Roman Theatre

1. Roman Theatre 650B.C.-475A.D. Fall of Rome (Based on unifying of city states and change in leadership)

2. Roman Empire

3. Background • Plays a retelling of Greek Plays • Prologue told entire story for the uneducated audience • Often plot explain further for audience within the play • Upper class often spread out throughout the empire and not located in Roman, audience often lower class and barbarians.

4. Significant People • A. Pompey huge auditorium “temple” • B. Caeser-two theatres that revolved into a amphitheatre for chariot races and gladiatorial contests

5. Playwrights • Plautus and Terence • Comic writers • Seneca • Tragic writer Plays appeal to the lowest elements

6. Plautus

7. Seneca

8. Theatre Architecture • Added to Greek-three storied wall filled with carvings and statues • Awnings over audience and later permanent wooden roofs • Front curtain-trough in the floor

9. Roman Comic Performers

10. Roman TheatreSkene expanded to decorative wall with doors

11. Terms:Types of Entertainment (purpose to keep the general audience happy and occupied) • Chariot Races • Gladiator Contests • Naumachiaes • Venationes: Animals in the Arena-lions, elephants, bears, deer, wild goats, dogs, snakes and camels .

12. Arena • Wood floor is no longer present. • Floor could be removed and lower area flooded for sea battles!

13. 3 subterranean levels

14. Circus Maximus

19. Various categories of Gladiators

20. Important Terms cont. • Claque-person paid to arouse audience to clap and shout

22. Significant Events • Roman’s crude drama replaced Greek plays with translations and adaptions • Frowned upon by upper class and Senate-so lower class=entertainment (demanded spectacle and vulgarity)

23. Street Scene

24. Plays performed for holidays which numbered up to 175 • Fall of Rome-church banned theatre (dormant on continent-in India and the Orient it flourished

25. The End!