First Journal Entry

As a student in IB Theatre, I am keeping a journal of my interactions with theatre in the world, theatre in performance, and theatre in the making. This first post include research we formulated in class beginning September 5, 2012. We went out to the football stadium in hopes of simulating a Greek amphitheatre. We went up and down the bleachers, noting the audience's perception from different heights. At the highest spectating position, the actor (Mrs. Burke) was easy to hear, but her facial expressions and movements were more difficult to discern. As I went down to the front, she was more visible, yet I could still hear her voice to the same volume. This represented theatre in performance, for it was a perspective from those watching a theatrical performance. Then, we went down on the football field, which represented the orchestra. There, I noticed how dramatic facial expressions and movements would need to be in order to convey the situation to the audience. Also, the actors would need to look up and project their voices to audience above them. After this experience, we began researching Greek theatre. As far as theatre in the world, www.metmuseum.org informed me that there were funds for people who couldn't buy tickets to go see theatre shows. Wealthy citizens financed the chorus and other costs, although the actual actors were paid by the government!!!(britishtheatreguideinfo) Certainly not the vibe we get today! The early origins of drama were found in Athens through hymns honoring Dionysus, which were later adopted into choral processions. Thespis became known as the world's first actor when he read a poem with emotion for his characters, which leads us to the word thesbian (www.pbs.org The Origins of Theatre). Tragedy plays were the most popular when Greek society was at its height, but comedy became more popular with the decline of the Greek government(www.tctwebstage.com History of Ancient Theatre). Katherin and Gwen in my class gave us information about theatre in performance. The acoustics in the amphitheatre were very good because of the raised seats and limeston is a good material for receiving sound. The actors wore masks that were overexaggerated, so as to bring the characters to life. The masks also helped project their voices, for there were mini megaphones within the mask. Only amateurs and males were permitted tyo perform at Festival Dionysus. The greek word for actor was hypocrit. Sam and Frida provided us with information about theatre in the making. There were three playwrights that  dominate Greek plays: Euripides, Sophocles, and Aeschylus. Euripides created intrigue and love-drama and was well known for writing modern plays that included women and slaves to make it more realistic. Sophocles grew up with violence and death leading him to create darker works and tragedies (Oedipus). Originally, only dramatists, actors, and directors were permitted on stage, but they added more. Greek theatre found its base in history and mythology, so there were many allusions.
I found this exercise extremely helpful in expanding my knowledge of Greek Theatre because I learned a lot more than I had known before. Here is a reflection paragraph:
From our research, a Greek citizen would view theatre as incredibly important in his/her life because theatre was an extremely popular form of entertainment during that time period. People who couldn't even afford tickets were given the opportunity to attend plays, so theatre must have been an integral part of their lives. There was always an assurance that theatre would be well funded. Greek playwrights often incorporated the Greek gods in their plays because the first plays originated at festivals honoring the god Dionysus, so it was very important in Greek culture to honor the gods. Playwrights also included history and mythology in their works, creating many allusions. These elements would be used to make the play more interesting and relatable to the viewers, for they understood the importance of the gods and the references made to them in their plays. Rather than simply speaking in unison, the chorus can be used to represent the general population. Because of their seemingly unimportant role, they can convey things to the audience that the main characters are unaware of or even bring that awareness to the characters. Before my research, if someone had asked me about my knowledge of classic Greek theatre, I would probably have told them about the performances of tragedies and comedies in the large amphitheatre. However, this research taught me a lot more about the origins of modern theatre. Greek theatre still influences much of modern theatre because it created incredible ideas for entertaining plays. Greek theatre helps explain why theatre is still popular today; it is a timeless form of entertainment.

This is a picture of a Greek Amphitheatre from http://academic.reed.edu/humanities/110tech/theater.html