Theatre History Overview - Part 23B - Scandinavian Theatre

Sweden's Royal Dramatic theatre's monopoly was dissolved in 1842. The Mindre Teatern was then founded by Anders Lindeberg, a Swedish writer and journalist. In 1852, the Norwegian Dramatic School was founded by Johannes Benedictus Klingenberg, a Norwegian military officer and engineer. He was disappointed by the by the un-Norwegian repertoire that he found when he visited the Norwegian Theatre in Bergen. By 1854, the school was made into a performing arts theatre named the Christiana Norwegian Theatre. At first, Henrik Ibsen was associated with the Norwegian Theatre in Bergen where he was the stage director, but in the autumn of 1857, he took over the responsibilities for the operations of the Christiana Norwegian Theatre. He served in this capacity until 1862 when the Christiana Norwegian Theatre went bankrupt. On July 15, 1863, the Christian Norwegian Theatre and the Norwegian Theatre officially merged. It was in this same year that the Mindre Teatern was dissolved and sold to the Royal Theatre.

Also in 1863, Henrik Ibsen finished writing Kongs-Emnerne. The title means "pretenders to the crown," and Ibsen based the play on the life of King Hakon (1217-1263). In 1867, he finished writing Peer Gynt, his satire on second-rateness.The Swedish Theatre opened in 1875 which officially known as Svenska Teatern or Svenskan. It was founded by Edvard Stjermstrom on the peninsula of Blaiseholmen in Stockholm. Just a year later, Den Nationale opened in Stockholm.

In 1849, the playwright, Louise Grandberg (who was also Stjermstrom's wife), started writing and translating plays. Sometimes she did this with her sister. When they wrote together, they used the pseudonym Carl Blink. The the 1860-1861 theatre season, her play Johan Fredman was staged at the Mindre Teatern in Stockholm. Also in 1860, the actress Magda von Dolcke premiered in Denmark under the name Rosalinde Thomsen. At this time, she was in a well-known relationship with the Norwegian writer Bjornestjern Martinius Bjornson. In 1874, the actress became active in the Mindre Teatern. It is thought she started acting here because she was having an affair with King Oscar II of Sweden-Norway at the time while his wife, Sophia of Nassau, had went to Germany for her health. Dolcke then became active in Folkan and Djurgardsteastern in Stolkhom in 1876. At this time, the actor Albert Ranft started acting in Dolcke's theatre company.

Also, in 1876, Den Nationale Scene was founded in Bergen. Stjermstrom died in 1877 and his wife, the playwright Louise Granberg took over running Svenskan. In 1879, Ibsen finished writing A Doll's House which was considered extremely avant-garde in terms for feminism. After Granberg died, Svenskan became part of Ranft's theatrical empire. He also started his own traveling theatre company in 1884. In 1899, the Nationaltheatre in Christiana (later known as Oslo) opened.

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Theatre History Overview - Part 23A - Scandinavian Theatre

Scandinavia is the group of countries Norway, Sweden, and Denmark. It is difficult to find a lot of information on the beginning of Scandinavian theatre without books that specialize on writing about the history of Scandinavian theatre specifically. However, it is known that a type of viking theatre existed in the 10th century A.D. because Harald the Bluetooth (yes, his name is the source for the technology known as Bluetooth), the King of Denmark accepted baptism into Christianity after seeing a piece of Viking theatre. This piece of theatre was a drunken argument over who was most powerful: Odin, Thor, or the "new" Christian God and his son, Jesus.

The reason why theatre was not found in Scandinavian for some time between the original Viking theatre and sometime between the 16th to 18th centuries does not seem to be found online. A tiny bit is known, though. In 1722, the king of Scandinavia had banned all theatrical performances done in the French language. Rene Montaigu assembled a talented company of mostly university students in order to try to revive Scandinavian, mainly Danish, theatre. However, the company was underfunded.

Since plays in the French language had been outlawed, it was only okay to see plays in the Danish language. Ludvig Holberg started writing plays in Danish in order to entertain a Scandinavian audience. Song and dance became popular and a French ballet master, Jean Baptist Lande, was permitted to form a French opera troupe. Lande's and Holberg's talents combined talents sparked some interest in revival in the theatre. However, a fire that destroyed over 1,000 buildings in Copenhagen was seen as a punishment for godless activities happening in the theatres. This combined with the changing of the throne in 1730 quelled theatrical productions in Denmark and Norway.

