Time Tour Through Classical Theatre

ARISTOTLES LYCEUM AND SIX ELEMENTS
Aristotle’s Lyceum or school opened in Athens, Greece in 335 B.C.E. At the Lyceum Aristotle taught some of his most famous students including Theophrastus, Aristoxenus, Dicaearchus, Demetrius of Phalerum, Eudemos of Rhodes, Harpalus, Hephaestion, Meno, Mnason of Phocis, and Nicomachus at the Lyceum. The Lyceum is sometimes called the Peripatetic (from peripatoi, a walk, or peripateo, walking). Some believe this is because Aristotle would often walk while lecturing his students; a trait he most likely developed when tutoring and mentoring the recovering Alexander the Great. At the Lyceum Aristotle was also have been said to have the largest library collection up to that date. Aristotle was a scholar, scientist and philosopher, but for our focus on Theatre, his most important work was “The Poetics.”
THE POETICS
“The Poetics” is a piece that focuses on three key elements of all literature, poems, and drama of the day; the lyric, the epos, and drama. A binding tie in the poetics three elements is that of Tragedy and the six elements that make good drama. The elements are ranked by Aristotle in order of importance. They are…
1. Plot (mythos)
2.
A bust of Aristotle. Doesn’t he look like quite the “Character” himself?Character (ethos)
3. Thought/Theme (dianoia)
4. Language (lexis)
5. Music (melos)
6. Spectacle (opsis)
In categorizing these six elements, Aristotle designed a method of categorizing and classifying drama that had never been seen or used before. Although his work on “The Poetics” was not widely popular during Aristotle’s lifetime, the playwrights of the Renaissance often used his six elements as a standard for great drama.
But Aristotle’s elements were not just tools for defining classical theatre. Often times in the modern world, theatre critics and playwrights will base critiques and descriptions of shows on these six elements. How often have you hear a friend who is reviewing a movie or play for you say something like, “The show was so boring, there wasn’t a real plot,” or “Wow, I really enjoyed the special effects on that action movie.” Both comments involve Aristotle’s six elements. Some playwrights have chosen to leave out one or more of Aristotle’s six elements on purpose. This often creates a completely different style of theatre. For example, plays that some say lack in opsis or spectacle, are often defined as belonging to the ‘realist’ movement.

PLOT
Plot as defined in the Webster’s dictionary is referred to as “the storyline. the plan, scheme, or main story of a literary or dramatic work, as a play, novel, or short story.” Plot is basically what happens. Sometimes referred to the story line, the most common plot line seen today involves an introduction, a beginning conflict, the rising action, the climax, and then the resolution. Sometimes twists on this classic format make the show more or less entertaining to audiences.
CHARACTER
Character is basically self explanatory. Character is the persons presented in the play. Characters can be deep and complex, or basic and commonplace. Character has also been manipulated through the ages. As we will discuss later in our section on Commedia Dell’ Arte, stock characters have waxed and waned in importance throughout history.
THOUGHT OR THEME
The thought or theme of the play is most easy to explain as “the moral of the story.” Although not every writer expresses the meaning of his or her work as bluntly as Aesop did in Aesop’s fables, the theme of a play is a kind of take home message for the audience. Sometimes the theme is a statement of morals or values, sometimes it’s a question or inspiration to act. Either way, the theme or thought of a play is an idea or set of ideas that whether directly stated or hidden somewhere between the lines, makes you think.

LANGUAGE
Language is a widely studied aspect of theatre. Some of the great playwrights are praised for their use of stunning and effective language. Shakespeare’s use of iambic pentameter is one of the most famous of these.
MUSIC
Music is one of the elements that varies greatly but is also uniform in theatre. In Aristotles day, members of the chorus made a type of music as they uniformly chanted or sung their lines. In modern day, music is essential to most motion pictures and the varying degrees of song in a Broadway show can classify it as a musical or play. A scary movie wouldn’t be half as frightening without the intense, heart pounding theme in the background followed by a moment of silence before something terrifying happens.
A picture from Disney’s “The Lion King” on Broadway. This show uses a lot of spectacle in the form of amazing costumes, puppetry, and scenery.

SPECTACLE
Spectacle is something very commonplace in today’s entertainment. Spectacle can be classified as any visual element of a presentation. In a play this would include scenery, lighting, costumes, props, etc. Spectacle is very popular today and was important in the ancient world as well.
In order to help you better remember Aristotle’s Six Elements, find the words hidden in this word search puzzle.
G O F E S L Y Q S J I Y Z T U
C V E L C A T C E P S V D H M
U E G A U G N A L L M C N N O
M J Y D T H O U G H T M D X D
Y I S F R N K Q Z O K K I M D
H U K T Y Z I F F P N O O U O
O J I P N T E P S M E E K P L
R L Z E E E R L S C I S U M D
T A P M R O M U O R C E L B I
A L K E E Q Z E A S B H J L Q
T V O H T F F L L R E Q P W D
D I H T C D H T Y E D N A T F
B R S O A X K O S K X Q G V J
F X O L R X D T Y J T I A P K
C C J P A T Z S K H F F S T U
N G I Z H H D I C P N Q S W I
Q X J N C G B R E A V K E T Y
F M V J P E F A C U J T X G O
Z W Q Y N E S F B L R Y W A X
A P F S C I T E O P E H T B C
Aristotle
six elements
character
spectacle
language
theme
music
the poetics
plot
thought

