HISTORY OF ROMAN THEATRE

ROMAN HISTORY

Rome in 753 B.C. was a town dominated by Etruria, North of Rome.In 509 B.C., the Etruscan (from Etruria) ruler was expelled, and Rome became a republic In the 4th Century B.C., Rome expanded, and by 265 B.C. controlled the Italian peninsula, then Sicily, then several Greek territories. By 240 B.C., Greek Theatre was familiar to Romans, translated into Latin, and brought to Rome. The beginnings of Roman theatre recorded: the first record of drama at the Ludi Romani (Roman Festival or Roman Games). Rome became an empire after Julius Caesar, 27 B.C. Republic from 509-27 B.C.Empire from 27 B.C.-476 A.D. By 345 A.D., there were 175 festivals a year, 101 devoted to theatre.In 55 B.C., the first stone theatre (Theater of Pompey) was built in Rome by Julius Caesar

ROMAN THEATRE

Borrowed Greek ideas and improved on them Less philosophical Encompassed more than drama : acrobatics gladiators jugglers athletics chariots races naumachia (sea battles) boxing venationes (animal fights) Entertainment tended to be grandiose sentimental diversionary

ROMAN THEATRE FORM

Roman theatre took two forms:

Fabula Palliata primarily translations of Greek plays into Latin, although the term is also applied to the original works of Roman playwrights based upon Greek plays Fabula Togata native origin, and were based on more broadly farcical situations and humor of a physical nature. An author of some of the better examples of this type of drama is Plautus (c.250-184 B.C.)

MAJOR INFLUENCES ON ROMAN THEATRE

Greek Drama Etruscan influences emphasized circus-like elements Fabula Atellana Atellan farces (Atella was near Naples).

FABULA ATELLANA

Short improvised farces, with stock characters, similar costumes and masks based on domestic life or mythology burlesqued, parodied during the 1st century B.C., then declinedMay have influenced commedia dell Arte Stock characters: Bucco: braggart, boisterous Pappas: foolish old man Dossenus: swindler, drunk, hunchback Drama flourished under the republic but declined into variety entertainment under the empire

ROMAN FESTIVALS

Held in honor of the gods, but much less religious than in Greece Ludi Romani 6th century B.C. Became theatrical in 364 B.C. Held in September (the autumn)and honored Jupiter By 240 B.C., both comedy and tragedy were performed Five others: Ludi Florales (April), Plebeii (November), Apollinares (July), Megalenses (April), Cereales (no particular season) Under the empire, these festivals afforded "bread and circuses" to the masses many performances Performances at festivals probably paid for by the state a wealthy citizen, had free admission, were lengthy including a series of plays or events, and probably had prizes awarded to those who put extra money in Acting troupes (perhaps several a day) put on theatre events

ROMAN DRAMA

there are only about 200 years that are important:

Livius Andronicus 240 204 B.C. wrote, translated, or adapted comedies and tragedies, the first important works in Latin. Little is known, but he seems to have been best at tragedy. Gnaeus Naevius 270-201 B.C. excelled at comedy, but wrote both Both helped to "Romanize" the drama by introducing Roman allusions into the Greek originals and using Roman stories. Comedy and Tragedy followed different paths.

ROMAN COMEDY
Only two playwrights' material survives

TITUS MACCIUS PLAUTUS (C. 254-184 B.C.) 21 EXTANT PLAYS, 130 + TOTAL Very popular. Pot of Gold, The Menaechmi, Braggart Warrior -probably between 205-184 B.C. All based on Greek New Comedies, probably, none of which has survived Added Roman allusions, Latin dialog, varied poetic meters, witty jokes Some techniques: stychomythia dialog with short lines, like a tennis match Slapstick Songs

PUBLIUS TERENIUS AFER [TERENCE] (195 OR 185-159 B.C.)

Born in Carthage, came to Rome as a boy slave, educated and freed Six plays, all of which survive The Brothers, Mother-in-Law, etc. More complex plots combined stories from Greek originals. Character and double-plots were his forte contrasts in human behavior Less boisterous than Plautus, less episodic, more elegant language. Used Greek characters. Less popular than Plautus.

CHARACTERISTICS OF ROMAN COMEDY

Chorus was abandoned No act or scene divisions Songs (Plautus average of three songs, 2/3 of the lines with music; Terence no songs, but music with half of the dialog) Everyday domestic affairs Action placed in the street

ROMAN TRAGEDY
None survive from the early period, and only one playwright from the later period

LUCIUS ANNAEUS SENECA (5 OR 4 B.C. 65 A.D.) Nine extant tragedies, five adapted from Euripides. His popularity declined, suicide in 65 A.D. Though considered to be inferior, Seneca had a strong effect on later dramatists. The Trojan Women, Media, Oedipus, Agamemnon, etc., all based on Greek originals Probably closet dramasnever presented, or even expected to be.

CHARACTERISTICS OF ROMAN TRAGEDY (SENECAN)

five episodes / acts divided by choral odes elaborate speeches forensic influence interest in morality expressed in sententiae (short pithy generalizations about the human condition) violence and horror onstage, unlike Greek (Jocasta rips open her womb, for example) Characters dominated by a single passion obsessive (such as revenge) drives them to doom Technical devices:

Soliloquies, asides, confidants

interest in supernatural and human connections was an interest in the Renaissance

OTHER FORMS OF ROMAN THEATRE

PANTOMIME

solo dance, with music (lutes, pipes, cymbals) and a chorus. used masks, story-telling, mythology or historical stories usually serious but sometimes comic

ROMAN MYTHOLOGY MASK

Dionysus

Heracles

Hermes

MIME

overtook after 2nd century A.D. Fabula raciniata Spoken Usually short Sometimes elaborate casts and spectacle Serious or comic (satiric) No masks Had women Violence and sex depicted literally (Heliogabalus, ruled 218-222 A.D., ordered realistic sex) Scoffed at Christianity

ROMAN THEATRE DESIGN

General characteristics

Built on level ground with stadium-style seating (audience raised) Skene becomes scaena joined with audience to form one architectural unit Paradoi become vomitorium into orchestra and audience Orchestra becomes half-circle Stage raised to five feet Stages were large 20-40 feet deep, 100-300 feet long, could seat 10-15,000 people

3-5 doors in rear wall and at least one in the wings scaena frons faade of the stage house had columns, niches, porticoes, statues painted stage was covered with a roof dressing rooms in side wings trap doors were common awning over the audience to protect them from the sun, during the empire around 78 B.C, cooling system air blowing over streams of water area in from of the scaena called the proskene (proscenium)

ROMAN ACTORS

Referred to as histriones and mimes later primarily histriones Mostly male women were in mimes Rocius famous, raised to nobility Mimes, however, were considered inferior; perhaps they were slaves. We know little about the size of troupes In the 1st century B.C., a "star" performer seems to have been emphasized 6th century A.D. Theodora a star actress married Emperor Justinian of the Eastern Empire but had to renounce her profession

THEATRE AT THE END OF THE EMPIRE

Fall of the Roman Empire 6th Century A.D. Christianity rising Emperor Constantine (324-337 A.D.) made Christianity legal. Emperor Theodosius made any other worship illegal By 400 A.D., many festivals abated, diminished no gladiators by 404 A.D., and no ventiones (animal fights) by 523, but others continued Church opposition to Theatre:

association with pagan gods licentiousness ridicule of church by mimes (sacrament and baptism)

Also, a decay of Roman empire from within and barbarians from without.533 A.D. is the last record we have of a performance in the Roman Empire mentioned in a letter.