However, theatre wasn't forbidden in Sweden. A theatre tht had plays in Swedish opened in Sweden in 1737. Within the first two years, twenty new plays had been produced. Theatre came back to Denmark in 1748 when the Danish Royal Theatre was founded in 1748. Ludvig Holberg resumed writing plays until his death in 1754.

(This is the entry for Friday, May 18, 2018. One of these days, things will hopefully be all fixed so I can write these blog posts in time.)

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Theatre History Overview - Part 22 - Mexican Theatre

The history of Mexican theatre dates back to the Aztecs. Theatrical performances were usually part of religious celebrations. They included myths and legends about the Aztec gods. There were hymns to these gods that the choirs in the plays would sing. While the theatrical dramas were religious performances, they would also have every day elements to which observers could relate. There are some historians that believe pre-Hispanic Mexiacan theatre was the first to be entiredly written in prose.

After the 15th century, the Aztecs were introduced to Western theatre after the Spanish invasion. Even though the Spanish invasion introduced Western theatre, many elements from the Nuhuatlan culture survived. However, the plays were still mainly religious dramas.

1539 saw the first recorded non-religious drama. It was called "The Conquest of Rhodes." It was written to celebrate and era of peace between Charles V of Spain and Francis I of France. In 1574, "Spiritual Wedding of the Shepherd Peter and the Mexican Church" was produced. It was significant because it is the first recorded Spanish work written for Mexico by an American-born author. The the second half of the 16th century, short comedic plays that took place both before and after more serious plays became popular. There were different types of these plays. Some of the names for them were entremeses, coloquios, and sainetes.

In the 1800s, theatre in Mexico decreased due to war. However, it still existed and took on a more nationalistic conscience. In the early 20th century, plays started to be written in the Mexican-Spanish tongue rather than in the pure Spanish language of Spain. In the 1950s, realism was introduced to Mexican theatre and in the 1960s, playwrights became daring with their works. The thriving theatre in Mexico today encompasses many different types of theatre including theatre in the Aztac and Mayan languages.

(This still counts as my May 17, 2018 blog post as work kept me from writing this earlier.)

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Theatre History Overview - Part 21 - Ukrainian Theatre

Ukrainian theatre can be traced back to pagan rituals that took place before the Christianization of Ukraine. Some of these elements can still be seen in Ukrainian weddings and the summer Kupalo festival. Once the Ukraine was Christianized, The Divine Liturgy took on theatrical elements. Pagan rituals were converted into ways to teacher or celebrate Christianity and adopted by the church.

1619 saw the first non-ritual Ukrainian theatre when two two short sketches that were comedic or satiric, known as intermedes, took place between the acts of a Polish religious drama. The subjects of the intermedes were not related to the play in which they were found. European medieval theatre influenced further development of Ukrainian theatre. At first theatre was found in schools. However, in 1765, Metropolitan (the head of an ecclesiastical province in the Ukrainian Catholic church) Samuil Myslavsky banned theatre in schools. This contributed to students helping to create vertep.

Vertep is a portable puppet theatre. The portable theatre represents the nativity scene A vertep theatre is a wooden box with one or two storeys. The floor had slits in it so that puppeteers could control the wooden puppets. If the box had two storeys, the upper storey was used for the nativity scene with the lower being used for interludes and other mystery plays. The plays consisted of both a religious drama and a secular drama.

In the 19th century, secular theatre in the Ukrainian language became popular. The first staged plays in Ukrainian were written by HryhoriiKvitka-Osnovianenko and Ivan Kotliarevsky. In 1876, more censorship came when Ems Ukase banned all theatre. Censorship eased after the failed Revolution of 1905. In March 1917, a theatrical committee was created. From 1922-1933, the Berezil existed in Kyiv. Les Kurbas's method of "transformed gestures" was developed. In 1934, socialist realism was applied to Ukrainian theatre. This was considered the most progressive method of portraying reality. It affected every element of the theatre and theatre education.

Today, there are both professional and amateur theatres located in Ukraine. A couple of the professional theatres are the Toronto Zahrava Theater and Avant-Garde Ukrainian Theater.

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Theatre History Overview - Part 20 - Russian Theatre

The origin of Russian drama seems to be related to Pagan shows. There were recitations of fables and proverbs. They also had singing and dancing. These were performed by traveling minstrels known as skomorokhi. The Orthodox church persecuted the Pagans that put on these shows. This probably started in the 12th century when Poland introduced Religious Dramas or Histories. While he doesn't mention the Pagan parts of theatre, the religious theatre from Poland is mentioned by Tiechonravoff in Origin of the Russian Theatre.

