Roman Theatre Art (group 2)

Introduction (Saissem)
Roman theater art is a thriving and diverse form of art which ranged from street performances,
acrobatics, and nude dancing to the staging of the situational comedies of Plautus and the
elaborately articulated tragedies by Seneca, the theater of Ancient Rome evolved over time. Roman
theater and drama did not remain stagnant but went through a whole cycle of development which
included three phases: Early Native Italian Drama (pre-240 BCE) including such things such as
Atellan farces, phlyakes (and the Fescennine verses, Literary Drama (240 BCE – ca. 100 BCE)
featuring the Roman adaptation of Greek plays and a period of Popular Renaissance (ca. 100 BCE -
476 CE) where more traditional Roman entertainment such as circuses, spectacles and mime were
popular.

The Roman historian Livy wrote that the Romans first experienced theatre in the 4th century BC.
Roman drama began in 240 BC with the plays of Livius Andronicus. It remained popular throughout
Late Antiquity, by the mid-4th century, 102 out of 176 ludi publici being dedicated to theatre,
besides a considerably lower number of gladiator and chariot racing events.

Following the expansion of the Roman Republic (509-27 BC) into several Greek territories between
270Đ240 BC, Rome encountered Greek drama. From the later years of the republic and by means of
the Roman Empire (27 BC-476 AD), theatre spread west across Europe, around the Mediterranean
and reached England; Roman theatre was more varied, extensive and sophisticated than that of any
culture before it. While Greek drama continued to be performed throughout the Roman period, the
year 240 BC marks the beginning of regular Roman drama.

The first important works of Roman literature were the tragedies and comedies that Livius
Andronicus wrote from 240 BC. Five years later, Gnaeus Naevius also began to write drama. No plays
from either writer have survived. However, Andronicus was most appreciated for his tragedies and
Naevius for his comedies; their successors tended to specialize in one or the other, which led to a
separation of the subsequent development of each type of drama. By the beginning of the 2nd
century BC, drama was firmly established in Rome and a guild of writers (collegium poetarum) had
been formed.

Roman Comedy (Nieca)

 Atellan Farce from the Oscan town of Atella. This form was similar to the Greek improvised
farces or komos (revels) and made use of stock masks (characters), slapstick gags and plots
which focused on domestic issues, usually involving boy-meets-girl-parents-forbid-marriage
and the intervention of a clever slave to save the day
 fabula atellana, a rustic farce from southern Italy, which could be said to be the only truly
indigenous type of Roman drama.
 In the time of plautus and terence there were no permanent theater buildings, because
plays were performed on so few days of the year.

Roman Tragedy (Rubenson)

 Historians know of three early tragedians— Quintus Ennius (/ˈkwɪntəs ˈɛniəs/; c. 239 – c. 169
BC) was a writer and poet who lived during the Roman Republic. He is often considered the
father of Roman poetry. He was born in Rudiae, formerly a small town located near modern
Lecce in the heel of Italy (ancient Calabria, today Salento), and could speak Oscan as well as
Latin and Greek.
  Marcus Pacuvius (220 – c. 130 BC) was an ancient Roman tragic poet. He is regarded as the
greatest of their tragedians prior to Lucius Accius.
 Lucius Accius (/ˈæksiəs/; 170 – c. 86 BC), or Lucius Attius, was a Roman tragic poet and
literary scholar. The son of a freedman, Accius was born at Pisaurum in Umbria, in 170 BC.
The year of his death is unknown, but he must have lived to a great age, since Cicero (born
106 BC, hence 64 years younger) writes of having conversed with him on literary matters.
 From the time of the empire, however, the work of two tragedians survives—one is an
unknown author, while the other is the Stoic philosopher Seneca. Nine of Seneca's tragedies
survive, all of which are fabulae crepidatae (tragedies adapted from Greek originals); his
Phaedra, for example, was based on Euripides' Hippolytus.
 THE death of hippolytus 1860
 At the opening of the Augustan age the condition and prospects of dramatic literature were
simply lamentable. Both in tragedy and comedy all that possessed and trace of Roman
nationality had become extinct. New pieces were no longer performed, but that they were
expected is shown by the reproduction of old comedies under new titles and with other
names for the dramatis personæ; for, as the managers said, it was better to see a good old
play than a poor new one.
 There was, indeed, certain productiveness among the Alexandrine school, but this was
worse than none, for real dramatic composition Alexandrine literature never knew. Only a
spurious drama, not intended for the stage, was introduced into Rome from the eastern
capital, and this had so many readers and imitators that the writing of tragedy was regarded
as one of the diseases of youth.
 Roman drama was generally performed on festival days, together with gladiatorial contests,
circuses, and races; popular actors could be very highly paid, one of the most successful
being Roscius. Theatre buildings were originally wooden, and took their design from Greek
theatres. The first stone theatre was built in Rome in 55 BC. Roman theatres became
considerably more elaborate than the original Greek models; they were built to be
freestanding, and had complex arrangements of curtains and scenery.

Roman theatre Facts (Joshua)

# Some Roman theatres are made of wood and were torn down after the festival they were built for
* Acropolis – first large theatre site constructed of wood, later on, enlarged in stone

# the first standing Roman theatre was the Theatre of Pompey; Pompey the Great was the first
person who undertook the building of a secure theatre
*Pompeii – build in natural hill
- Three main building: Large theatre (5,000 spectators) ; Odeon (1,500 spectators) ;
Quadriporticus (probably a waiting area)
- Most of the time, they adapt the theatre for gladiatorial performances during the
reign of the Roman Empire

# Major locations of Rome theatres tend to be around temples, so, many gods could look at certain
plays that was either for them or about them

# Roman theatre first began as a translation of Greek forms (Comedy, Tragedy & Satyr)

# there were 175 festival a year in ancient Rome, 101 of the days was devoted to the theatre

# the comedies we watch today still uses the same plot and humour as the Ancient Roman plays
*Examples: Peplum – French Comedy (2015)
Plebs – British Television; Comedy (2013- present)
Dionysus
• Greek God of Wine and Harvest
• Performances began at festivals honoring Dionysus
• Over 15,000 people attended these yearly festivals
• Theatre was only performed at these festivals, and it was so important to the ancient Greeks
that prisoners would be released from jail temporarily, so they could also attend.
Thespis (534 B.C.)
• 1st known Greek actor
• Defined theater
• art of acting a part on stage
• dramatic impersonation of another character than yourself
Aristotle
• 1st known literary critic
• Wrote a book about theater call The Poetics
• This book as well as his other works analyzed the plays of the fifth century and of his own
time, classified the kinds of drama, and laid down rules for the construction of tragedy.

Aeschylus
• Most famous for Oresteia
• Introduced concept of second actor
• Expanded possibilities for plot

Sophocles
• Name means wise and honored one.
• Most famous for writing Oedipus Rex
• Sophocles’ teacher was Aeschylus
• Sophocles wrote 120 plays
• Sophocles died at the age of 90

Sophocles changes to Greek theater

• Increased the size of the chorus from 12 to 15
• Used 3 actors instead of two
• Giving plays better structure
• More believable characters in the plays
• Plays were more realistic