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William Shakespeare

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Title: William Shakespeare


1
William Shakespeare
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(No Transcript)
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  • He was born in Stratford-on-Avon in Warwickshire,
    England, on April 23, 1564.
  • He was the son of a prosperous wool and leather
    merchant.

4
  • He married Anne Hathaway in 1582.
  • He was 18 years old.
  • She was 26 years old.
  • They had 3 children, but his only son died
    during childhood.

5
His Life As an Actor/Playwright
  • He moved to London to pursue a career in acting
    but left his family in Stratford-on-Avon.

6
His Life As an Actor/Playwright (cont.)
  • He joined the Kings theatrical companywhich was
    supported by King James I hence the name of the
    company.
  • He worked for this company for the rest of his
    writing life.

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cont.
  • He was the ultimate professional writerhe was in
    great demand.
  • He wrote 37 plays and in 1612 he retired to
    Stratford-on-Avon.
  • Shakespeare died on April 23, 1616 at the age of
    52.

8
FYI
  • His plays are still produced all over the world,
    and if he were still alive, he would receive
    25,000 a week in royalties for a production of
    Othello!!!!

9
Early Theater
  • The first man to build a permanent theater in
    England was James Burbage. It was built 1576.
  • Before his theater actors used to perform in the
    courtyard of inns where they would build a
    temporary platform stage.

10
Early Theater
  • The audience would sit on the three sides of the
    stage or on the balconies to watch the play. The
    poor people would pay one penny to stand in the
    area around the stage. They were called
    groundlings.

11
Shakespeares Theatre
  • Shakespeare and his company designed and built
    their own theater in 1599. It was called The
    Globe.
  • Most of Shakespeares plays were written for this
    theater.

12
The Globe Theater
13
Cont.
  • The Globe was a round building with 3 stories
    and a large platform stage that was open to the
    air. It has a small balcony. The stage on the
    main floor contained entrances, exits, and trap
    doors for ghosts and spirits to enter and exit.
    The one above the stage was called heaven, and
    the one below the stage was called hell.

14
Cont.
  • They did not use sets in the theaters of
    Shakespeares day.
  • They did use elaborate costumes which were
    ornately decorated.

15
Cont.
  • Women were not in plays during Shakespeares day
    because it was thought to be improper for a lady.
  • Female roles were played by men or boys.

16
The Modern Stage
  • Most stages today have a proscenium arch which is
    like a picture frame with a curtain to separate
    the stage and the audience.

17
Cont.
  • Many theaters, especially at universities, are
    being built as a thrust stagethe stage sticks
    out into the audience thus the audience sits on
    three sides of the stage.

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Cont.
  • This type of stage allows the play to move
    quickly and does not require much scenery.

19
Stage Directions
  • --are very important on the modern stage.
  • Stage Left (SL) is the actors left.
  • Stage Right (SR) is the actors right.
  • Up Stage (US) is the area at the back of the
    stagefarthest from the audience.
  • Down Stage(DS) is the area at the front of the
    stageclosest to the audience.

20
Thats
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