Lesson 6 - History Timeline

History!





Ancient Greeks! 500 BC

The layout for Greek theatre consisted of a theatron, orchestra, skene and parados.
The theatron was a place where the audience could sit on IKRIA (wooden benches.
The orchestra was a performing arera.
The skene was a space behind the orchestra that provided a backdrop and storage area.
The parados were side entrances to the orchestra.
200 years on.....
The theatre space had evolved to involve the use of a proskenion, logeion and tunnel.
The proskenion was a structure in front of the skene and behind the orchestra that offered levels, entrances and exits.
The logeion was the roof of the proskenion, which could be perform upon.
Located in the orchestra and rear structure, the tunnels offered entrances and exits.

Fun fact! In 300 BC a theatre in Delphi was built into a hillside with a retaining wall.
Romans! 55 BC

Theatres in Rome at 12 BC were built on flat spaces. The theatron and skene are now known as the cavea and scaena respectively. The cavea and scaena are joined in a single structure made of mass concreate.
The audience had access points of arches openings.
Dark Ages! - 400 AD
The fall of the Roman Empire in the 4th Century AD led to the beginning of the Dark Ages. All we know about theatre during this period is what is written about by the clergy. We know that place in churches and open spaces. These plays were Mystery Plays, Miracle plays and Pageants.

In the intervening period between the Dark Ages to the Middle Ages groups of professional actors were employed to tour the circuit of festivals, where they performed their religious plays on wagons and temporary stages.
15th Centuary!
By the 15th century more sophisticated, semi-permanent structures were erected as stages, which housed playes that were performed in cycles over several days.

Meanwhile!
In Japan Noh Theatre was being performed since the 14th century. Noh theatre is deprived from the Sino-Japanese work for "skill" or "talent". It is a major form of classical Japanese musical drama.
The world's oldest Noh stage was found in Miyajima and dates back to 1680.
The Noh stage is an open space that remains constant for every different Noh play. It has a supported roof with pillars. Below is a depiction of a Noh Theatre stage.

Fun Fact! In Noh Theatre, the actors are all in full view of the audience even when they are not performing.

The Renaissance Spaces! 14th - 17th Centuries
An interest of classical Greek and Roman art, culture and theatre returned to Italy. During this time period two major traditions were developed: The Proscenium and the Scenic Facilities.


Vitruvius ??? - 15 BC
A manuscript written by Vitruvius was discovered in 1427 that contained classical plays and descriptions of Greek and Roman theatres.
After 1511, editions of the manuscript were published with prepared illustations, which were used as templates for spaces in which to perform the newly popular old classical plays.
This led to the first permanent theatre buildings. The oldest surviving theatre building being Teatro Olympico.  An image of the Teatro Olympico can be seen to the right.
During the period the audience has become seperated from the performers.

Commedia Dell'arte
Also performed in this time was Commedia Dell'arte. Commedia Dell'arte consisted of improved played performed on the street, on temporary structures and inside their patron's halls. Their plays would accommodate the spaces available to them. It is a from of theatre characterised by masked "types" (characters), which began in Italy in the 16th century and was responsible for the advent of actresses and improvised performances based on sketches or scenarios.


The Elizathethan Space - 15th Century
Meanwhile, in England the strolling players continued to play in Inn Courtyards and Bailing Yards, erecting temporary structures for the players and audiences.
The first permanent theatre was contructed in 1576 by James Burbage, called The Theatre, in Finsbury Fields. This is pictured to the right.
The Rose was built shortly after in 1587. This is pictured below.
The Swan was completed in 1596 and claimed to seat 3000 people.
These spaces were generally circular or oval open-air structures.

Fun Fact! Entry to the Swan was a single penny but if the visitor wanted to sit down he was let in at a further door where he gives another penny. It was then another penny should he want to be given a cushion and sit in the most comfortable place of all. 




The Globe
The Globe Theatre was built in 1599, but burned down in 1613. The second Globe was built the following year. It was then shut down by the puritans in 1642 and demolished in 1644.
The Globe had no proscenium, had seating in the "Gods", had a trap door in stage, standing room in yard and included a machine room.

Inigo Jones - 1573 - 1652
He introduced new scenic ideas in England, showing the developing pattern of changeable scenery.  In 1604 he staged a masue (festive courtly entertainment) in the medieval way with scenery set around the open floor of the hall. 
He managed to create a moving seascape, effected by the use of barley-sugar columns laid flat and turned by stage-hands. 
He was inspired by classical Roman theatre and often used flats to depict perspective. He introduced the Roman Frons Scaenae into Britain, with its doorways and balconies. He paved the way for experimentation between the location of the audience and where the action was situated.