These Histories were first performed exclusively in monasteries. In 1672, a theatre at the court of tsar Alexei Mikhailovich of Russia opened. This was the first theatre in Russia that would stage Biblical dramas. Theatre in St. Petersbug started in in 1752. Fyodor Volkov’s theatre troupe was invited from a Yaroslavl town. In the middle of the 18th century, plays by Griboyedov and Gogol were written and produced. These were considered the first masterpieces of Russisan theatre. Then by the end of the 18th century and the early 19th century, serf theatre started to show up in places across Russia.

In 1898, the Moscow Art Theatre of Konstantin Stanislavsky and Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko was founded. This is considered the most important part of Russian theatre in this period. More theatres were founded in the 1900s. Most of these were drama theatres in St. Petersburg. Russian theatre had to fit into the ideals of Soviet theatre. This meant there was idiological dictatorships and rigid frames that the theatre had to match.

When ballet revival came to Russia, it renovated musical theatre in Russia. However, drama theatre made people think and want art creating social theatres and the transformation of theatres that were bound to the Soviet ideals. Today, Russian theatre enjoys complete freedom. Many of the plays and much of the acting styles are still based in Stanislavky's methods.

(Sorry for the late blog post, but for me, this still counts as the May 15, 2018 blog post. I was in a late night tutoring session that prevented me from writing this post earlier.)

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Theatre History Overview - Part 19 - Thai Theatre

The earliest form of Thai theatre seems to be a type of entertainment that the Thais created during what is known as the Sukothai Period (1240-1438). The Thais adopted elements from bordering countries and empires. There is a stone that is dated around 1293 A.D. that has an inscription attributed to king Ramkhamkhaen that mentions terms for merrymaking and musical instruments. However, it is questioned if the document is authentic.

The text that is more important for the history of Thai theatre is The Three Worlds or Traiphum. This text is attributed to the 14th century King Lithai of Sukhothai. In it, there is a description of the 31 levels of Theravada Buddhist cosmos. It says that dance is connected to and has influenced temple architecture and imagery.

Artist forms started to be brought back during the reign of King Rama I when lost literature was being recreated. He ordered the manuscripts of Triptaka, the Ramakien, and the Thai version of the Indian epic, Ramayana.

However, it the golden age of Thai theatrical arts is considered to have happened under the rule of King Rama II (1809-1824). He wrote his own versions of the Ramakien and the story cycle Inao which was originally the East Javanese story cycle, Prince Panji. Classical dance was revived along with having dance manuals written. Then both khon, mask-theatre, and lakhon nai, court dance-drama were standardized.

King Rama III abolished theatre, but Rama IV (1851-1886) revived it. King Chulalongkorn or Rama V (1868-1910) kept the theatre going. He was the first Thai king to visit Europe. His visit brought Western theatre to Thailand and the first theatre house was built in Bangkok. The Bangkok urban audience liked opera and Western-style theatre. Even King Chulalongkorn wrote plays, including Lilith Nitra, a story about the aboriginal people of South Thailand.

Today, you can find Western influence theatre in Thailand. However, you can also still find traditional Thai dance and music as well.

Early dance images also exist. There is a fragment of a stucco sculpture from sometime between the 8th-11th century. It is a half-human, half=bird mythical kinnari. The body is bent in the tribhanga position that is found in Indian dance that influenced Thai dance.

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Theatre History Overview - Part 18 - Korean Theatre

Korean theatre pre-dates Japanese theatre. It is thought that Korean theatre was first performed in courtyards and then moved to the stage.

The first Korean theatre was performance based and was not plot-driven. There are two types of history Korean theatre. Talchum, or Korean Mask Theatre, began in the 9th century A.D. Then the Art of Storytelling, or Pansori began in the 14th century A.D.

Talchum was often more political in nature. The performers were discussed behind the masks that they wore and would dance to a loosely formed narrative. Because the performers were disguised, they felt free to act out satire.

Pansori had a central actor that told the story. This actor would be supported by another who provided music, drum beats, and verbal sounds. Some sources say that there were more than one supporting actor.

By the 19th century, small theatre houses were being built in Korea. Today, there are three main types of theatre. The biggest type is the popular theatre. These are built and owned by theatre companies. They are used to house big musicals and translations of Broadway hits. The other two type of theatre are Daeharko (off-Broadway or off-off-Broadway) where most of the plays are independent or experimental and government funded theatre where translated traditional theatre such as Shakespeare and Chekhov can be seen.

