The origins of theater can be traced back to ancient Greece more than two thousand years ago. The ancient art originated as a spectacular entertainment of the public, a festive skit by masquerading actors. The performances were originally timed to coincide with the Great Dionysia, a great religious festival.

Now theater is undoubtedly more than a procession of singing men in goat skins through the city. It has become high art, a mode of recreation for high society, a place of cultural enlightenment. The history of the theater – a fascinating process of development, which does not cease to this day. And we will tell the reader in our article. Many interesting facts you will also find in the presented material. So, let’s begin.

The beginning of .
In Athens in the fifth century BC, theatrical performances were an integral part of religious festivals. Processions with the statue of Dionysus were accompanied by merry chants and dramatic games. It could be said that the history of Athenian theater began as an amateur art performance for a small number of gawkers. Initially only tragedies were staged; comedies began to be shown later. It is noteworthy that plays were usually shown only once. This stimulated authors to create relevant, interesting works. The playwright not only wrote the play, he was a full participant in the performance, performing the roles: director, composer, choreographer and even actor. Naturally, these were exceptionally talented people.

But to become a choreographer (choir leader), great talent was not required. All that was needed was money and connections with civil servants. The chorégue’s main duty was to pay the bills, to provide full material support and to support the theater. It was a competition, with the choregian, the poet and the protagonist winning. The winners were crowned with ivy and given prizes. The victory was given to them by the decision of the jury.

An interesting fact is that the ancient Romans were real fans of realism. The ideal production was considered one in which the actor would get into his role by 100% – if necessary, he had to be ready even to die.

The Greek theater had no roof; the audience and actors were, in fact, outside. The size of ancient theaters was enormous, holding anywhere from 17,000 to 44,000 people. In the beginning wooden stages were used for seating, then natural stone slopes were adapted for theaters. And only then, in the IV century BC, was a stone theater built.

You might be interested to know that the government, starting with Pericles, gave the opportunity to visit the theater and join the beautiful even to the financially unsecured citizens. For this purpose, everyone was given a subsidy for one visit to the theater, and later for three visits.

The history of ancient theater has one characteristic feature: actors played their roles without the help of their own mimicry. It was replaced by all kinds of masks, often quite grotesque. Much attention the actor paid to body movements, clothing. Actors were men, even for female roles. They had a privileged position in society and were exempt from taxes.

An interesting fact is that Livius Andronicus, the ancient Roman playwright, was the father of the world’s first “phonogram.” He was left without a voice, but he got out of the situation by finding a boy who spoke for him.

Some terms of ancient theater
Many of the definitions used in ancient theaters have survived to the present day. A small glossary of terms from ancient times is provided below:

• Orchester – part of a circular shaped theater with two entrances, designed for the performance of dramatic and lyrical choruses. In the Athenian theater its diameter was 24 meters.
• Skene – a place for changing clothes. Originally it was a simple tent, later it was connected with the fragments of the artistic decoration of the stage, for example, the background.
• Proscenium – the colonnade in front of the scena.
• Parascenium – side stone extensions.
• Estrada – the elevation above the orchestra, where in late antiquity the actors began to play.
• Ekkiklema – a movable platform made of wood that allowed the scene to be transformed and the actors to be moved around the stage.
• Coturnes – shoes with high soles, resembling stilts. With the help of such shoes actors became higher, more imposing and resembling mythical creatures.

A notable fact is that it was in Rome that the phrase “Finita la Comedia” was first uttered.

Puppets in the world of theater
The history of puppet theater dates back to Egypt, where priests used a puppet of the god Osiris to perform ritual actions. In the beginning, the puppet theater was ceremonial and ritual, but now the religious connotation has disappeared. Well-known ceremonial and ritual puppet theaters exist in many countries: Japan (“Bunraku”), Indonesia (“Wayang”), Catalonia (“El Pastores”), Belarus (“Batleika”) and others.

In the history of puppet theater in America, a theater created in 1962 called “Bread and Puppet” stands out. It featured giant papier-mâché puppets, an obvious political undertone, and a treat of delicious bread at the door. This interaction between actors and audience is symbolic: the art of theater should be as close to the people as possible.

The puppets come in different sizes as well as looks. There are finger puppets and glove puppets, cane puppets and tablet puppets, marionettes and giant puppets. Being a puppet theater actor is not easy, because you have to be able to bring an inanimate object to life, to give it a character and a voice.

The characteristic feature of any puppet theater is the mockery of something, the presence of morality, educational element in the skits. Whatever the age of the spectator of the puppet theater, he will find there is not only something to laugh at, but also something to think about. Often the characters in puppet theater are unattractive, even ugly characters, such as the French Polichinelle with a hooked nose.

You might be interested to know that actors are not always rich people. In the history of puppet theater in America, there are facts that theatergoers could see a production in exchange for food.

Drama
The history of dramatic theater goes back to ancient times. It is one of the arts, along with puppet theater, pantomime, opera and ballet. The main distinguishing feature of dramatic theater is the actor’s actions are combined with his spoken words. In this kind of genre a special attention is paid to the scenic speech. The basis of a dramatic performance is a play. In the process of acting, improvisation is possible; the action may include dancing and singing. The play is based on a literary work. The main interpreter of the play or script is the director.

Quite remarkable is the fact that theater workers believe that it is not good to drop the script. If this unpleasantness has occurred, one must be sure to sit on it.