History of World Theater - Unit 3 - Outline

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1 History of World Theater - Unit 3 - Outline Greek, Roman and Medieval Theatre Experiences* Outline I. During the first two thousand years of its existence, Western theatre was markedly different from the professional and commercial theatre we know today A. Until the 16 th century, theatre was performed primarily at festivals B. Festival theatre flourished in ancient Greece, Rome and medieval Europe II. The Theatre of Ancient Greece A. Theatre in the Western world can be traced back to ancient Greece (c. 500 B.C.) B. The ancient Greeks believed that human beings were capable of making significant decisions about their lives 1. Greek drama emphasized the attempts of human characters to control their own destinies 2. However, for the Greeks, happiness still depended on a harmony between human and supernatural forces 3. Greek tragedy often shows the results of human attempts to escape fate C. Greek drama was presented exclusively at festivals honoring Dionysus 1. Dionysus was the god of wine and fertility, his blessing was sought to ensure the fertility of human beings and the land D. By the 5 th century B.C. Athens held 4 festivals in honor of Dionysus every year 1. At three of these festivals theatrical performances were held 2. The major festival was the City Dionysia a. A religious and civic celebration in which theatrical performances were given as offerings from the city to Dionysus E. 534 B.C. - first recorded theatrical event a contest for best tragedy 1. Thespis 1st winner the earliest known playwright and actor a. The word thespian, derived from his name, is still used to refer to actors 2. Three dramatists competed at each City Dionysia a. Each presented 3 tragedies followed by 1 satyr play F. The satyr play was short, comic and poked fun at Greek myths using a chorus of satyrs BOX Greek Satyr Plays The Cyclops by Euripides is the only complete satyr play to survive It satirizes an incident in The Odyssey in which Odysseus and his crew blind Polyphemus, the cyclops who has captured them, and escape from his lair Actors playing satyrs wore masks with shaggy hair, beards, pointed ears, and snub noses as well as costumes complete with a tail and a prominent phallus (Satyrs are half-man/half-goat). Their coarse behavior and appearance provided much of the comedy The satyr play provided comic relief after the tragedies 1. Nine tragedies and three satyr plays were presented at each City Dionysia a. Only 32 tragedies have survived, all by 3 dramatists: i. Aeschylus ii. Sophocles

2 iii. Euripides G. Of the surviving Greek tragedies, Oedipus the King by Sophocles is often considered the finest 1. First performed about 430 B.C., it continues to be produced frequently III. The Theatre of Dionysus A. The theatre is on the slope of the hill just beneath the Athenian Acropolis 1. The slope of the hill served as the theatron (seeing place) 2. A flat terrace below the slope served as the orchestra (dancing place) 3. In the middle of the orchestra was placed a thymele (altar) B. This arrangement was gradually converted into a permanent structure 1. The slope was covered in a semi-circle with stadium-like stone seats a. It held 14,000-17,000 people 2. The orchestra, or main performance space, was circular and 65 ft. in diameter 3. The skene (hut or tent) was on the side of the orchestra opposite the audience a. Skene is the origin of our word scene b. Perhaps it provided a place for the actors to retire or to change costume and masks c. Eventually elaborated into a ft. long structure, possibly two stories high i. It may have had three doors a large central door, and two small side doors ii. The skene s roof was also used as an acting area iii. The paradoi, or spaces between the skene and the auditorium were used for entrances and exits iv. The original skene no longer exists C. The skene, or scene house, probably provided a formalized architectural background for all of the plays 1. This convention meant that dialogue probably established locale 2. The action in Greek plays usually takes place outdoors 3. The outcome of events that occur indoors is occasionally shown a. The Greeks had a religious and legal prohibition against showing acts of violence on stage, which meant that characters were always slain (or died) offstage i. An eccyclema (a wheeled or pushed platform) rolled out to show the consequence of violent acts 4. A god often appears in Greek plays a. Sometime the god appeared on the roof of the skene b. Sometimes the god had to be raised and lowered (in effect, flying in and out) i. A machina (crane-like device) was used for this effect 1. The overuse of gods to resolve difficult dramatic situations led to any contrived ending being labeled a deus ex machina (god from the machine) ending. 2. The machina was visible to the audience and it illustrates the nonrepresentational conventions of the Greek theatre D. One of the most remarkable things about the Theatre of Dionysus is its size 1. Today, we expect realistic visual effects and acting; we expect to see every detail 2. The Greeks had expectations far different from ours, and different supporting conventions 3. Today s sports arenas most resemble ancient Greek theatres a. Keeping this in mind will help us understand Greek theatrical conventions IV. The Performers

