Brief description of Greek Theatre.

1. Greek Theatre By: Kayla Kidwell Ci 102 2/9/2011

2. Comedy tragedy theatre masks, like the concepts of comedy and tragedy in theatre were born in ancient Greece.

3. In the 6th century BC a priest of Dionysus, by the name of Thespis, introduces a new element which can validly be seen as the birth of theatre. He engages in a dialogue with the chorus. He becomes, in effect, the first actor. Actors in the west, ever since, have been proud to call themselves Thespians. The origins of Greek theatre lie in the revels of the followers of Dionysus, a god of fertility and wine. In keeping with the god's special interests, his cult ceremonies are exciting occasion

4. By the 5th century BC, theatre had become formalized and was a major part of Athenian culture and civic pride, and this century is normally regarded as the Golden Age of Greek drama. The centerpiece of the annual Dionysia was a competition between three playwrights at the Theatre of Dionysus. Each submitted a three tragedies, plus a satyr play (a comic, burlesque version of a mythological subject). In the 430s BC, competitions for comedy were also held.

5. costumes There are little information on theatrical costumes. This is due to the perishable materials they have been made of. Still we have some information drawn from depictions on ancient pottery Costumes have been a very important factor of the production, because they could determine the characters by gender or social status. In the early productions actors have been using body painting. Little by little they started using animal skins, ears, even feathers