Middle Ages:Medieval Drama

476 A.D.-13th century

History of Drama

Middle Ages/Dark Ages/Medieval?? Which one?

Same time period

Medieval—used as an adjective

Dark ages—no cultural activity

Most people were illiterate

Little travel=no exchange of ideas

Medieval DramaFall of Rome—Renaissance Black PlagueFor 400 years, no drama except

Several folk festivalsWandering jugglers and minstrels

Troupe

Church introduced short dramas during masses, called troupes.Ironic because the church banned dramaTroupes began in France, then soon spread throughout the continent.Helped people understand the Bible storiesBegan to educate the illiterate, 1st acted in Latin then the common vernacular so everyone could understand.Acted out by priests and choirboys

Mansions

Scenes were so popular that whole stories emerged

Small platforms, mansions, were erected in the church

Crowds moved from mansion to mansion until they saw the entire story

A nun, Hrosvitha, wrote a religious comedy that was performed on mansions in the 10th century.

The 5 M’s

MummingsEarliest style of Medieval Drama

Pagan roots

Not politically correct

Public processions

Include summer/winter solstices and autumn equinoxes

The 5 M’s

Mystery PlayCommunity effort

Used the tops of wagons for a stage

Women could act

Scripture stories

The 5 M’s

Morality PlayAllegorical

Taught right from wrong

Entertaining

Focus on death (Everyone goes with death eventually)

Post plague

Characters personified abstract qualities

Ex: Everyman

The 5 M’s

Miracle PlayDramatized the lives of saints

Not always realistic

The 5 M’s

MannersLate Medieval

Focus on social and secular instead of religious

Depicted people acting socially inappropriate

Medieval Comedy

13th or 14th century – productions focused on comedy so they moved from church to marketplace

Theater once again secular

Bible stories became comical

Staging Devices

Hell’s Mouth – dragon jaw that would open with smoke and flames; sometimes showed tortured souls

Presentation Style

Some towns, mansions would provide a backdrop for heaven at one end and hell would be portrayed at another location with parts of the story in between

Crowds would move to see the action.

Marketplace stages, situated around the square

England, France, and Netherlands developed the Pageant Wagon

Medieval Pageant WagonDouble-deckerLower story for costume changesAction on upper stage and around the street.Similar to parade floats.

Passion Play

Late middle ages, the passion play developed.Depicted Christ’s life through resurrectionPassion play in Oberammergau, Germany

Residents of Bavarian village vowed that to be spared from the Black Plague, they would put on a passion play every 10 yearsVillage was spared, began performances in 1633Still performing today, every 10 years.Only year not performed: 1940

Secular PlaysSeveral non-religious plays were developed in Medieval timesMost notable are the Robin Hood Plays and Master Pierre Patelin

Impact of Medieval Drama

Main Impact: Because the actors got much closer to their audience, acting became more important than dialogue.

Also…Mixed comedy and seriousness, which transitioned into Italian and Elizabethan drama.

Italian and Spanish Renaissance

Italian Renaissance 1400-1600Ancient writers were rediscoveredRebirth of learning led to in-depth look at arts and sciencesMovement toward literacy: Invention of printing pressBegan in Italy

Leonardo da VinciPetrarchMichelangeloMachiavelli

Commedia dell’Arte: Comedy of Professional Players

Very popular by 1550Professional, improv. comedy performed in streetsUsually 7 men and 3 women companyAd-lib action, dialogue, songs, and dancePlot revolved around love and intrigueActors wore half masksPopularity spread through France, influenced MoliereDifferent from IMPROV: followed a storyline, performers made bits from storyline

New Stock CharactersHarlequin: wore diamond patches, foolish servantPierrot: Lovelorn and moodyColumbine: flirtatious and beautifulPantalone: the old man, a foolDottore-the doctor, a drunk or glutton

Pseudo-ClassicismCombination of commedia of the common man and drama of Italian nobility.

Copy of ancient Roman drama

Dramatic noblemen built private indoor theaters with beautiful arches

First permanent theater built in 1618 (Theater Farnese)

Opera

Opera substituted popular playsHuge theaters createdAudience sat in tiers of narrow horseshoe-shaped galleriesBeautiful auditorium for socializingDetailed scenery usedStage floors were built on a rake

Upstage sloping towards audience

Spanish Renaissance

Focused on drama

1550-1680 flourish of theater

Influenced by Commedia dell’Arte and Italian court staging

Spanish PlaywrightsCervantes 1574-1616

30 plays including Don QuixoteTragedies, comedies, “cape & sword”

Lope de Vega 1562-1635

2000 poetic and romantic plays!

Calderon 1600-1681200 plays of spiritual emphasis and poetry

Spanish Playwrights cont.

Established original art formFree from classical rules of Italian and French writersIgnored time and place unitiesUsed beautiful, flowing dialogueAction around “Cape and sword”

AdventureRomancechivalry

Spanish Playhouses

Similar to Medieval stages (mansions)

• Stages erected at end of open courtyard

• Later, permanent buildings were built, with the audience sitting in front of the raised stage

• Balcony with side boxes reserved for the nobility

More Spanish Theatre

• Elaborate scenery• Rich costuming• Women could act• 40 theaters existed in

Madrid during Golden Age of Spanish Theater