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*Steeply raked auditorium
*Auditorium surrounded the orchestra on three sides
*In back of orchestra was the skene (stage house)
*Front wall of skene had arches for actors to make entrances/hide actors from audience's view
*Usually built on hillsides -
*Eccyclema: a platform on wheels used to roll in set pieces, people, among many other things
*Machina: a basket/platform that lowered actors to orchestra level from skene.
*Pinakes: painted panels hung from skene, kind of like scenery -
*Tall, thin, three sided
*Rotated in place
*Each side painted with different scene
*Placed in the background
When there was a new scene, the periaktoi was rotated to show different scenery. -
*Took Greek theaters and smashed all three areas into one
*Auditorium was in a semicircle, separated from orchestra by wall
*Orchestra became semicircle outward from stage area, framed by proscenium
*Skene, now called scaenae frons, tall as auditorium, fancily decorated
*Theaters built on even ground
*Roofs reached from scaenae frons to proscenium
*Some had seating areas covered with an awning (velum) -
*Auleum: front curtain, lowered through slot in floor
*Siparium: hid backstage, background for scenery
*Used elevators, mobile platforms, and trapdoors to move and raise things from basement
*Moving set props like trees, rocks, etc. -
These were basically the same as their Greek predecessors. Except, instead of locational scenery, they were painted with tragic, comic, and satiric scenes.
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*Paraskenia: long, high walls extended on boths sides and parallel with the skene
*Low, foot high platform extended across paraskenia
*Platform and paraskenia were eventually moved closer to the audience
*Proskenium: columned arch positioned at back of stage, in front of skene
*Proskenium used to support a porchlike extension from the skene's second story -
*Took shows on the road
*Moved stage platforms on wagons (pageant wagons)
*Went town to town
*Used trapdoors
*Rigging to move people and object around stage -
The only theater that was performed was done by churches, so it was really only religious stuff.
*Stages were platforms near the church
*Audience just stood around it in town square
*Sets were many small buildings called ¨mansions¨
*Mansions = locations
*Heaven and Hell on opposite sides of stage, everything else in between
*Platea: area in front of mansions, where play's action took place -
The basic build of these theaters was very similar to the ancient Roman and Greek theaters.
*Detailed and elaborate scenery
*More forced perspective scenery
*Use of stock sets (drops of different types of scenes) mean evolution of the proscenium
*Drops were hung upstage -
*Stage was an open-air platform, 4-6 feet off ground
*Upstage end of stage was the inner below
*Inner above (found above inner below on wall)
*Stage entrances on either side of inner below
*Minimal scenery items were used (rocks, trees, etc.)
The lower class citizens stood in the pit (area around the stage). The upper class sat in a three-story building surrounding the pit, wall, and stage area. -
*Theaters began to use candles, torches, and lanterns to illuminate stages
*Effects like smoke, clouds, and sound were used
*Medieval ¨mansions¨ were still occasionally in use
*Painted coverings could be removed or added to the mansions for location change
*Curtains could also be opened or closed for location change -
Sebastiano Serlio suggested putting clear containers of amber or blue colored water in front of lamps and candles. He figured this would change what color the light cast.
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*Vicenza, Italy
*Built similar to Ancient Roman theater
*Indoors, inside a building
*Auditorium shaped as an ellipse (improved sightlines)
*Scaenae frons broken by several arches for permanent sets (mainly street scenes)
* Raked floor for improvement of visual effects -
*Reflectors used to intensify insufficient lighting
*Candles and oil lamps placed along edge of stage and behind wings -
*Rectangular theaters, stage at one end
*Raked stage framed by proscenium
*Apron was where most of the play happened
*Inclined floor for sense of depth
*Visual background, not enviromental
*Plays took place in general areas (drawing room, palace, garden..), so theaters had stock sets of areas
*Auditoriums had multi tiered boxes for important people, galleries for wealthy people, and the pit for poor people. -
*Carbon arc: first electric light used in theater
*Produced when electricity arcs between two electrodes
*Very white/bright
*Foot light, border lights, and wing lights became electrified
*Intensity of electric light controlled with resistance dimmers
*Also, movable drops, wings, and borders -
*1724- Government allows them to perform in indoor theaters
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*1736- elevator traps
*1753- elevator stages
*1758- revolving stages to change scenery
*1827- introduced to concentric revolving stages -
The wick, placed inside an open-ended glass cylinder, casted a purer and brighter light than the previously used floating wicks.
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*Invented by William Murdock
*Brighter and clearer
*Easy to control intensity of lighting
*Used valves, tubing, and pipes to control gas on stage and in auditorium -
*Invented by Thomas Drummond
*Created when flame is focused against a limestone block
*Yields a bright yet soft light
If it was used with a mirror reflector, it was able to create a single strong beam of light (like a spotlight). -
*Practical
*Developed by Thomas Edison -
*Apron shrank
*Side seats eliminated
*Remaining seats face stage -
*Incandescent lamp evolved to become more efficient
*Led to incandescent spotlights
*Led to evolution of spotlight design through the years
*Thyratron tube dimmer- first electronic dimmer, made by George Izenour
*Preset control taken over by digital control in 1980's
*Record players and amplified sound used in theater in 1930's -
*Put on shows in random places
*Any relatively spacious area
*Ex: barnes, churches, grocery stores, libraries, and so on. -
Began the experimentation and progression of sound and music in theater.
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High Fidelity Sound and stereo sound became available.
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High Fidelity Sound and stereo sound become common in theater.
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*Whiter light
*Lamp life 10-20 minutes longer than predecessor -
*Whiter light
*Less susceptible to heat fracture
*Became industry standard -
Various replay, digital storage, and recording devices implemented into theater.
