Interesting
things students have done in the past on their Theatre History presentations
& scenes:
·
played
period music under parts of presentation
·
introduced
themselves and the characters they will be playing
·
presented
equal parts of presentation
·
explained
why they were serving the food they chose
·
briefly
told us the plot of the play and what has happened just before the scene begins
·
presented
defining elements on big, easy to read poster cards with definitions
·
showed
us significant clip from Changing Stages video and clarified the clip -
telling us why the clip is important
·
recap
history of period in terms of theatre events while other members pantomime the
action of the events - making the history interesting and engaging
·
tarot reading
with volunteers
·
connected
VOCAB term: allegory to the character names in the play EVERYMAN
·
Feast
of Corpus Christy - begun on first Sunday after Trinity Sunday.
·
created
model of medieval square
·
had
students sit in the same circular shape as a town square – presented
diff. Parts of their presentation as if they were on diff. Pageant wagons
around the central audience
·
food:
pita bread, fruit pieces
NOTES
- First 400 years of Middle Ages
-
no theaters built
-
no new plays written
-Wondering
bands of ballad singers, story tellers, jugglers, minstrels, and mimes
-
performing in streets = beggars, thieves, outcasts
- Catholic church (powerful) united
Europe
-Liturgical drama
-
began as music
-
chanted words
- "Trope" - sung in
question and answer (in Latin)
-
a four line trope lasting about 1 minute
-
3 Mary's visit Christ's tomb
-
meets angel who tells that Christ is risen
-Tropes added onto every year and
became bigger and bigger
-
full play using entire cathedral as a theatre
-
cathedral in the shape of a cross = no pews
-
choir loft = heaven
-"audience" traveled from
stage to stage
SAME TIME: Outside
festivals-"festival of fools"
PLAY HUNCHBACK movie clip
-Dramas got so big - moved outside
to church steps, then into town squares
Formation of guilds
-
producing plays as a club contribution to a festival
-
church oversaw all
-
priests made individual parts for an actor
-
there was only one copy of the whole script
-
100 actors- 100 parts copied down by hand
York, England: 5,000 people in town
2,00
participated in annual drama
*Performed in local language
Types of Plays:
1. Mystery
-
cycle = series of one act mystery plays "History of the world from
creation to judgment"
"Passion of Christ"
Lots
of stages-one end heaven, the other end hell
-passion
-Corpus
Christi
2. Miracle
-saints
3. Morality
-morals
Major special effects, animals,
traps, flying, blossoming flowers, eclipse, earthquake, splitting rocks, real
boats on water, burning buildings, rain, lightning, dummies filled with bones
and animal guts.
EVERYMAN
-allegorical characters
-original story = non-biblical
-how to live, not how to die
-at judgment, man alone in front of
God
STORY:
Hero
is called to his death and asks:
Knowledge
Beauty
Fellowship
Kindred
Good
deeds to go with him but only Good deeds will.
1600:
-Catholic church weakened
- Protestant Church attacked and
suppressed Catholic church
-Interest in classics- learning is
revived
-Professional players have their
niche
-Playwrights writing is about
non-religious subjects
EVERYMAN
The Lord
God looks down on Everyman from on high. He sees that Everyman in his seeking
for riches and pleasure has forgotten God and He is much displeased. He calls
His messenger, Death, and bids him take to Everyman the message that he must go
on a long journey; that he must prepare to make his accounting before the
Almighty God.
Everyman is
loath to leave this earth. He pleads that that he is not ready and offers Death
a thousand pounds if Death will reprieve him. Death refuses saying that all the
riches in the world might be his if he were open to such bribes. Everyman next
inquires if he will be allowed to return after he has rendered his account to
Almighty God. Death assures him that from the place to which he is going there
is no returning. At last, however, Death consents that Everyman may try to find
someone to bear him company on the journey.
Everyman
first approaches Fellowship who inquires the cause of his sadness. Fellowship
protests that he will do anything for Everyman even to avenging a wrong done
him at the risk of his own life. When, however, Everyman invites Fellowship to
join him in the journey of Death, Fellowship promptly declines and hastens
away.
Everyman
next bethinks himself of his kinsmen. Some one of them he reasons will make the
journey with him, for blood is thicker than water. When the kinsmen find,
however, that it is for the journey from which there is no returning that
Everyman desires companionship, they beg to be excused. Everyman approaches his
Worldly Goods with no better fortune. They assure him that they could only
bring him straightway to Hell.
At last he
recalls his Good Deeds. She is so weak and helpless by means of Everyman's
neglect that she cannot stand. Only after Everyman is taken to Confession and
does penance for his sins does Good Deeds get strength enough to accompany him.
Good Deeds and Knowledge advise him to take with him on the journey Discretion,
Strength, and Beauty, and, as counsellors, his Five Senses. Everyman receives
the Last Sacrament and sets out on his journey with these companions. But when
he actually reaches the grave, Beauty makes haste to depart and is promptly
followed by Strength. At last only Knowledge and Good Deeds remain by his side.
Good Deeds accompanies him to the Heavenly realm to plead his cause before his
Maker, and Knowledge, remaining behind, hears the joyful songs of the angels.
