Elizabethan Theatre

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Elizabethan Theatre

• 1500-1700

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Background

• Drama began to be affected by the study of
  ancient literature and philosophy
• Most early plays were done by university students
  and were performed at schools
• This was a very turbulent time as Queen Mary
  forced Catholicism on England
• This caused severe political and religious
  controversies

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Background cont

• These conflicts led to a huge change in drama
• Plays began to be based on a sense of a moral
  force
• There was also a ban on religious cycles, thus
  leading to professional companies

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Globe Theatre

• This is where the majority of Shakespeares plays
  debuted
• Enclosed area with seating for the wealthy
• Poorer patrons stood by the stage
• Held approx. 2000

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The Globe cont

• Built in 1599
• Housed a holding company
• Located outside London
• Behind the stage were dressing rooms and
  workrooms/storage areas

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The Globes Stage

• There was a second level to the stage used for
  high places
• It also had a third area used for concealment and
  sometimes musicians

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Management

• Actors worked for noblemen who formed companies.
  (Shakespeares Lord Chamberlain's Men)
• Each complex had rotating plays (up to 11)
• Actors had to learn lines for multiple plays
• A group of shareholders would own a theatre and
  do all bookings

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Playwrights

• Companies either acquired plays from free lancers
  or their own actors
• Upon approval of the outline, the playwright was
  paid advances until the play was finished
• This was the introduction of professional
  playwrights

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Christopher Marlowe

• Thought to have worked as a spy
• Wrote 7 plays
• Was an atheist
• Murdered at the age of 29
• Wrote energetic yet bizarre plays

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Billy Shakespeare

• The greatest of all playwrights
• Had 3 kids
• Moved to London at 24
• Worked first as an actor
• Became shareholder in the Globe and Blackfriar
• Wrote 37 plays

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Richard Burbage

• Leading player in Shakespeare's plays
• Son of one of the builders of the Globe
• Carried the title role in Hamlet, Macbeth, and
  King Lear
• Shakespeare wrote his plays with him in mind

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The Acting Company

• Stressed meaningful delivery of lines, convincing
  gestures and eloquence
• Made up of from 5-14 men and boys
• Each played several roles
• Focused on story telling not character

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Acting

• Had to act at the end of the stage
• Didnt worry about setting as they were often set
  in one place
• Focused on the action and emotions
• Did not learn other actors parts just their lines
• This caused the focus to be on dominating a stage

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Visual Elements
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Architectural Facade

• Above the stage there was a permanent piece that
  rose several stories
• It had doorways, balconies and openings
• It could symbolize whatever the setting needed to
  be (i.e. castle, city gates etc..)
• Movies use these now to make things cheaper

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Costumes

• Extremely important
• They were used to differentiate characters
• Very few props were used. (only used if
  necessary)
• Larger props would be carried on or discovered

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Music and Dance

• Music and dance was a big part of society
• Musicians were used frequently for accompaniment
• Henry VIII called for a cannon which actually lit
  the Globe on fire.

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The Dumb Show

• During different productions, artistic pantomimes
  would occur separate from the play.
• They would describe historical meaning of the
  events of the play

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The Audience

• Extremely heterogeneous in makeup
• One penny for standing room, and additional
  pennies for the galleries or private boxes
• The audience was very emotional about theatre

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Blackfriars

• A private theatre that was used during the winter
  months
• Long hall with the stage at the end
• Lit by candles
• 6 times more expensive
• Dealt with far away places

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Court Masques

• Expensive, elaborate spectacle held for royalty
• Developed from scenarios that featured
  mythological figures
• Used elaborate settings and stage machines
• Featured triangular settings, two side homes etc.

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The Episodic Plot

• The common idea that art reflected human behavior
• Turned to romances and histories for plot
• Concentrated on rapid progression
• Worried about effect not cause

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Exposition

• Not a great deal happened before the play
• Opening scene would introduce characters,
  setting, and names
• A force would appear early to set things in motion

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Scenes

• 5 part form
• Each scene did 1 of three things. 1) propel
  towards crises, (2) develop character or (3)
  compare and contrast characters
• The highest tension occurred in the middle. Part
  4 lessened tension and the final part came the
  climax

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Double Plots

• Shakespeare loved using double plots
• He would tell two stories to allow comparing and
  contrasting of the two
• The lesser of the two would be resolved early

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The Ending

• Usually a public resolution, dealt with by an
  authority figure
• In comedies love triumphed
• In tragedy justice prevailed even if the hero
  died
• The means of the ending were numerous
• Usually followed by a speech and then exit

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Language

• Blank verse Unrhymed verse used for moods
• Prose regular speech used in comic sense
• Soliloquy Talking to oneself. Used to express
  emotion, reason aloud and ask for help
• Asides Conversational and Solo