THE THEATRE OF DIONYSUS
Theatre was very important to the Greeks as a way to celebrate and worship. Almost all of Greek theatre involves mythical creatures, the influence of the gods, and or fates. As a festival to worship the God Dionysus (the God of Wine, Theatre, and a few other things), known as City Dionysia, was an annual event held every spring that included many days of plays. These plays were performed in the Theatre of Dionysus. As an open air theatre, the Theatre of Dionysus has been estimated to hold as many as seventeen thousand people. (To be considered “on-Broadway” today, a play house has to meet a number of requirements including housing upwards of four hundred and ninety nine people. That’s a lot less then seventeen thousand. )
The Theatre of Dionysus had a distinct layout. The crescent shaped section where you would sit to view the play was known as the Audience. There were to entrances or Parodos on the bottom left and right of the audiences that served as an entrance space for probably actors and patrons alike. The circular platform where it is believed the chorus spent most of their time is known as the altar and or Orchestra. Behind the orchestra was the skene or Scene House where some of the action would take place.

Using the words in Bold in the above paragraph, see if you can label the parts of the Theatre of Dionysus

KING OEDIPUS
Written by Sophocles and first presented around 430 B.C.E., King Oedipus is the tragedy of a man who runs from his home to avoid a prophecy that states he will kill his father and marry his mother. In the course of Oedipus’s sad fate in running from this prophecy he actually fulfills it. One of the reasons that this Tragedy is so famous is it’s many displays of Aristotle’s Six Elements. Although the play was written before Aristotle’s “The Poetics” (and some believe that Aristotle used King Oedipus as a guideline for his work), every one of the six elements is present in full.
THE FROGS
The Frogs by Aristophanes is very different than King Oedipus. The Frogs is a piece known as an Old Comedy. If play goers today saw The Frogs in its original form, they might not find it as hysterical as they expect comedies to be. The Frogs is a comedy because it includes elements of spectacle (the chorus members are dressed as frogs), but more than that it is a political satire and has funny dialogue. It is more than likely that without knowing the political figures, situations and dilemmas of the day, the jokes and parodies present in The Frogs wouldn’t make sense to us, and therefore wouldn’t be as funny.

KABUKI THEATRE AND OKUNI OF IZUMO
Kabuki theatre is believed to have been created and developed by Okuni of Izumo. A Shinto priestess, Okuni of Izumo incorporated parts of Noh performances as well as the popular styles of the day. Differing than Noh theatre, Okuni developed storylines that were romantic. Okuni was believed to be involved with a samurai warrior Nagoya Sanzaemon who taught her the dances used in Noh. Okuni started giving public performances of her new style of dance and theatre in the dry river bed of the Kamo River in Kyoto. Okuni and her Kabuki troupe gained fame throughout Japan and eventually performed for the Shogun in 1607.
Changes in Kabuki
Kabuki Theatre is still one of the most popular forms of classic theatre in Japan today, but in its beginnings it caused trouble regarding the intermixing of social classes. Because the performers of Kabuki were from a lower class, there were many problems involving the elite samurai class. Due to these problems Kabuki went through many changes. In its earliest beginnings, Kabuki theatre was performed solely by woman. After scandal and conflict emerged due to the clashing classes, Kabuki was performed by young boys. This however also caused social problems, so Kabuki transformed again to all adult male performers. After this move to all male performers, it was necessary for Kabuki actors portraying females to develop characteristics that were markedly female. These male performers who are known as onnagata are specially trained to use gestures, posture, and movements that portray a feminine spirit. Today Kabuki theatre is still performed by all male casts.
The Kabuki Tradition
Kabuki theatre is marked by few major elements. Kabuki theatre employs ornate and exquisite costumes. Kabuki also uses very dramatic masks and/or make-up. Kabuki masks, like those used in Greek and Roman theatre, usually held exaggerated expressions. Many characters are recognizable and almost “stock characters” based on their masks and costumes. Kabuki theatre is also very traditional in that it can be extraordinarily long compared to most Western Theatre. In its beginnings Kabuki performances were known to last up to days. Kabuki now days can last as long as seven hours and still are considered reasonably short! Kabuki theatre also uses a variation on a stage that has a revolving pivot in the center.

