just playhouse, actors and scenery. ... 1. Son of a famous

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compensated
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The popularity of the drama within the church
eventually forced it outside and as a result,
the people began to run the events and took
control away from the clergy. The following fo
rms took shape
MORALITY PLAYS
Presents Biblical personages and the saints, and
their persecutors, as well as the
characters from everyday life that appeared in
the market-place dramas. These
characters were eventually made into allegorical
figures. Abstract personif- ications of virtues
and vices such as Good Deeds, Mercy, Humility,
Greed, Gluttony, and Covetousness struggled for
the soul of man. Humor was often
provided - as in the Mysteries - by the devil and
his hunchmen. A play en- titled, Everyman from t
his period, can still be entertaining for a
modern day audience.


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MYSTERY PLAYS
(Often presented in CYCLES) Were short Bib
lical plays and always based on Scriptures. In
Germany, one may still see the
Passion play at Oberammergau, which dates back to
1662 and is essentially a medieval play that has
survived to the present day.
MIRACLE PLAYS
Depicted the lives of the saints. These
plays gave the playwright greater freedom than t
he Mystery Plays. Some depict exciting scenes
of torture and martyrdom others verge on secular
romance. A saint was always introduced to resolv
e all situations, thus preserving the
spiritual and moral function of the production.


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FARCICAL INTERLUDE
S A secular form devoted to the primary pu
rpose of entertainment. These little plays were t
he stepping stones to the birth of Eliz-
abethan Drama.
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Renaissance Renaissance Ren
aissance Renaissance
Renaissance

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The Renaissance
ITALY
The Renaissance
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True theatre in order to exist, must be
comprised of more than just playhouse, actors an
d scenery. Great theatre cannot exist with-out
great plays that provide us with a deeper
understanding of the human condition. Through
the period of Dante to the departure of
Michelangelo, and Leonardo da Vinci, and through
the creation of opera, Italy brought forth no
fine, enduring, universal drama.
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In a sense, we can say that theatre was not
reborn during the Italian Renaissance in spite of
all the promotion of princes and
popes, all of the earnest labors of artists and
academicians - theatre was not reborn because
there was no rebirth of the DRAMA.
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Italy failed to give us a universal drama
however, we must give them credit where credit is
due. We have the Italian Renaissance to thank
for the following 1. The physical theatre
once again introduced itself in
the form of stage and proscenium. Most
theatres were enclosed.
Example Teatro Olimpco 2. Perspective
drawing and elaborate scene painting.
Example Sebastiano Serlio
3. The raked stage 4. Periaktoi 5.
Wing and Shutter - staging technique.
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PASTORALS PASTORAL, a poetic play on a rus
tic subject. Instead of following the loose form
of the medieval mystery play, the author used a
tighter, more dramatic structure. In general,
shepherdesses, nymphs and fauns, replaced the
heroes and heroines of Greek mythology.
Sometimes these plays were given in the garden
theaters with backgrounds and wings of clipped
hedges, that graced the estates of great nobles
in the sixteenth century. Entertainment for th
e aristocracy and courtiers.
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Opera was the second new form of drama to come
out of Italy. Historical authorities claim that t
he birth of opera was a sheer accident! In 1595
a group of scholars and musicians tried to im-
itate what they thought was Greek tragedy by
telling, in Dafne, a mythological story in poetic
dialogue against a musical background.
This mixture of music, drama, and spectacle
spread triumphantly throughout all of Italy, Fran
ce, Austria, Germany and England.
Today, opera remains Italys favorite form of
theatre art. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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Renaissance Italys finest hour! A theatre
of boards and trestles, and an audience that
stood in the public square. Its actors passed
the hat among the spectators and then delighted
the mob with improvised comedy. Their comedic
art became so perfected, that they played Spain
and the Teutonic countries, enraptured Paris and
even performed their art in England.
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. . . . . . .
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Lazzi - was another characteristic of the
Commedia. These were jokes interjected into the
action. Some were verbal, but most were
physical. Often they had nothing to do with the
main scene or action. Leading Stock Characters
Pantalone, Harlequin, Punch, Pierrot,
and Columbine. All characters wore masks. Th
e next graphic will show one of the Commedias
famous characters that took on the form of a pupp
et and a popular cartoon comic strip
character. . .
. . . . . . . . .
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THE GOLDEN AGE OF SPAI
N