3 A. One may divide performers (all male) in the Greek theatre into four categories: 1. Actors 2. Chorus 3. Supernumeraries 4. Musicians B. By around 430 B.C. the rules of the contests restricted the number of speaking actors to three for each playwright 1. This rule did not restrict the number of roles to three because a single actor might play several roles 2. The same three actors appeared in each of the three tragedies presented by a playwright 3. Supernumeraries (non-speaking extras) could be used 4. Each playwright was assigned a principle actor a. The principle actor was eligible to win a prize for best tragic actor C. The tragic chorus was composed of 15 men 1. A playwright had to apply to the principle government official for a chorus 2. The playwright was also assigned a choregus - a wealthy citizen who paid to train and costume the chorus and musicians a. Wealthy Athenian citizens were required to take turns serving as choregoi, and most considered this duty an honor 3. Choruses were assigned about 11 months prior to the next festival a. They trained, emphasizing singing and dancing, for these performances like today s athletes 4. The chorus usually performed in unison, but sometimes as two subgroups that responded alternately to each other a. The chorus leader sometimes had solo lines D. The chorus is one of the distinctive conventions of Greek theatre 1. They entered after the prologue 2. They performed choral odes (songs and dance) between the episodes 3. The chorus served several functions: a. Treated as a group character, they expressed opinions, gave advice, and occasionally threatened to interfere in the action b. They often seemed to express the author s point of view c. They served as the ideal spectator, reacting as the author would want the audience to react d. They helped establish the mood and heighten dramatic effects e. They added color, movement and spectacle E. The principle musical accompaniment was a flute player who preceded the chorus and remained onstage in view of the audience F. Almost none of the music has survived along with the plays 1. Attempts to recreate Greek tragedy led to the development of Italian opera 2. Greek music had a great variety of musical modes 3. It may have functioned like modern film music enhancing mood and emotion

4 BOX Greek Tragic Dramatists Aeschylus ( B.C.) He wrote 80 plays, of which 8 survive Aeschylus plays generally show heroic figures wrestling with significant philosophical issues in a formal dramatic style Sophocles ( B.C.) He wrote more than 120 plays, of which only seven survive, and won the best playwright contest at the festival more than any other Greek dramatist (24 times) His plays evince masterful dramatic structure, complex characters, and beautiful poetry all aimed at universal themes Euripides ( B.C.) He wrote approximately 90 plays, of which 18 have survived (one of these is a satyr play) Denounced for writing about subjects unfit for the stage, Euripides raised doubts about many of the values that Aeschylus had earlier championed G. All of the performers, except the musician, wore masks, another distinctive convention 1. The masks served several purposes: a. Facilitated the rapid change of roles b. Made it easier for male actors to play female characters c. Helped the actor in assuming roles of differing types d. Assisted communication by capturing and emphasizing the essential qualities of each character H. A variety of clothing was used for stage purposes 1. Costume was probably determined by appropriateness to role 2. The usual dress in Greece was a chiton, which most of the actors wore 3. The actors wore soft, flexible boots I. These conventions suggest that performance in the Greek theatre was highly formalized V. Oedipus the King and Its Performance A. The City Dionysia included 5 days of performances 1. The performance of Oedipus the King was embedded within a much larger festival framework B. The performances were open to everyone 1. Performances probably lasted all day as several plays were presented 2. The performances seem to have begun at dawn C. Oedipus the King begins with a prologue: 1. The suppliants, carrying branches, entered through one of the paradoi 2. Oedipus enters through the central doorway of the skene 3. The suppliants petition Oedipus to do something about the plague in Thebes 4. Creon, returning from Delphi, enters through the other parados 5. The suppliants leave 6. The flute player enters, followed by the chorus of 15 elderly Thebans. They march into the orchestra and perform the first choral song D. The skillful construction of the script can be appreciated if we compare the complex story to Sophocles ordering of events