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Theatre History Overview - Part 17 - Persian Theatre

Persian theatre goes back to the time of antiquity (around the 8th century B.C.). The first types of Persian theatre were ceremonial, used to glorify heroes and humiliate enemies. Persian theatre was recorded by the Greek historian, Herodotus.

Many performing arts became popular before the 7th century in Persia. Naqqali is the oldest form of dramatic arts in Persia. This is Persian recounting stories. In Naqqali, a performer would tell a story in verse or prose while using gestures and movemnts. Sometimes instrumental music or painted images on scrolls would also be used.

There was also Kheimeh Shab Bazi, Iranian Puppet Theatre. There were both traditional and innovative plays. These were done with "string puppets." Two people are involved, a person who performs music and a person who tells the story. The dialog is between the person telling the story and the puppets.

Other forms of Persian theatre there were popular before the 7th century A.D. were comical acts on both politics and domestic life, screen based story telling, mobile singing, and shadow plays. There were many other forms of Persian theatre that have no been mentioned.

Persian theatre continues to this day. While there are theatrical performances like those in the west, Persian theatre also still has many of the traditional forms of theatre. The Persian puppet theatre is still popular. There are even theatre festivals that are specially held for theatre education, children, and people with disabilities.

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Theatre History Overview - Part 16 - Chinese Theatre

It is not certain when theatre started in China, but there are references that go back as far as 1500 B.C. This was during the Shang Dynasty. These thearical entertainments involved clowning and acrobatic displays.

Shadow puppetry emerged as the first recognized type of theatre in China. These was during the Han Dynasty under the rule of Empress Ping. There were two forms of shadow puppetry: Contonese (southern) and Pekingese (northern). The two types differed int he way the puttpets were made and the positioning of rods on the puppets. Both styles had plays that dipicted great adventure and fantasy.

Tradition stated that if the heads were left on the puppets when not being used in a performance, that the puppets would ceom alive. Because of this, the heads of the puppets were always removed. Puppeteers would even store the bodies and the heads in different storage containers. Shadow puppetry became a tool of the government sometime after its height in the seventh century.

By the end of the Tang Dynasty in 700 A.D., the elements of Chinese opera had been established. In 714 A.D. Xuanzong, better known as Minghuang, started the Pear Garden Academy. Music, singing, and dance were all taught. Both men and women were taught at the academy, which helped contribute to the talent found in Chinese theatre.

Chinese theatre continue to grow between the 11th adn 13th centuries. While there were military campaigns that tore the country apart, theatre grew. Theatrical performances took place in order to entertain the troops. By the end of the 13th century, it was common for tourists to find theatrical entertainment in structures called Washi that were created specifically for the purpose of entertainment. Some of the names of the Washi included the character "lou." This meant that it was a high-storied building. In this building, the audience would follow the events on stage up through the different storeys of the building.

During this time, the Nanxi plays also were developed. These had ideal heros and heroines. The heros would be handsome bookworms and the heroines would be young and virtulous. The first Nanxi play sthat still have a complete llibretto for is "Top Graduate Zhang Xie." Then from 1271-1368 A.D. Chinese playwrights started to emerge. Drama was the leading form of literary expression at that time.

There is evidence that the Chinese Opera started developing as early as the 15th century, although it is thought it didn't truly start developing until the 17th century. Sometime around the 18th century, Chinese opera started to have a more sophisticated form. It wound have a four or five act structure. This structure can still be seen to this day at the Peking Opera.

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Theatre History Overview - Part 15 - Indian Theatre

Indian theatre started sometime between 2000 B.C. and the 4th century A.D. This was discovered by one of the earliest text in the world that is about dramaturgy. This text is called NatyaShastra. It was written by Bharat Muni. If it is older than 600 B.C., this means that Indian theatre formed earlier than Greek theatre.

The NatyaShastra describes rasa, which is the idea of artistic experience. Rada pervades all Indian art forms such as writing and dancing as well as theatre. The NatyaShastra also defines ten types of plays. However, there are two main types of plays. The Natakas are plays that dipict historical stories that deal with the divine or with mythology. Prakarana involved inventing stories dealing with every day characters and the events in their lives.

Indian theatre went through three main periods. The classical period began whenever theatre started in India and went through 1000 A.D. The stories in theatre were mainly stories that the audience already knew. Because of this, many physical elements and movements were used in the performances. The Traditional Period lasted from 1000 A.D. to `700 A.D. During this time, plays were presented verbally from the traditions and stories that had been passed down verbally rather than from written scripts. It was also during this time that regional languages and improvisation were brought to the Indian stage.