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While Italian princes played real life chess
power games and fought each other with the assist
ance of mercenary armies, Spanish
monarchs and their people drove out of Spain the
Moors who had conquered their lands seven hundre
d years before. During and after
this struggle, the common people won from their
rulers a considerable amount of freedom as a res
ult of the abolition of serfdom, the granting of
town charters, and the establishment of
local and state legislative bodies called
muncipios and cortes.

By 1492, Spain was a united nation, vital and ex
panding. Their expansion and world power came f
ast and furious, the end of their
greatness came with the same swiftness.
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The imperial power of Spain was shaken t
o its very foundation with the defeat of
its . . . . . . . .
?
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ARMADA (by the English) in 1588. It continued to
crumble with its loss of the Netherlands in 1609
. Yet, as the nation decayed,
in the realm of art and literature, a golden age
persisted for a half a century more. NATIONAL
THEATRE With the Renaissance, Spain breaks awa
y, to a certain extent, from the European establi
shment. The power of the Catholic Church
and the vitality and vigor of the Spanish people
lie behind this. Sacred dramas continue till 1765
- many of them composed by the
best and most popular playwrights.
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The Spanish people were eager for romance and
comedy and poetic drama, for heroic scenes out of
Spanish history/legends (a little like the ancien
t Greeks?????) for cloak and sword
plays lain in their own times, for comic and
romantic adventures,for anything of swift,
theatrical vigor. Spanish Religious Drama - Au
to Sacramentales . . . . . . Definition B
asic material - any sacred subject from the
Creation through the Nativity, to the Day of
Judgement. Playwrights created these events alleg
orically instead of literally.
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Biblical figures become common men.
The devil portrayed as a pirate or a Moor
Characters (fashioned after the characters in a
Morality play) called Death, Virtue, Jealous
y, Good Deeds, etc. Dancing was introduced into t
he Auto Sacramentales as early as 1454. Women
were allowed to dance in these celebrations, so
it could be said, that this was the first time
for women to be officially recognized in
theatrical events.
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The Spanish people loved the theatre in all of
its forms, and they seem to have loved all its
forms with equal passion and enthusiasm.
While Columbus was discovering and exploring the
New World, the Spanish playwrights were
discovering and exploring the new COMEDIA form.
COMEDIA Any play long enough to be giv
en in three acts
. three
three three
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ACTORS AND COSTUMES Boys and women appeared
on the crude provincial stages. Actresses were
licensed to appear in the Madrid
public theatres in 1587. Just as in England -
and else- where until the end of the eighteenth c
entury - the Spanish players wore on the stage, t
he clothes of his own time. SPANISH PLAYWRIGHTS
Spanish playwrights were extraordin
ary fellows. Most of them lived and followed adv
enture and many of them transferred the lustiness
of their lives to the stage and to
their manuscripts.
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LOPE DE RUEDA (NOT DE VEGA) 1st Popular Playw
right He was the first playwright who wrote d
irectly for the popular stage, an actor manager
playwright who toured from town to town and
dominated the Spanish stage until 1575.
Rueda was a gold-beater. He left his job
in 1558 and with a few friends, founded a company
of strolling players. He went on to become the
founder of the Spanish National Theatre, both as
producer and playwright. His company drew some
of their success and inspiration form Italys
Commedia dellArte. As in Italy and England,
some plays were written and produced along
strict classical line at palaces and universities.
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CERVANTES CERVANTES A soldier and member o
f a holy order. Spent five years in an Algerian
prison then fought in the Azores. Poverty
continually haunted him and eventually led him to
prison. He joined the Franciscan order, and
finished the last half of Don Quixote just befo
re dying a pauper.- Compared to the works
of Lope de Vega and Cal- deron, the plays of Cerv
antes appear dry and formal.
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LOPE DE VEGA Extraordinary in his plays as
in his life. He loved and lost wives, children,
and mistresses. He had a son by a devoted wife,
and another by an even more devoted mistress.
When he was fifty, he joined a religious
brotherhood. He continued to write plays and to
have love affairs. But he did his religious
devotions, scourged himself till the walls of his
cell were splattered with blood. Towards the end
of his life, he even assisted in burning a
heretic priest at the stake. Lope was the gr
eat inventor and pioneer of the Gold-
en Age of Spanish Drama . He shaped the final
form of the Comedia and gave it distinction. He
