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";s:4:"text";s:9296:"Theater Architecture. Some Rights Reserved (2009-2020) under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license unless otherwise noted. Paradoi – the monumental passageways and gateway entrance on each side of the auditorium. It was part of a broader culture of theatricality and performance in classical Greece that included festivals, religious rituals, politics, law, athletics and gymnastics, music, poetry, weddings, funerals, and symposia. Web. License. Parnassus and commands a view of the whole green-carpeted valley below. Theatre design, the art and technique of designing and building a space—a theatre—intended primarily for the performance of drama and its allied arts by live performers who are physically present in front of a live audience.. With their high backstage and covered roof, the enclosed and almost claustrophobic atmosphere of the Roman theatre would more and more come to resemble the modern theatres of today. The earliest Greek theatres can be traced back to the Minoan civilization on Crete where a large open space with stepped seating can still be seen today at the site of Phaistos. Theatre of Dionysos Eleuthereus, Athensby Mark Cartwright (CC BY-NC-SA). Some of these theaters were originally built for early movies and were finely appointed with artistic details worthy of grand palaces. The stage scene could also have a top platform from which actors could play gods speaking down upon the audience and actors alike. The Romans greatly admired Greek architecture and, in typical fashion, they copied and enhanced the idea of tightly-packed public spectacles. Archives The collections housed in the American Theatre Architecture Archive (ATAA) are currently home to over 100,000 items documenting over 18,000 theatres in America. https://www.ancient.eu/article/895/. Theatre Historical Society of America celebrates, documents, and promotes the architectural, cultural, and social relevance of America's historic theatres. For sheer picturesque location, though, it is difficult to challenge one of the earliest, the theatre at Delphi. A wheeled platform (ekkylema) was pushed out of the doorway and used to dramatically reveal new scenery, and a crane (mechane) was situated to the right of the stage and used to lift actors who were playing gods or heroes. We have already mentioned the theatre of Dionysos Eleuthereus, the very home of Greek theatre, which still has its front row of 67 proedria seats. A low speaker’s platform (bema) was added to the enlarged stage too in the 2nd or 3rd century CE. Still, only the front seats were made of stone and the rest of wood. Theatre of Delphiby Mark Cartwright (CC BY-NC-SA). Ancient History Encyclopedia. Paraskenia – the wings at the end of each side of the skene stage building. One of the largest is the theatre of Argos which had 81 rows of seats and a capacity for 20,000 spectators. Ancient History Encyclopedia Foundation is a non-profit organization. The oldest theatre is that of Dionysos Eleuthereus on the south slope of the acropolis of Athens which was first built in the 6th century BCE. Finally, the stage scenery or backdrop also came to be made of stone and faced with semi-columns. The use of painted scenery is also very likely. Theatre of Pergamonby Benh Lieu Song (CC BY-SA). Nero, for example, added a monumental Roman-style stage building to the Dionysos Eleuthereus theatre which reduced the now marble stage area to its semi-circular form still seen today. First merely a tent or curtained area for actors to change costumes but later a more permanent structure which also acted as scenery for the performance. History Nearly all modern theatre design can be traced back to the theatrical traditions established by the Greek-speaking peoples of the Mediterranean starting in the 6th century bce. Once grand examples of architectural genius and attention to detail, these glorious theatres have been destroyed from coast to coast. The theatre had finally acquired the architectural form which became more or less the standard across the Greek and later Roman worlds. Ancient History Encyclopedia Limited is a non-profit company registered in the United Kingdom. Evolving from a stage area of tramped earth set before a natural hill on which spectators might sit and watch religious ceremonies, the early theatres appeared from the 6th century BCE and were built wholly of wood. Their gilded prosceniums, columns and ceilings are now dusted with age and the plaster is cracked and caving in on many of thes… Cartwright, M. (2016, April 22). The Romans continued and expanded on the concept, added a monumental backstage, and generally made the structure more grandiose. Monumental entrances were built at the sides of the stage for the public to enter. Diazoma – the horizontal walkways between tiers of seats. We have also been recommended for educational use by the following publications: Ancient History Encyclopedia Foundation is a non-profit organization registered in Canada. He holds an MA in Political Philosophy and is the Publishing Director at AHE. They then exported the idea to their colonies throughout the Aegean so that theatres became a typical feature of the urban landscape in all Greek cities. The Romans also paved the orchestra, sometimes added an awning roof (vela), built substructures under the seating, and generally added more decoration to theatres by adding monumental statues, exotic marble columns, and relief carvings to the stage area. 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