William Shakespeare

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William Shakespeare
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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.

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• 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.

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His Life As an Actor/Playwright

• He moved to London to pursue a career in acting
  but left his family in Stratford-on-Avon.

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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.

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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!!!!

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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.

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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.

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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.

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The Globe Theater
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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.

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Cont.

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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Thats