The modern period began in the late 18th century and ended in the 19th century. Because of the British rule in India, Western theatre influenced Indian theatre. This brought the tradition of theatre to being about reflections of the common man rather than about the gods and their miraculous feats. It also brought the procenium stage.

Before the procenium stage, Indian theatre had it's own types of theatres. The NatyaShastra explains three different types of theatres: rectangular, square, and triangular. Each kind of theatre could be large, medium, or small. The most common type of theatre was the medium-sized rectangular theatre. It measured about 96x48 feet. The space was divided in half with one half being for the audience and the other half being the stage and the backstage area.

While India still views theatre as extremely important, it does not treat it like it is often treated in the United States. There are some theatre course and theatre schools, but theatre is mostly done as an extra-curricular activity by students. They participate in religious theatre and street theatre. However, as the popularity of theatre in India grows, there might be more theatre education because theatre seems to be rivaling the popularity of cinema and television.

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Theatre History Overview - Part 14 - Restoration Spectacular

Restoration Spectacular took place in the late 17th century. It happened on the London stage. These elaborate pieces of theatre were basically home grown, but they were never ashamed of borrowing stage technology and ideas from French Opera. Because of this, they were sometimes called English Opera, but most theatre historians dn't like defining them as a genre because there is not a tidy way to truly classify these theatrical performances.

Another name for a restoration spectacula is a "machine play." Thse machines plays were elaborately staged. They involved illusionisitc painting, gorgeous costumes, movalbe scenery, and special effects. Some of the special effects that might be seen during a restoration spectacular were flying actors, trapdoor tricks, and fireworks.

Willam Davenant brougt changable (not only moveable) scenery to the public stage. Compared to "legitimate" restoration drama, restoration spectaculars were regarded as "vulgar" and having bad reputations. However, it was the elaborate scenery and spectacle that drew in the London crowds.

A large number of sets, a large number of performers, and vast amounts of money were required to stage a restoration spectacular. If a show did not go well, such as Albion and Albnaius by John Dryden, a theatre could easily go into debt. However, when hits like Thomas Shadswell's Psyche were staged, then companies would not have to worry about their finances for a long time.

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Theatre History Overview - Part 13 - French Theatre

ome people think that French theatre only developed very late in the 1500s, almost starting in the year 1600. However,that is not true. It is only true that French theatre was in a type of hiatus from 1562-1598 because of the Wars of Religion between Catholics and Protestants.

French theatre actually has a history that dates back to the 12th century. At this time, most theatre was written and performed in Latin. However, there were plays written in French. The earliest example is probably Le jeu d'Adam. the idea for theatre was entertainment, not religious education.

Theatre in 16th century France followed much of the same patterns as other renaissance theatre. However, French theatre truly came into it's own in the 17th century.

In 1635, the Academie Francaise was created by Cardinal Richilieu in order to try to regulate language and literary expression. This caused a conflict in the theatre because others wanted literary freedom. However, by 1660, the acceptance of literary rules was established as the norm. These rules were published in Nicolas Boileau-Despreaux's 1674 publication.

It was during this time that some of France's greatest dramatists emerged. These included Pierre Corneille, Jean Racine, and Molilere.

In the early 1700s, Comedie-Italienne (Italian comedies, so-called to distinguish it from the Comedie-Francaise that was produced) became popular. This was after they had been banned in 1697 for being found too offensive. However, durign this time, companies even started interspersing Comedie-Italiane with French words. One theatre company even got permission from Louis XIV to use all French in the Comedie-Italienne plays.

In the latter half of the 18th century, Romanticism became popular in France. Opera bouffe (Comic opera) also became popular around this time. It was also at this time that claquers were used. These were people that were hired to clap during performances. There are also rieurs, who laugh, pleurerus, who fake crying, chatouilleurs, who keep the audience ina good mood, and bisseurs who clap their hands and shoud, "bis! bis!"

In the mid 1900s, theatre of the absurd came into being with Eugene Ionesco's The Bald Soprano. This also made way for playwrights such as Samuel Beckett and Jean Genet. French theatre continues strongly to this day, using plays in French and from all over the world.

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Theatre History Overview - Part 12 - Restoration

In 1660, Charles II was restored to the throne of England. He had been in France during the past years when theatre had been banned in England, partly due to the puritans fidning that it was sinful. Because he had been in France, he brought the influence of French theatre back to England.