composed the first social drama The Sheep Well a
play dealing sym- pathetically with the troubles
of the lower classes.
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LOPE DE VEGA (Continued) Lope de Vega i
s credited with 1,800 comedias and
400 Auto Sacramentales. We have records to
day of 431 of his secular plays.
Like his audience, he was not interested i
n deep char- acterization. A major difference be
tween him and his English contemporary, William
Shakespeare.
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CALDERON Last of many notable Spanish playw
rights - con- quered both the aristocracy and the
populace. He bor- rowed freely from de Vega and
other playwrights as did Shakespeare. His plays
are distinguished by their high spiritual values
, their sense of faith, as well as their
lofty poetic quality. The modern world still
admires Calderons Life Is A Dream. The Sp
anish playwright, like his Elizabethan
counterpart, gained a great deal because he was
free from chains of classical form. The unities
of time and place were ignored. The unity of dr
amatic action was respected. The five-act play
structure was not the rule. For a time, four acts
were in fashion, but soon he re-
duced his Comedias to three.
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FRANCE THE RENAISSANCE A characteristic of
French culture and history has been
its passion for attempting to structure life into
a system of rules, laws, and logic. In th
e area of theatre, we cite the following
A. Confrerie de la Passion (1402)
1. Brotherhood of
tradesmen-actors 2. Held a monop
oly on theatrical production in
Paris. 3. D
ictated and controled the free growth of
theatre.
B. Pleiade 1. Group
of scholars, intellectuals leaders.
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2. Exercised dictatorial power over
playwriting. 3. Enforced the classical
rules as they under- stood them
. PIERRE CORNEILLE (1606-1684) 1. First
truly great French playwright.
2. First play Melite, ignored the rules.
3. Masterpiece was Le Cid, which won him
success and recognition. L
e Cid contained the following
a. A romance (love story)
b. Major duel c. Lost lo
ve d. War against the Moors
e. Victory in war and a vanquish of the
Moors f. A second victorious duel
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g. a reunification with his love (love
triumphs over honor) Corneille was censur
ed by the Pleiade and by Cardinal Richelieu (a C
ardinal who loved the theatre, wrote his own
plays, and owned his own theatre. A very
powerful man in the ruling circle of influential
French men.) for writing an improbable play.
What happens in Corneilles play could not occur
within a 24 hour period. REMEMBER THE
UNITIES OF ARISTOTLE TIME - A tragedy should
take place within a 24 hour period
. PLACE - All action should take place in one s
etting.
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ACTION - A tragedy should have one overpowering
action that drives the play
onward. (Such as REVENGE in
Shakespeares play, Hamlet.) Corneille, a
s a result of the criticism and condemnation,
retired from playwriting. Historians wonder what
Corn- eille might have accomplished had he enjoye
d the freedom of Shakespeare. JEAN RACINE (163
9 - 1699) Racine, unlike Corneille, was not
inhibited by the re- strictions imposed by the Pl
eiade. We can speculate that
Racine maintained a natural sense of order and
intellect- ual taste that made the classical form
, not restrictive but an expression of individua
l style and talent. His plays con-
tain emotional depth, and without exception, deal
with
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classical themes. 1677 - Phedre (a story
of a tragic queen enamored o
f her stepson) Phedre was based on a play by
Euripides. It is con- sidered by many, to be Ra
cines masterpiece. . MOL
IERE (1622 - 1673) Obtain information from
your assigned reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . DENIS DIDEROT (1713 - 1784)
NOTICE DATE This playwright made an attempt
to break the strangle hold of pseudoclassicism by
acclaiming a new type of drama - the drama of
the common man. His plays were not particularly
moving or innovative, however, they do
contain elements that foreshadow IBSEN and
modern drama.
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ON THE HEELS OF ROMANTICISM CA
ME
MELODRAMA
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AUGUST FRIEDRICK FERDINAND VON
KOTZEBUE
(One of the leading founders/creators of the
melodrama genre) 1. Shares dubious honor for
creating melodrama. 2. Genre dominated the playh
ouse of the 19th century. 3. Characters were all
good or all bad. 4. Plots were contrived. 5.
Majority of plays ended with, lived happilly
ever after. 6. Nearly all plays avoided
controversy and were short on provoking a
ny kind of thought.
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Please note that Uncle Toms Cabin, a
play that we will study under the heading of Amer
ican Theatre is a prime example of the melodramat
ic form. If we dare say that melodrama matured, w
e must begin to show when the plays started prese
nting controversial subjects and became thought p
rovoking. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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MOVEMENT INTO MODERN DRAMA
IBSEN STRINDBERG

