Concetti Chiave
- Elizabethan theaters were octagonal wooden structures with open yards and three tiers of galleries, emphasizing a minimalistic stage design.
- The social hierarchy influenced seating arrangements, with wealthier individuals securing premium seating options, including the possibility to sit on the stage.
- The Globe Theater and others like the Rose and the Swan were significant public playhouses of the time, offering diverse structural designs such as round, square, or octagonal layouts.
- Performances were held in daylight with minimal scenery, encouraging audience imagination and interaction with the actors.
- Stage space was multifunctional, with areas above the stage used for musicians and additional acting, and a flag used to signal ongoing performances.
The social order in Elizabethan theater
One of the basis of the Elizabethan theater was the idea of social order, drama was breaking this balance. The old allegorical hero was replaced by dubious and passionate one with a strong relation with laws.
Initially performance were on inns then James Burbage decided to build the first public playhouse “the theater” and then also “the globe”.
The theaters were octagonal wooden structures, with three tiers of gallery that surrounded an open yard. there was an inner stage behind the curtains and an upper one that was quite little. Only few objects were used to symbolize an actor or a place.
Performances started at two o'clock and lasted more or less two hours, to stand in the yard cost one penny and in the galleries two, if you paid 12 pence you could sit on the stage. The audience was concentrated on the play and not the setting which sometime they had to imagine because they were not full of details, there was no scenery change, and there was a communication between the actor and the audience.
1.
Characteristics of Elizabethan theaters
First theaters in England appeared in the Elizabethan Era
2. The playhouses were small and private roofed buildings for the rich
3. Some playhouses were public and were usually the backyard of an inn
4. There were also some famous theaters like Rose, the Swan, the Globe, and the Fortune
5. Theaters could be round square or octagonal
6. Unroofed courtyards, roofed galleries, platform stage, tiring-house, curtained discovery space, a hut, and a trapdoor
7. Stages were wooden structures
8.
Seating and social status
Seating was determined by the wealth and status of the people, wealthy people got the best seats
9. There were three levels of seating
10. Seating: Galleries, pit, and groundlings
11. The Globe Theater is an example of an Elizabethan stage
12. You could sit on stage if you were willing to pay the biggest fee
13. Little scenery was used because the theater was open
14. Trapdoors were all over the stage
15. No stage lighting, which means plays were performed in the daylight
16. Stage had a partial roof
17. The roof was elaborately decorated to resemble the night sky
18.
Use of stage space
The area above the stage was most often used to house the musicians, but it could also serve as an extra acting space
19. Storage was above the music house
20. A flag is placed at the top of the building to inform the public that there is a play being performed
Domande da interrogazione
- What was the significance of social order in Elizabethan theater?
The Elizabethan theater was deeply rooted in the concept of social order, with drama often challenging this balance. The traditional allegorical hero was replaced by more complex characters who had strong ties to the law, reflecting societal changes.
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