Roman Theatre

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Roman Theatre
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Heritage

• Began when Romans tried to adopt Greek Theatre
• Comedy surpassed Greek predecessors
• Tragedy not as successful
• Because of Romans high standards for themselves
  they thought Romans wouldnt behave in a free
  spirited fashionso their plays often portrayed
  Greek settings and dealt with Greek characters so
  as not to offend Roman citizens

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Theatres

• Romans wished to control
• Built everything freestanding
• Copied Greek idea of large gathering centers
• Adapted to their own types of entertainment
• Romans built
• Large theatre, circus and a forum together

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Roman Style

• Dominated architectural design of Europe and
  America for centuries
• Romans added more realistic scenery to plays
• Setting usually outdoors
• Since Roman plays were about Greeks there was
  always an alter on stage
• Still present today but rarely used

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A visual tour
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Theatre of Pompey
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Arial View
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Another View
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Conventions of Roman Theatre

• More speaking actors than Greeks
• Chorus not used as often as the Greeks did
• Actors played one part
• Masks still used
• Stock Characters embellished
• Series of stereotyped characters
• Used often in comedy
• Easily identifiable
• Anticipate behavior - reactions

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Common Stock Characters

• Slave
• Motivating force
• Young man
• Girl
• Braggart
• Old man
• Smart slave
• Dumb slave
• Parasite or leech

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Plautus

• Romes most popular comic playwright
• Plays had poor structure
• Were lyrical and poetic
• Full of gag lines
• Many playwrights from Shakespeare to Neil Simon
  follow his style of comedy writing
• A series of misadventures loosely tied together

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Terence

• Consummate craftsman
• Well developed subtle plots
• Greater suspense
• More surprises
• Not as lyrical or poetic

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Seneca

• One of the greatest minds and writers in Roman
  history
• Plays made him great writer of tragedies in Roman
  history
• Conflicts in his plays mainly man versus himself
• Plays more fit for readers theatre than stage
  production
• Long
• Brilliant monologues
• Unmotivated entrances

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Theatres
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Coliseums
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Circuses
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Forums