The popular type of theatre during the restoration was Restoration Comedy. These comedies often exaggerated or made fun of society and rulers. The audience were mainly upper class because they could afford to go see theatre. They knew that the plays made fun of them and enjoyed this lampooning. Restoration Comedies also included Comedies of Manners. A Comedy of Manners play would often reverse roles or attitudes, satirizing the behaviors of society. There would often be disguises and misunderstandings that the audience would know, but the characters in the play would not know. Everything would be revealed to the characters at the end of the play.

Compared to how plays were often written in verse, often using the heroic couplet, plays written during the restoration used prose. Rather than having a national type of play, such as an English Comedy of Manners, plays from countries all across Europe were welcomed on stages. Every country had an influence on every other country when it came to plays and theatre.

During the restoration, women were allowed to be on stage and act. Women also began to appear as playwrights. The woman playwright that is probably the best known from the restoration is Mrs. Aphra Behn. While the Puritans did not like t heatre, women being involved with theatre was extremely upsetting to them. Puritans would attack theatres with pamphlets and other protests. The most violent attack happened in 1698 when a pamphlet called A Short View of the Immorality and Profaneness of the English Stage was written by the clergyman Jeremy Collier.

Due to Collier's attack, king James II issued a proclamation "against vice and profaneness." Playwrights were prosecuted and actors and actresses were fined. This did not deter the writers and actors of the restoration. Insteead, writers attacked the Puritans by writing new plays which riducled Puritans.

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Theatre History Overview - Part 11 - Spanish Golden Age

In 1469, Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castille were married, unifying Spain and making it a European power. Then, in 1492, Spain was claimed for Christianity at the Siege of Granada. Because of this seige, military men became concerned with codes of chivalry and honor. Spain did not become involved in the renaissance until about 30 years after it started.

However, once Spain did become involved in the renaissance, it was quite different than many other places. Both secular and religious drama existed at the same time. Both state-sponsored theatre and for-profit theatre existed at the same time. While a "golden age" usuallyl isn't literal, Spain's almost was. Much of the money that supported theatre came from gold, spices, and slaves.

A variety of genres of plays existed during the Spanish Golden Age. However, the main genres were probably auto sacramentales, zarzuelas, and comdeias. Auto sacramentales are religious plays that reflected Spain's Catholic devotion. Zarzuelas are Spanish lyric-dramas that alternate between spoken and sung scenes. The sung scenes would use both operatic and popular songs as well as dance. Felix Lope de Vega y Carpio (Vega) was one of the major creators of comedias. Comedias did not have strict rules. They depended on observations and suggestions, allowing playwrights to experiment. However, comedias did have features that seemed to be common through most of them such as three-act structures, mixtures of tragedy and comedy, and a variety of verse form, but almost never any prose in a play.

Unlike most of Europe during the Renaissance, After 1587 women were allowed to act. Thus, heroines were played by women. Because of this, women disgusing themselves as men became a common plot device. However, after 1599, the Spanish government change its laws about women acting to that in order for a woman to act, she had to be married to a man in a professional troupe.

It is thought that around 30,000 plays were produced during the Spanish Golden Age. There is criticism about this many plays being that there is the idea that quantity was seen as more important than quality. However, because there are so many plays, this gives researchers plenty of material to study about the plays of the era.

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Theatre History Overview - Part 10 - Bunraku

Along with Nogaku and Kabuki, the third type of Japanese theatre that is known is Bunraku. This is a form of Japanese puppet theatre. Three types of performers participate in bunraku: puppeteers, chanters, and musicians. Sometimes instruments such as drums are used. While Bunraku can be traced back to the 16th century, the modern form began in 1680 with the playwright Chikamatus Monazemon and the chanter Takemoto Gidayu.

Bunraku has a special stage. It is separated into left and right sides. A small curtain hangs at stage right and stage left. The puppets enter and exit through the curtain. A narrator's platform is located stage left. It is a circular revolving platform that comes out diagonally into the audience's seating area. There is a wall that goes across the diameter of the platform so each side can seat a narrator and a chanter. This makes entering and exiting the stage easy as the platform only has to be rotated in order for them to enter and exit. There are also screened off rooms - one stage left and one stage right. In the screened off room stage left, there may be a less experienced narrator and a less experienced chanter. They can change places with different narrators and chanters that are on the back part of the narrator's platform while they are not facing the audience. In the screened off room that is located stage right are the musicians.

Bunraku puppets are made of heads, torsos, hands, and feet. These are attached with string. The puppets do not have bodies, but the bodies are created by wrapping kimonos around the puppets to create chests, stomachs, arms, and legs. Female puppets are never made with feet or shoes due to the cultural custom that Japanese women never showed their feet. Even though this cultural custom has changed, the tradition in Bunraku is still followed. The costumes for puppets are made of the same material that Japanese actors wear, but are 2/3 the size of a costume for humans. Then, one puppet may have five or more different heads in order to show different emotions.