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START YOUR READING ASSIGNMENT ON IBSEN
Ibsens contributions are many. He gave us
a multitude of convincing and genuine characters
. They were not black or white
like those found in melodrama but challenging,
complex people, with the many-sided facets of per
sonality found in living, breath-
ing human beings. His realistic prose written
into spoken dialogue was far advanced in conversa
tional quality and naturalness.
Through his dramatist skill he made ideas
stimulating and exciting as well as entertaining.
He was the first to construct great drama
from the everyday problems encountered by
everyday people. Under his genius, bourgeois trag
edy became a Fine Art.
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AUGUST STRINDBERG (1849-1912)
Strindberg was an unwanted child nervous
and very hypersensitive. He grew up in a large
family that could not meet his hunger for food no
r his greater hunger for love. He once described
himself as being born without a skin, with raw
nerves exposed to the merciless stimuli of life.
His unending quest for love and companions
hip led him into three failed marriages, failures
resulting from his temperament and extreme
sensitivity. Insanity nearly overtook him and
for some time, a mental institution became his
island of retreat. His writing became his reason
for existing, it maintained his sanity and
offered him salvation.
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Strindbergs plays were as varied as his
life. He wrote historical plays and naturalistic
plays, particularly Miss Julia and The Father, t
wo plays that reached peaks of
naturalism that have never been excelled.
Strindbergs greatest importance in the
history of drama, however, lies in his
expressionistic plays. His most popular being, A
Dream Play. EXPRESSIONISM All things
are seen through the eyes of the prot
agonist. We enter inside his/her
mind, seeing and hearing what the
protagonist experiences. One
does not read or watch Strindberg for
entertain- ment in the popular sense of the wor
d, but for the exper- ience of sharing in the tri
als and tribulations of one who
suffered deeply and severely, but who reflected
upon his suffering and constructed it into a form
of dramatic art.
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RUSSIA and GER
MANY

INTO THE MODERN DRAMA
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SPECIAL NOTE We must make mention
of one outstanding English playwright before
moving on. Most critics would agree that
George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) was not only the
great- est playwright but the greatest writer of
the modern period. In wit, cleverness, and bril
liance of ideas Shaw is without peer. To take y
ou into the modern drama, it would be a disservi
ce not to recognize this outstanding figure. No
one has explored lifes problems with greater s
harpness and penetration his ideas alone are en
ough to keep one alert and satisfied. We could
spend an entire semester discussing his plays an
d contributions to theatre art, however, for the