Back to Italy! - 17th Century (1620ish)
Serlio and Aleotti had built theatres which accommodated scenic elements, including backdrops, perspective and moving scenery.
The stage is only 10 m short of the length of the entire Auditorium, designed to facilitate scenic devices.
The auditorium included raked seating with boxes all around. A royal box was placed directly above the entry way at the correct viewing-point for the perspective vista. 

Opera 

Italian productions that contained plays, music and dancing became known as Opera. 
The Teatro SS. Giocanni e Paolo was opened in Venice in 1637. Similar in shape to the Teatro Farnese, it had individual boxes for the audience, an orchestra pit for muscians and a wall seperating the audience from the performance area for the frist time. Venetian architect and designer Torrelli had a great influence over building designs and scenic facilities at this time. In its heyday it was considered the most beautiful and comfortable theatre in the city.
Vigarani later introduced the design of theatre known as Salle des Machines, in which the vista stage occupied 60% of the total depth. This stage was critised for its poor accoustics. However, it was praised as it gave the audience a good view of the important and elaborate scenes. 

Civil War Strikes England!
1642 - ALL PLAYS SURPRESSED BY PALIAMENT
1648 - ALL PLAYHOUSES AND THEATRES TO BE PULLED DOWN. Players to be seized and whipped. Anyone caught attending will be fined five shillings (£30!)
The performance of plays remained banned for following 18 years
1660 - KING CHARLES II RESTORED TO THRONE
Theatres started performing many of the plays from the previous era, often adapted with a twist or in adapted forms. New genres of restoration comedy and spectacle soon evolved, giving English theatre of the late 17th century its own distinctive flavour. 
1660 ONWARDS - RESTORATION THEATRE

Playhouse Spaces
The French idea of converting tennis courts to playhouses was introduced in England by Sir William Davenant and William Killigrew. The shape of the court was dictated by the long, narrow shape of the courts. 
1662 - THEATRE ROYAL OPENED IN DRUARY LANE
1672 - DISASTER STRIKES AS THEATRE ROYAL BURNS DOWN
1674 - HOPE FOR NEW THEATRE ROYAL 
1747 - DAVID GARRICK TAKES OVER THEATRE ROYAL
1742 - FUN SPONGE D. GARRICK REMOVES TRADITION OF AUDIENCE ON STAGE
D. Garrick rejects traditional 'strike a pose' acting in favour of a more free flowing, natural form. This method is more geared towards realism.

Features of new Theatre Royal

• Side walls of auditorium slope towards stage
• Boxes can see stage but not the scene
• The auditorium seating is curved
• New side entrances and exits
• No orchestra pit
• A raked stage that leads up to vista

1775 - THEATRE ROYAL RESTORED BY ROBERT ADAM

R. ADAM'S NEW IDEAS:

• Audience no longer able to access stage
• A third tier added with additional seating
• Proscenium moved further upstage
• ORCHESTRA PIT RE ADDED!!! 
• Only two doors on stage
• Rooms for production now available 

Provincial Spaces
Late 1700s and early 1800s
The managers of touring theatre troupes now build theatres. These theatres are converted from halls and barns. No longer the grand Metropolis model, these smaller theatres reflect tennis court shapes. They are built specifically with touring in mind. Scenery is constructed to be lightweight and easily movable. These theatres were fairly small but quite complex for their time.


Benjamin Wyatt - 1775–1852
1812 - THEATRE ROYAL REBUILT YET AGAIN
The new Theatre Royal has a 3200 person capacity. The proscenium now used to frame the scenic picture. Actors forbidden to step outside of this picture. 
Extra entrances and exits are added for the safety of the greater audience. He construsted emergency fire precautions out of water pipes, subdivided into sections. Wyatt introduced a semi circular seating arrangement in order to give the best sight lines to majority of the audience and not just the nobility.

1888 - New mechanics introduced at the Theatre Royal, Leicester 

• A trap placed in each corner
• Centrally placed "grave" trap
• Raisable platforms for actors or scenery
• Narrow cuts for horizontal "ground-rows"
• Movable stage sections/ that could slide apart and leave cuts in the width of the floor

1888 - ROOF RAISED AT THE THEATRE ROYAL, LEICESTER TO ENABLE "HANGING SCENES
Considered an early version of the contemporary Fly Tower.