5 1. The division of the play into a prologue and 5 episodes separated by choral passages is typical of Greek tragedy a. The prologue identifies the basic situation and raises the first important question - Who murdered Laius? b. The parodos entry of the chorus follows the prologue c. The first episode begins with Oedipus proclamation, in which he unknowingly puts a curse on himself d. Tiresias, the blind seer, enters and his refusal to answer provokes Oedipus temper i. Oedipus arrogant temper provoked him to kill Laius 2. Although the first 4 episodes move forward in the present, they explore past events to reveal the missing parts of the story a. The first episode reveals the past immediately preceding Oedipus arrival in Thebes i. The choral passage that follows reflects upon the previous scene b. The second episode builds logically upon the first, continuing the backward exploration of the past, revealing that Oedipus had killed a man i. The choral song that follows again reflects upon the previous scene c. The third episode continues with a messenger revealing a piece of the story from when Oedipus was an infant i. This scene reveals the truth to Jocasta and diverts attention from the murder of Laius to the birth of Oedipus ii. The choral song that follows speculates on Oedipus parentage d. The fourth episode continues with the Herdsman revealing the final pieces of the puzzle the beginning of the story Oedipus birth i. The climax is reached in Oedipus cry of despair and disgust e. The fifth episode is divided into 2 parts i. A messenger enters and tells what has happened off stage ii. Oedipus returns (blinded) and seeks to prepare himself for the future E. Oedipus the King is structurally unusual in that the resolution scene is the longest in the play 1. Interest has shifted to a new question Will Oedipus inflict the sentence he intended for the murderer of Laius upon himself? F. Sophocles pays little attention to defining his characters on the physical and social levels of characterization, instead he concentrates on their psychological and ethical characterization G. The characterization is drawn with a few bold strokes 1. All of the speaking roles are played by 3 actors a. 1 st actor played Oedipus in every scene b. 2 nd actor probably played Creon and the 1 st Messenger c. 3 rd actor probably played the Priest, Tiresias, Jocasta, the Herdsman and the 2 nd Messenger 2. The greatest range is required of the 3 rd actor 3. The greatest individual power is required of the 1 st actor H. In addition to the 3 actors: 1. A great number of supernumeraries are required (suppliants, children, servants and attendants) 2. A chorus of Total cast size of no fewer than 35 performers I. In reading the play it is sometimes difficult to perceive that there were so many participants J. Why has Oedipus the King continued to attract audiences? 1. Its skillful construction

6 2. Its concern with moral taboos 3. It develops themes of universal relevance: a. The uncertainty of human destiny emerges through the fall of Oedipus from a place of highest honor to that of a social outcast b. The limited ability of human beings to control their fate is suggested i. In trying to avoid the oracle s predictions he fulfills them ii. It is significant that the play makes no attempt to explain why destruction comes to Oedipus 1. The play implies that human beings must submit to fate c. Blindness vs. sight is often emphasized in this play to contrast physical sight with the inner sight that sees the truth d. The motif of Oedipus as a scapegoat one who receives punishment to save others VI. Greek Comedy A. Athens also developed a distinctive comic drama 1. Comedy became an official part of the Dionysian festivals about 50 years later than tragedy 2. Comedy was performed at both the City Dionysia festival and the Lenaia festival 3. Five comic dramatists competed each year at the Lenaia, each presenting one play a. The conventions of comedy differed significantly from tragedy b. Usually concerned with current issues c. Occasionally used mythological material d. Used a chorus of 24 members i. Not always identical in appearance or characters of the same sex ii. Sometimes depicted as everyday citizens, other times depicted as nonhuman characters e. The male characters were made to appear especially ridiculous i. Costume suggested ludicrous partial nakedness, emphasized by the addition of a large phallus and comic masks B. Only 11 Old Comedy plays survive, all by Aristophanes 1. The plot of Old Comedy revolves around a happy idea a. In Lysistrata the happy idea is that a group of wives could end the Peloponnesian war by enacting a sex strike 2. Old Comedy has several typical features: a. A prologue introduction of the happy idea b. A parados entry of the chorus c. An agon debate over the merits of the happy idea d. A parabasis choral passages e. Series of episodes showing the happy idea put into practice f. A komos exit to feasting and revelry g. Unity is found in its ruling idea rather than in causally related events h. Time and place may change frequently i. Characters make comments about or directly to the audience

