melodrama and “operas” became the most popular theatrical forms. Melodrama originated from the
French word “melodrame”, which is derived from Greek “melos”, music, and French “drame”, which is derived from Greek “dran” to
peform. Melodrama can be also be described as a dramatic work that puts characters in a lot of danger in order to appeal to the emotions
and in which orchestral music or song was used to accompany the action. Opera in the other hand is an art form in which singers and
musicians perform a dramatic work combining text (called a libretto) and musical score. Such as acting, scenery, and costumes and
dance were important elements of the theater. It is usually performed in an opera house, accompanied by an orchestra or smaller musical
ensemble.
Victor Marie Hugo was born on February 26, 1802 and died on May 22, 1885. He was considered as one of the greatest and
best known French writers. He was a poet, novelist, and dramatist of the Romantic movement. Hugo's literary fame comes from his
poetry, novels and his dramatic achievements. Among his works that stand out all over the world are “Les Contemplations, La Légende
des siècles, Les Misérables, and Notre-Dame de Paris” which is known as the Hunchback of Notre-Dame. Quasimodo, a deformed
hunchback, the bell-ringer of Notre Dame had a good heart and helped Esmeralda, a beautiful Gypsy street dancer with a kind and
generous heart. Esmeralda captured the hearts of many men that had always wanted to own her.

Romantic Composers
Georges Bizet was born on October 25, 1838 – died June 3, 1875, Paris. Bizet was the only child of Adolphe Armand Bizet
(formerly a hairdresser and later became a singer and composer) and Aimee Marie Louise Leopoldine Josephine Delsarte, (a pianist).
He entered the Paris Conservatory of Music a fortnight before his tenth birthday. His first symphony, the Symphony in C Major, was
written when he was seventeen years old. The symphony had an amazing stylistic resemblance to the music of Franz Schubert.
This French composer was a pianist and best known for his operas. Carmen is the most popular among his works. Bizet
composed the title role for a mezzo-soprano in the character of Carmen. The opera tells the story of the downfall of Don José, a naïve
soldier who is seduced by the charms of the sizzling Gypsy, Carmen.