Costumes and Masks
Greek Drama originated at the beginning of the 5th Century. It began as religious festivals and continued on to purposes such as entertainment and dealing with political, social, moral or ethical issues of the time. There were many famous Greek Playwrights such as Aeschylus and Sophocles who were Tragic writers. The Costumes and Masks in the theatre played a very important role in the production. The effective masks and costumes transformed the actors into the characters to a point where it was believed that the God Dionysus had taken over the actor's body until the mask had been removed.Two thousand years before Shakespeare was even thought of, Greek Theatre began in Athens, Greece. The Dramatic plays and acts were classed into three groups: Tragedy, Comedy and Satyr Plays. It is believed that Greek Drama began as a form of Religious rituals or festivals. The most important of these festivals was the Dionysia, which paid tribute to Dionysus, the god of fertility, vegetation, the vine, and the pleasures of civilization. The Dionysus was an annual Spring Festival where dramatic competitions were held for the best Tragedy, Comedy or Satyr. The prizes for the winning playwrights evolved over
Out of the 82 plays he was believed to of written, only seven survived. The use of Masks in Greek theatre was constant within Classical theatre. A marble or stone face was used as a mould for the mask. Tragic masks covered the entire face and a wig was normally attached. To achieve this, actors would swap masks as they changed from role to role. It is a lot like the use of expensive, designer clothes in film today as opposed to the normal wear of most people. Costume and Masks in Greek Drama is one of the most vital components to the whole Greek Theatre experience. The costumes used in Greek drama were based typically on the casual dress of the time, although, the garments used in the theatre were a lot more decorated and colourful. On their feet they would wear cothurnals, which could sometimes be exaggeratedly elevated to emphasise the characters status. The eyes were fully drawn but in the place of the pupil of the eye was a small hole so that the actor could see. The change was so realistic that it was thought that as soon as a mask had been placed on, Dionysus would take control of the actor's body. The basic costume consisted of a chiton, a tight sleeved, patterned tunic, and sometimes a cloak over that. He was born in 525BC in Eleusis, Attica. As there were only a very small number of actors on stage, each actor had to play many different characters.
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