Greek Theatre

1. Greek Theatre
A presentation by Amrik Singh

2. It’s Origins…
Theatre and performing came popular during festivals! When
it first started the Director, script writer and Actor would all be
the same person.
However, later this developed and there were only a
maximum of 3 actors allowed on stage- this is why the role of
the chorus became important.
The chorus would usually deliver their lines to music and
sound.

3. TheatricalForms
Tragedy
-Thespis is considered to be the first actor and creator of this
form. Tragedy actually means “Goats song”. (it is argued this
was because the actors wore goat skin).
Comedy
-This form was driven from imitation. Aristophanes wrote
most of these and only 11 survived (one of which being
Lysistrata).
Satyr
- Both Comedy and Tragedy was seen as two separate
Genres but Satyr was seen to be dealing with the
mythological subject in comic manner.

4. A Greek Theatre
Theatre buildings were called a “Theatron”. The theaters
were large, open-air structures constructed on the slopes of
hills. They consisted of three main elements: the orchestra,
the skene, and the audience.
Skene: A large rectangular building situated behind the
orchestra, used as a backstage. Actors could change their
costumes and masks. Earlier the skene was a tent or hut,
later it became a permanent stone structure. These
structures were sometimes painted to serve as backdrops.

5. The Acting
All the actors were male!
All hand gestures and sound had to be over the top to ensure
every audience member could hear and follow the plot and
action on stage.
However, the Greek Theatres were cleverly constructed to
ensure that even the smallest of sounds would be heard from
every seat.

6. The Design Elements
Due to the audience being so far away from the performance
space the costumes and masks had to be very extravagant
and over the top.
The masks were made of linen or cork, so none have
survived. Tragic masks carried mournful or pained
expressions, while comic masks were smiling or leering.
The shape of the mask amplified the actor's voice, making
his words easier for the audience to hear.

7. I hoped you liked reading my presentation. I
really enjoyed creating in and learning about
the Greek way of acting has inspired me!
Thank you very much
Amrik Singh