7 BOX Aristophanes The Frogs Presented in 405 B.C., the year after Sophocles and Euripides died The happy idea is that Dionysus can save his festivals and Athenian culture, if he travels to Hades to fetch back the greatest tragic playwright The chorus are the frogs who inhabit the swamps through which Dionysus (disguised as Heracles) must travel In Hades a debate ensues between Aeschylus and Euripides over which playwright is greatest (Sophocles refuses to take part in the debate) Aeschylus and Euripides comically deride each other s work and defend their own C. After the 5 th century B.C., Greek drama declined in quality, but not in quantity 1. After Alexander the Great s conquests, theatres were built throughout the Mediterranean 2. New Comedy addressed everyday domestic issues a. This set the pattern for most subsequent comic drama to the present day VII. The Roman Theatre Experience A. Around 200 years after the first performance of Oedipus the King, Rome became a major power, eventually ruling over an extensive empire for hundreds of years B. Theatre was still part of religious festivals, or ludi (games), though in honor of any of several gods 1. The Romans placed theatrical performance in the same category as sports and other forms of diversion C. The Romans were great assimilators 1. They imported the Greek writer Livius Andronicus to adapt Greek drama to Roman tastes D. The Romans favored games, variety entertainments, and short comic plays over full-length drama. As the popularity of full-length drama declined, the demand for theatrical entertainment steadily increased E. Accounts of Roman theatre typically concentrate on theatrical production between 205 and 159 B.C. 1. Playwrights Plautus and Terence wrote the 26 surviving Roman comedies VIII. The Roman Theatrical Context A. The Roman theatre resembled that of Greece in many ways, but differed in significant ways 1. All surviving Roman comedies are adapted Greek plays a. They retained Greek settings and characters 2. The expenses of production were assumed by the state 3. The state also supplied the theatres. Originally temporary structures were used, after 55 B.C. permanent ones were built a. Tiered seating for several thousand b. Semicircular orchestra (half the Greek orchestra), not used for the plays, as there was no chorus c. Long, narrow stage, five feet high d. Stage enclosed by a scaenae frons (façade) i. Three doors on back wall and one door at the end of each side of the stage.

8 ii. Second story with windows e. The stage was characterized as a street with exits on either side leading to other locations and the doors in the façade representing different houses 4. The scale of the Roman theatre was comparable to that of the Greek 5. Admission to the theatre was free, with open seating and unruly audiences a. Plays had to compete with other attractions (animal acts, games, jugglers, etc.) B. By the time of Plautus and Terence, there seems to have been a number of theatre companies C. The actors wore Greek costumes, with conventional use of color and masks D. Roman comedy does not deal with political or social issues but everyday domestic affairs 1. Plots turn on misunderstandings of one sort or another 2. The most famous character is perhaps the clever slave E. While reading a Roman play, we should try to remember they had a musical element 1. Plautus plays include a flute player 2. Some characters sing BOX Roman Dramatists Plautus ( B.C.) May have written as many as 130 comedies, but only 21 are considered his Known for his witty dialogue, distinctive characters, and farcical plots Terence (195 or B.C.) Wrote six comedies, all of which survived Chief features in his plays are his characters and double plots Seneca (4 BC 65 A.D.) Tutor to the future emperor Nero, who later ordered him to commit suicide Wrote tragedies, 9 of which have survived His plays include graphic depictions of violence Influenced Elizabethan playwrights in several respects IX. The Menaechmi A. Of all Roman comedies, Plautus The Menaechmi has perhaps been the most popular 1. It provided the plot basis for Shakespeare s Comedy of Errors and Richard Rodgers musical, The Boys from Syracuse B. The play begins with a prologue that carefully lays out the background 1. The play presents a series of scenes in which the two brothers are in turn mistaken for each other C. Plautus comic sensibility was more sentimental than that of Aristophanes and unconcerned with social or political satire D. The characters are types rather than individuals 1. Each character has a restricted number of motivations E. A company of six actors could perform the ten speaking roles 1. Actors were required to have highly developed comic timing, and be skilled singers