A Bunraku performance is usually performed in two segments. One usually takes place in the early afternoon and the next in the late evening. However, one Bunraku play can may last for an entire day.

The future of Bunraku is uncertain as funding has been falling. This is because there is a policy with the Japanese government about how many poeple go to see Bunraku in order to get funding.

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Seussical, Jr. in Lake Charles for Three More Performances!

Seussical (including Seussical Jr.) easily became one of my favorite musicals once I saw it. Going into it, I wasn't certain because sometimes musicals based on literature or small television series aren't that great. I thought I would be a fan of the School House Rock musicals, but I was able to see it and it did not come together well at all. I also thought I would like The Secret Garden musical because I liked the stage play, but the musical changed quite a bit of the plot of how things actually happen.



I'm glad to say that Seussical is not this way. It combines the stories of Dr. Seuss, but they mainly stay in tact and tell a great story when put all together. The only question that I might have in mind when going to see a performance of Seussical or Seussical, Jr. is if the performance will be any good. I did not have a doubt that I'd see a great performance when I found out that Christian Youth Theater of Lake Charles was going to have performances of Seussical, Jr.

The entire crew did an amazing job. Of course, there are always those performers that catch my eye. Keep a look out for Jaylin Williams (the Cat in the Hat), Cole Becton (Horton the Elephant), Zoe LeBeau (Gertrude McFuzz), Kaylee Caroll (Sour Kangaroo), and of course Clay Corley (Mr. Mayor). This production of Seussical, Jr. is directed by Joy Pace and choreographed by Joey Frazier.

You can see the production at the following times:

• Saturday, May 5, 2018 at 2:00pm
• Saturday, May 5, 2018 at 7:00pm
• Sunday, May 6, 2018 at 2:00pm

The show is held on the stage at the Lake Charles Boston Academy located at 1509 Enterprise Blvd. in Lake Charles, LA 70601.

Tickets are $15 at the door and $12 when purchased through Lake Charles Christian Youth Theater's website. The price for tickets goes down to $10 for children 10 and under, seniors age 62 or older, those serving in the military, and per person for groups with a minimum of 10 people.

If you enjoy my content, please consider becoming one one of my patrons through Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/TheatreGeek where I will be sharing more in depth content, answering your questions, sharing which types of software I use and how to find them, and more. By becoming my patron, you allow me to create more content about theatre and more theatrical content.

Theatre History Overview - Part 9 - Kabuki theatre

Kabuki is another form of Japanese theatre. It originated in the 17th century when a female dancer named Okuni became popular because of her parodies of Buddhist prayers. She assembled a group of female performers and they would dance and act. However, the female performers were also prostituted, so all females were banned from acting in Japan in 1629. After this, young boys would dress as women and continued to perform Kabuki. Eventually older men took over the roles and that is the style of Kabuki that continues today.

Kabuki was the first form of dramatic entertainment created for the common people that reached any form of importance. It is usually performed on a stage in a hall. The stage is often modeled after the stage used for nogaku, but also extends into the audience.

The name kabuki means "song, dance, and skill" with each syllable representing each word. Kabuki uses dance, mime, extravagant makeup, spectacular staging, and spectacular costuming. By the early 18th century, Kabuki was not just for entertainment. It was able to present serious and dramatic situations. As commoners in Japan started to rise on the economic scale, Kabuki provided vivid commentary on society. Actual historical events, such as Chushingura (1784), were transferred to the stage.

There is usually a constant interplay between the actors and the audience when Kabuki is performed. The subject matter is clearly separated into historical plays and domestic plays. These two plays are usually separated by one or two dance plays featuring supernatural and exotic creatures.

The basic idea of Kabuki is to allow actors to demonstrate their skills and to entertain teh audience. However, there are often didactic elements dealing with religion, society and morality. Kabuki can still be seen today almost all the time at theatres in big cities such as Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto. Performances are usually divided into two or three segments and tickets are usually sold for each segment. Each ticket costs raound 2,000 yen or $18.33 US.

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Theatre History Overview - Part 8 - Nogaku (Noh and Kyogen)

Theatre did not only exist in Europe during the early to mid years of the 2nd millennium. Theatre existed in other continents, even though we do not usually think about them. One of these continents was Asia and a main country where theatre was found was Japan.

