ancient greek roman and elizabethan theatres
Of the many types of entertainment and past times we have today, theatre is still oneof the most loved. For this we have to thank the very earliest forms of ancient Greekand Roman theatre. These ancient time plays were staged often in honor of a god andhave paved the way for theatre as we know today. A particular aspect that has had aremarkable effect on the way theatre has evolved is the architecture of ancienttheatres. The architecture of ancient Greek and Roman theatres have had aremarkable effect on future theatre designs including the architecture of the greatThe Elizabethan time period in England was ever so popular and well accepted thatspecialised theatres were having to be built to cope with the large audiences. Beforethis plays were being held in grape cellars and old farm houses, and so were not ableto provide a large enough venue or provide the larger than life atmosphere playhouses needed. By the time Elizabethan theatre was in the British mainstream theplays were being held in two types of theatre, the public and private.The public Elizabethan theatres were much larger than the private ones and were thepreferred theatre of Shakespeare and other great pl
Three major theatres wereconstructed, notably the theatre at Delphi, the Attic Theatre and the Theatre ofDionysus in Athens. The stage and stage wall were elaboratestructures made of wood and sandstone that provided a large set for actors to moveand dance in. These huge open air theatreswere always built where a steep hill met flat ground so that the tiers of seating couldbe on the hill and the stage on the flat. The plays witnessed in these truly majesticplayhouses could not be compared with those seen in the simpler less visuallyappealing theatres of the ancient Greek kind. Those wishing to watch the show from the pit could do so for a minimalamount of money. There was no curtain and the play was presented as a whole with no act or scenedivisions. During the time that drama competitions were beginning to take place inancient Greece large ampitheatres were needed to be built in order to keep up withthe massive popularity of such drama competitions. At every theatre in ancient Greece therewas a statue of Dionysus the god of wine and tragedy at the centre of the stage. Technology has become one of mans best friends and for all the reasons in the world. The focal point of the Romantheatre was the high stage, with an elaborately decorated stage wall two stories high. These rather large theatres couldhold as much as 5600 people and were generally the choice of theatre for poorerpeople, but built around an attractive courtyard with an open roof these theatres werefar from something shabby intended for lower class citizens. Proof that the publictheatre was not a cheap alternative for poorer people is the fact that Shakespeare andother well known play writers wrote almost all their plays specifically for the publictheatres and often despised performing a play in the smaller rich persons privatetheatre. Inparticular the architecture of ancient Greek, Roman and Elizabethan theatres havepaved the way for the modern theatre buildings we have become to enjoy today. For those thatwere willing to pay a bit more there were the galleries with seats.
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