Roman Theater |
Roman theaters offered a wide range of performances. Drama was definitely one of the main sources of entertainment during the Roman empire. Sometimes when towns did not have a theater, they would make a small stage in the middle of the forum.
The two most popular types of plays were comedies and tragedies. Roman comedies were like our comedies, in the sense that they had realistic and unrealistic elements. The characters in the plays were often stereotyped, but most of the time the people were modeled on the kinds of characters one could come across in the streets of Rome. Roman theater was similar to Greek theater, in the sense that they both performed comedic plays and tragic plays. The Romans also included sports, and gladiatorial events as a form of theater to entertain the masses. Many actors were either slaves-in-service to a manager of a company or freed slaves who, having bought their freedom, joined a company of performing players. Only men acted in these plays. Female characters were taken on by boys in women's clothes. The main elements of these plays were plot, theme, character, and dialogue. Music was also an important ingredient. |
Acadia Theater |
The theater shown on the left is the Festival Theater in Wolfville, Nova Scotia. This theater, like the Roman theater, offers a wide variety of plays. Theater is not that popular anymore, because of technology. People get entertainment through things like television or the Internet. They can access these any time they please. Dramas and comedies are still the two most popular genres. Drama still includes dialogue and songs, and comedies still contain lines that are intended to make people laugh. Comedy can be in the form of political satire, parodies, comedy of manners and romantic comedy. Obviously, contemporary actors are not slaves, and today women also take part in theater. |
References
Picture 1-http://www.avignon-et-provence.com/provence-tourism/roman-theater-orange/#.UW1Tf7VQHjg
Picture 2-http://www.flickr.com/photos/37266013@N00/sets/72157629817440302/detail/?page=5
eluprogram.com
hubpages.com
Picture 2-http://www.flickr.com/photos/37266013@N00/sets/72157629817440302/detail/?page=5
eluprogram.com
hubpages.com