9 BOX Roman Paratheatrical Entertainments Roman religious festivals included entertainments many of them quite violent and bloodthirsty extending far beyond theatrical performances. The Romans built circuses for these performances Circus Maximus held 60,000 people Chariot racing twelve chariots could race abreast Horse and foot racing, acrobatics, cavalry battles Prize fighting, wrestling, fights with men and animals The Romans built amphitheatres The Colosseum (A.D. 80) held 50,000 people Gladiatorial contests Animal fights and Christian persecution as entertainment Naumachiae (sea battles) for which they flooded the amphitheatre or staged the action on a lake X. Other Roman Drama and Theatre A. By the beginning of the Christian era, Rome seemed to have forgotten its earlier emphasis on gravity 1. People were offered a number of entertainments, many of them bloodthirsty B. In addition to comedy, the Romans also wrote tragedy 1. The only surviving examples are nine plays by Seneca C. The favorite form of entertainment became the mime 1. Roman mimes were short, topical, improvised comedies (not silent pantomime) 2. Women were allowed to perform the female characters (a first for women) 3. No masks were worn 4. The dramatic action tended to focus on sexual encounters D. Late Roman festivals increasingly emphasized blood sports E. The Roman Empire rapidly disintegrated after being overrun by invaders in Theatrical activity subsequently was reduced to wandering players XI. The Revival of Drama in the Middle Ages A. Historians usually divide the Middle Ages into three phases 1. During the first two of these phases drama was performed primarily within churches or monasteries liturgical drama 2. During the third phase drama flourished in outdoor productions using the common language vernacular religious drama B. The earliest know example of a liturgical play dates from about It was a short, dramatized bible episode, sung in Latin C. Around 1200, some religious plays began to be performed outside the church 1. By 1375 a religious drama had developed independent of the church which was: a. Written in the vernacular language (as opposed to Latin) b. Spoken, not sung c. Financed by the community, not the church 2. In some ways this resembled the theatre of Greece and Rome which was performed at religious festivals

10 3. However, it differed from Greece and Rome in the details of its organization, financing, and presentation BOX The First Female Dramatist Hrosvitha (A.D ), canoness of a nunnery in Gandersheim, Germany Drawn to the comedies of Terence, she wrote plays depicted Christian virgins and martyrs triumphing over earthly temptations Wrote six plays in rhymed Latin, not published until 1501; it is unclear if they were performed in her lifetime, but once published they exerted influence on the didactic drama written during the 16 th century for performance in schools The first dramatist of the post-classical period whose name we know Her uniqueness reminds us that theatre prior to the Renaissance was essentially a male preserve XII. Trade Guilds and the Corpus Christi Festival XIII. A. The production of the outdoor religious dramas in England is usually associated with trade guilds B. The church began to incorporate ordinary people into its activities 1. The church created a new feast day, Corpus Christi 2. Any biblical events could be dramatized and related to this festival C. The central feature of the festival was a procession through the town with the consecrated bread and wine 1. The procession included representatives from every rank and profession D. In the British Isles, about 125 towns produced plays, but only a few have survived 1. Cycle plays dramatize the Bible from Creation to Doomsday 2. Surviving cycles are from four towns, dating from about 1375: a. York 48 plays b. Chester 24 plays c. Wakefield 32 plays d. Unknown town 42 plays Conventions of Medieval Theatre A. A major convention of medieval drama involves the way time is handled 1. Eternal time vs. earthly time 2. The stage depicted heaven at one end and hell at the other B. The fluidity of time is also reflected in the structure of the cycles 1. Both time and space were telescoped or expanded as needed C. Staging also involved a number of conventions 1. Theatrical space was improvised and stages could be fixed or mobile a. Fixed stage set against a building, or in the middle of a square b. Movable stage - a wagon that could move from one location to another D. Regardless of the type of stage or location, the staging conventions were the same everywhere 1. Stage space had two parts: a. Mansion a scenic structure that indicated a specific place or location b. Platea undifferentiated stage space adjacent to the mansion i. The same space might change its identity merely by being associated with a different mansion 2. The overall setting symbolized human and earthly existence framed by Heaven and Hell

