theater i: primitive theater

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What is THEATRE?

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storytelling, ritual, dance, early cultures, the evolution of theater

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Page 1: Theater I: Primitive Theater

What is THEATRE?

Page 2: Theater I: Primitive Theater

• You might think of musicals, like “Bye, Bye Birdie” or “Oklahoma!”

• You might think of plays byShakespeare, like “Romeo And Juliet” or “Hamlet.”

“Bye, Bye Birdie”

“Romeo & Juliet”

Page 3: Theater I: Primitive Theater

• Or, you might think of actors in costumes from different time periods – like these actorsfrom a production of “SheStoops to Conquer.”

• Or you might think of mimes, dressedin black and white.

Marcel Marceau

Page 4: Theater I: Primitive Theater

The REAL Story:• Theatre BEGAN thousands of years ago,

probably before the start of recorded history.

Page 5: Theater I: Primitive Theater

The REAL Story:• Theatre BEGAN thousands of years ago,

probably before the start of recorded history.• Early cultures used ritual, dance, and

storytelling to communicate.

Page 6: Theater I: Primitive Theater

The REAL Story:• Theatre BEGAN thousands of years ago,

probably before the start of recorded history.• Early cultures used ritual, dance, and

storytelling to communicate.• Theatre is one of the humanities; it attempts

to answer the questions: “Who am I?” “Why are we here?” and “Where are we going?”

Page 7: Theater I: Primitive Theater

Rituals• A repeated action• Symbolic significance • Evokes emotions

• Through rituals, early humans wanted to:

Achieve success inbattle and hunting

Ensure adequatesun and rain

Express their duty tothe community and

to the gods

A ritual is:

Page 8: Theater I: Primitive Theater

Other Facts: Rituals• Rituals were often performed by elders, priests or

shamans.

• Our knowledge of rituals and early “theatre” comes from wall paintings, artifacts, and hieroglyphics.

• Rituals often told a story based on the culture’s beliefs. These stories are usually based in myth.

• Myths gained a life beyond the original rituals, and began to be performed for entertainment.

Common to all traditionalcultures, the shaman is apriestly figure whocommunicates directly with the gods through rituals for the benefitof the community.

Page 9: Theater I: Primitive Theater

Additional Vocabulary (for your project!)

• TABLEAU

a group of motionless figures representing a scene from a story or from history

• PANTOMIME

acting without sound/words

Page 10: Theater I: Primitive Theater

How it happened:MythsStoriesRituals

HabitTradition

Entertainment

Theatre!

Page 11: Theater I: Primitive Theater

The First Drama• The earliest example of ritual evolving into “theatre”

comes from Ancient Egypt.

The Play at Abydos is the story of Osiris.

(He’s the green guy dressedall in white.)

• First dramatic production = the Abydos passion play.

Page 12: Theater I: Primitive Theater

Quick Review:

• What is a RITUAL?

• What are three reasons early humans performed rituals?

• How do we know about the rituals/early theatre that early humans performed?

• Who usually performed the rituals?

• Who is a shaman?

Page 13: Theater I: Primitive Theater

Storytelling

• Myths and stories = entertainment before written word.

• Stories were told in order to:- TEACH HISTORY - ENTERTAIN- SETTLE ARGUMENTS - HONOR THE GODS- MAKE SENSE OF THE WORLD- COMMUNICATE EXPERIENCES- RECORD HISTORY

Can you name anyfamous storytellers???

Page 14: Theater I: Primitive Theater

Storytellers

• Homer was a blind poet who may have been born on an island in the Aegean Sea (GREEK).

• He probably composed his works between 700 and 800 B.C.

• Homer was one of the first storytellers to use repetition and dialogue in his stories.

Homer’s (and others!) stories provided many of the ideas and plots for playwrights that

came after him!

Homer was anancient Greek epic poet, traditionally

said to be theauthor of the epic

poems, the Iliad and the

Odyssey.

Page 15: Theater I: Primitive Theater

DANCE

Page 16: Theater I: Primitive Theater

Dance

• Dance is another probable origin of theatre.

• Dance comes from:- animal imitation - pantomime- gymnastics - rhythmic movement

• Dance was often used as part of rituals.

Page 17: Theater I: Primitive Theater

Dance

This photo shows a traditional Fijian WarriorDance – a ritual that uses dance as part ofthe ritual performance showing theoutcome of battles.

Page 18: Theater I: Primitive Theater

Quick Review:• Historically, what are some reasons myths and

stories were told?• Name the Greek storyteller that probably

composed the epic poems the Iliad and the Odyssey.

• Homer was probably the first to use r________ and d_________ in his stories.

• Historically, where does dance come from?