Isabella Andreini and Commedia Dell’ Arte
Every Bugs Bunny, Scooby Doo, Saturday morning funny cartoon owes their debt and heritage to Commedia Dell’ Arte. An organized group of professional actors, the traveling troupes of Commedia Dell’ Arte performed numerous memorized shorts in the middle of mostly improvisational zed scenes. With a host of stock characters including the Pantalone, the Dottorem, the Capitaino, the Harlequin, the Inamorata, and the Inamorato, Commedia troupes usually set up their traveling show in a street square or grassy wayside. These stock characters wore distinctive costumes that were easily recognizable to the public. The stock characters also demonstrated a usual set of behaviors and/or characteristics. There brand of slap-stick (in commedia dell’ arte harlequin sometimes carried a two ply wooden stick that he would slap when someone got hit-a.k.a. the slap stick), political satire was hugely popular with the masses. Although the characters in Commedia Dell’ Arte were all the same, the storylines (although usually similar) could vary indefinitely. On occasion when a Commedia troupe performed they would represent town leaders and regulars in their improve and jest about the towns most famous (or infamous) characters. Plots involving the greedy old man (the Pantalone), the half drunk stupid military officer (the Capitaino), and the nosy neighbor (the Dottorem), being fooled and out smarted by the clever prankster servant (the Harlequin). All mixed in with that was usually a story of two young lovers, the Inamorata (female), and the Inamorato (male).
COMEDY TECHNIQUES
Commedia Dell’ Arte used and recognized what makes people laugh. One of those things is seeing other people make mistakes. Like infants, we learn from watching others, and watching someone else make the same mistake you have is often times funny. It is also usually funny (and a bit stress reliving) to point out the mistakes and flaws in the people who are in charge of, or considered superior to you. Commedia Dell’ Arte performers also learned the role of recognition and relation in comedy. The people who are easiest to laugh at and relate to are the people who are closest to yourself and the people around you. Commedia Dell’ Arte perfected these techniques and passed their knowledge of human behavior and what makes people laugh to future generations.

ISABELLA ANDREINI
Isabella Andreini and her husband Francesco Andreini were probably the biggest couple in Commedia Dell’ Arte. Founding members of the group I Gelosi, Isabella played the part of the inamorata while her husband started his career playing her opposite and match as the inamorato. Hailed for her beauty as well as her talent and wit as a comedic actress, Isabella helped her troupe gain enough fame to perform in front of royalty an act that was usually performed in the streets. Tragically, Isabella died after having a miscarriage on the trip back to Italy. Because of her fame, when the I Gelosi group performed without her, they were not as well received and the group disbanded shortly after her death. Isabella left behind her legacy in written word. She kept a journal and wrote many poems and sonnets. Because of her popularity and prestige as an actress, a published work of her poems also became popular and is still published today.

One of the techniques used by the Commedia Dell’ Arte was recognition through costume and appearance. See if you can match these fragments with their famous counterparts.

Alright so maybe you know who this is, but do you know what movie it’s from?
THE GLOBE THEATRE
Built by a group of performers who were associated with William Shakespeare known as the Lord Chamberlains Men, the Globe Theatre is remembered as and sometimes called “Shakespeare’s Theatre.” Using elements of classical Greek and Roman theatre, the globe was round in nature with a stage and corresponding scene house in the center. The floor space in the center of the circle that was the outer perimeter of the globe that wasn’t occupied by the stage provided standing room for the masses was known as the pit. The two balconies that circle the open space were reserved for higher class patrons of the theatre. The scene house included a balcony made famous in scenes like that of Romeo and Juliet. Due to possible fire resulting from a cannon being shot or another unknown cause, the Globe caught fire and burned to the ground in 1613. It was rebuilt in 1614.
The globe produced one of the more popular attractions in London and so to demonstrate to the people what was going on at the famed playhouse, a flag of different colors was flown on the mast for different occasions. Although different sources disagree concerning what color meant what, a flag was flown for days on which a play would be shown, days when the theatre was closed, and the type of play to be performed. Like Kabuki Theatre, most of the parts were played by male actors (although there are speculations that some women performers joined the ranks). Also like Kabuki, productions at the Globe Theatre used distinguished costuming and set pieces.
KEY QUESTIONS
1. In what ways are Aristotle’s six elements used by modern playwrights.
2. In Greek Theatre, the chorus was a major way to tell the story. In modern film and drama how has the part of the chorus changed and how has it stayed the same.
3. What about Oedipus the King is still appealing to modern audiences?
4. What in modern comedy is similar to Commedia Dell’ Arte?
5. How did the Kabuki actors portray females accurately?
6. Are there events today that are similar in nature to Kabuki performances?
7. Is a difference in class still noted between performers and theatre goers today like it was during the origins of Kabuki theatre?
8. How have stock characters changed over the years and how have they stayed the same?
9. Are there still pieces of costuming that allow us to recall a character and their attributes without seeing or hearing the entire character?
10. What is the appeal of theatre and drama to the masses and how does it differ today from classical theatre?