11 E. Costumes were used to distinguish between the inhabitants of Earth, Heaven and Hell 1. Earthly characters wore contemporary clothes - no attempts were made for historical accuracy 2. Eternal characters wore church garments a. Saints and biblical personages were associated with specific symbols 3. The most imaginative costumes were those of the devils BOX Special Effects in Religious Plays Far greater marvels could be shown on fixed stages than on pageant wagons One of the most elaborate was mounted at Valenciennes, France in 1547 The production lasted 25 days Many of the characters were raised and lowered ( flown ) Other special effects included: an eclipse and an earthquake At Mons, France in 1501, an account tells of water stored in wine barrels on a roof to create 5 minutes of continuous rain during a Noah play F. There were frequently a number of spectacular special effects 1. Hell was made as gruesome as possible the hell mouth 2. Miracles were staged as convincingly as possible to reinforce faith in God s power XIV. The Wakefield Cycle A. Let us look at the English cycle staged at Wakefield 1. The surviving manuscript contains 32 plays Creation through Last Judgment 2. It had several authors, all anonymous a. 5 of the plays are by the same author, referred to as the Wakefield Master i. One of these is Noah and His Sons B. The production of the Wakefield cycle was a community effort involving the town council, the church and the guilds 1. Most of the actual work was undertaken by the guilds C. The decision to perform the plays apparently was made several months prior to Corpus Christi 1. The guilds were assigned plays loosely related to their professions D. At Wakefield, processional staging appears to have been used 1. Each play was mounted on a pageant wagon like a modern parade float a. The same guild always produced the same play b. Each wagon had to carry one or more mansions 2. It seems probable that at each playing space the wagon was drawn up alongside a platform that served as the platea E. In addition to providing the pageant wagon and its equipment, each guild had to supply performers and someone to oversee the production 1. They recruited actors (all male) from the local populace F. Costumes consisted of clothing in common use at the time (secular and liturgical) G. Each guild rehearsed and prepared its play separately from the others H. The council specified the places at which the plays would be performed I. On the day of the performances, all normal work was suspended 1. The majority of the spectators stood to watch the plays 2. Fines were levied against anyone who disturbed the performances 3. It required an entire day to perform the entire cycle at each of the stops 4. The atmosphere was festive yet reverential - a lively celebration of the faithful

12 J. Let s take a look at one play, considered by many to be one of the best XV. Noah and His Sons A. The third play in the cycle, after The Creation and The Killing of Abel B. The play begins with Noah praying to God C. The second scene is a fight between Noah and his wife 1. It shifts the tone of the play toward domestic comedy D. Then Noah builds the ark, and the family comes on board 1. The remainder of the play takes place on the ship 2. Eventually, the waters recede and the play ends with prayers E. The action of the play is divided into three somewhat equal parts: 1. An opening expository scene 2. Two scenes of Noah bickering with his wife 3. The building of the ark and onboard scenes a. Time is severely telescoped in this part F. There are nine roles, six of them minor 1. Characterization of the three main roles is simple a. God speaks magisterially b. Noah is pious and obedient i. Comical in his inability to control his wife c. Noah s wife is headstrong and independent 2. All of the roles would have been played by men G. The script enlists stylized speech with an internal rhyme scheme H. Only one mansion is required the ark 1. Only a few stage properties are mentioned 2. Real birds may have been used for the raven and dove 3. The costuming was simple I. The spatial relationship between audience and performer and the overall scale differed markedly from Greek and Roman theatre. J. As Noah and His Sons ended, the wagon moved on and was replaced by the wagon bearing the Abraham and Isaac play XVI. Other Medieval Theatre and Drama A. In addition to religious plays, several other dramatic types were popular during the Middle Ages B. Morality Plays 1. Treated the spiritual trials of ordinary persons 2. Provided allegories about the moral temptations that beset all mankind 3. Everyman is the most famous example 4. These were gradually secularized serving as the transition between medieval religious drama and the secular drama of Shakespeare s time C. Farces 1. Farcical secular drama emerged around 13 th century 2. These farces were not officially encouraged, they emphasized the ridiculous and comically depraved aspects of human behavior 3. The French farce Pierre Patelin is one of the best examples D. Interludes

13 1. Non-religious serious or comic plays performed between the parts of a celebration a. These are associated with the rise of the professional actor and the professional theatre E. In addition to those discussed here, many other celebrations utilized theatrical elements XVII. Comparing Greek, Roman and Medieval A. The Greek, Roman and medieval theatre experiences were alike in some ways 1. Occasional (performed in association with festivals and religious calendars) 2. Ceremonial 3. Financed by the state, religious or secular organizations, or wealthy citizens 4. Admission was open to all 5. Used many similar conventions a. Male performers only b. Musical accompaniment c. Large audience spaces d. Formalized scenic backgrounds e. Masks (used by at least some character types) B. However, there were many differences 1. Music a. Greek Chorus sang and danced b. Roman Music throughout the play and associated with the actors c. Medieval Music, but no fixed plan 2. The actual structure of the stages 3. Basic values were the most important differences a. Greek moral values and significant issues b. Roman popular entertainment c. Medieval Christian teaching * Brockett, Oscar G. and Ball, Robert J. The Essential Theatre, 8 th Ed. Belmont, CA., Wadsworth Publishing Company, 2004