During the 14th century, Nogaku theatre was developed in Japan. Nogaku is the performance of both Noh and Kyogen. It involved music, dance, and drama. It is rare to find Noh or Kyogen separate from each other because it is traditional to have comedic Kyogen pieces performed between the dramatic Noh performances. There were usually five Noh plays and four Kyogen plays if there was an interlude between each Noh play.

The art form was popularized by Zeami during the time known as the Muromachi Period (1333-1573). At first, Zeami's art attracted the patronage of the government, but he later fell out of favor with the government. While the government no longer liked Zeami, Noh troupes still existed and performed Nogaku.

Noh and Nogaku became the official ceremonial art of Japan during the Tokugawa Period (1603-1867). This put an emphasis on tradition rather than on innovation. Noh stories are often drawn from legend, history, and tradition, and sometimes from literature and contemporary events.

All performers in Nogaku are male. The Shite is the leading character. The Waki is the supporting actor. The Hayashi are the musicians. The Jiutai are the c chorus and the Koken are the stage attendants. The Koken are like stage crew in a theatrical performance. The shite wears masks so the audience knows what type of character is being portrayed. The props and costumes have many layers resulting in a bulky image, although props can also enhance expressiveness.

Nokagu is usually performed on a square stage that has pillars at each corner that hold up a roof. Three sides of the stage are open while the fourth serves as the back of the stage and has a backdrop of a pine tree. A bridge runs at an oblique angle off the stage so performers can enter and exit. While Nogaku was traditionally performed outside, inside stages have become common performance venues. An okina play may be performed before Nogaku. This is a play that does not have a plot, but the movements are a sacred rite asking for peace, prosperity, and safety across the land. A common presentation today is an abbreviated Nogaku piece with two Noh stories and one Kyogen story presented between them.

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Theatre History Overview - Part 7- Shakespearean Theatre

While Shakespearean theatre falls into Renaissance theatre and Elizabethan theatre, Shakespeare is extremely influential in theatre, so Shakespearean theatre deserves its own blog post. Shakespeare lived from April 1564 to April 1616. Many people regard Shakespeare as the greatest writer in the English language.

There are 37 known Shakespeare plays that are still performed to this day. When Shakespeare wrote his plays, they had to be versatile for staging because troupes toured with them and they were acted in a variety of places. The settings may have looked very poor or they may have looked as if they belonged to royalty. This is because they could've been staged in bawdy inns or at royal palaces. Mostly, stages did not have any setting and were either only bare or had only a table and a chair or maybe a few chairs. Troupes were not required to travel with settings for the stage.

Shakespearean plays were also common in the theatres built permanently. Some of these theatres were The Theatre, The Globe, The Rose, and The Curtain. In Shakespeare's day, playwrights did not keep the rights to their plays. Instead, they were written on commission and sold to theatre companies or royalty. Shakespeare made money this way, but he also was partner in a theatre company and made money that way. The audiences of Shakespeare's day would often eat while watching plays. Excavations have found many types of leftovers from food.

When Shakespeare died, some people started questioning the authorship of his plays. This questioning has never gone away and some of the propsed writers of the plays are Christopher Marlowe, Francis Bacon, and Edward de Vere. However, there are people who firmly bellieve Shakespeare authored his plays and analysis of the writing seems to support this.

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Theatre History Overview - Part 6 - Elizabethan Theatre

Elizabethan theatre mainly took place during the time that Renaissance theatre took place. However, it started in 1558, a few years before and ended before Renaissance theatre started and ended in 1603, before Renaissance theatre ended.

Of course, being that Renaissance theatre and Elizabethan theatre overlap, much of the information about both are the same when it comes to theatres being built and the playwrights of the time.

During this time, theatre was considered the most entertaining form of art. Also, women were not allowed on stage. Only men were allowed to act, so young boys, or at least men that could pass as women were dressed as women. This made plays such as Shakespeare's Twelfth Night interesting because there would be an actor that wa sa male who was dressed as a woman who was then dressed as a male.

The same play was never shown on successive days. Troupes of actors would travel around the London area, but outside of the city, due to bans on theatre, and learn a new play each week to put in their repertoire.

There were permanent theatres where they acted. In these theatres, it was the opposite of today. The cheap seats were at the ground level. Commoners would watch the play from down there, so they were known as groundlings. They would even sell wares and use plays as time to flirt with each other. The expensive seats were the ones further up where the entire stage could be viewed. While we are not completely sure about the ways actors performed or audiences acted, we make these educated guesses thanks to historical journals.

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