Roosevelt High School - Bwana Yearbook (St Louis, MO)

Page 12 text:

I J GARDEN THEATER SETTING FOR ELECTRA THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE STAGE F the drama enthuslasts of today could see an ancient Greclan theater they would notice the tremendous contrast between the bare crude platform from whlch the actors of that tlme presented thelr drama and the carefully planned stage of the twentleth cen tury wlth lts elaborate scenery splendld llghtlng systems and many wonderful mechanlcal d6VlCCS The earllest Greek drama arose from the chorlc dances held at the foot of the Acropolxs at Athens on festxval days ln honor of Dlonyslus a Greek god mounted a sort of table Later as the number of actors and the Importance of the dialogues grew necesslty brought about the erectlon of a platform at the slde of the danclng place and a booth ln whlch the performers changed their costumes and masks No one thought of stage decoratlon then there was no bulldmg which Included both stage and seats The stage was always at the foot of a gently sloplng hill on which the seats were constructed The stage was sometimes excavated from earth or rock It was built with project mg wings between whlch a stage was erected The stage was dlvlded into several dlstlnct parts There was an upper stage or balcony a rear stage whlch was dlrectly beneath the balcony a mlddle stage which was between the wings and a front stage Then actlng was often done between the sta e and the seats xn the section of the theater called the orchestra fluff Cuurlrs1fnl'l'm -I uprmlv , , , - , , When the leader of the chorus held a dialogue with the remaining choreate, he - , , , - Q . . ' V Y 1 . . ' . , . . ' I , g , . : 'Q J

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BWEIHE We may add as the fourth period France again in the middle of the nineteenth century with Victor Hugo and Dumas Thus we have a brief sketch of the drama from its birth to the present day in its latest stage of development Each of these superb periods has its own characterlstics and each will reward the detailed study devoted to it ln regard to the construction of the drama there has also been Variety ln the ancient Greek times attention was paid to the unltles of place of time and of action The first dealt with the scenes and the changing of the scenes The second required that all events of the play must occur within the same day and the third or unity of action demanded that the incidents of the play should converge upon the development of a slngle plot ln the anclent drama it was difficult to avoid unity of place since there was no p0SSllJlllty of a change in scene thus it was rigorously maintained Unity of time was rendered almost equally necessary by the presence of the chorus throughout the play which was absurd if the plot was carried over long intervals of time What is called unity of action however is simply an application of impresslon in the work of any art but only when subordinate to the last unity did those of time and place demand consideration adherence of the older drama 'lhe introduction of many of the mechanical improvements such as scenery and lighting render the unity of place qulte un necessary Development of greater ability in the matter of costumrng and artificial aids to characterization make the unity of time quite as unessentlal All of this allows greater latitude for expression of the basic facts of the plot wlthout interference from rather mmor factors such as setting The gradual development of the sub plot in harmonious relation to the mam plot has de tracted from the Importance of unity of action From the ancient tragedy has arisen a milder form of drama to amuse rather than entertain in a more serious way This came to be known as the comedy While we of today appreciate the wonder of the tragedy and while It arouses sympathy for the deeper suffering of human nature we are entertained most by the comedy which explolts the follies and the absurdities of the ridiculous Throughout both classes of drama the thread of mild satire may be traced in our modern works and whether lt serves to relieve the tenseness of the tragedy plot or to heighten the absurdity of the charac ters ln the comedy it may be found In either pure or adulterated form We say we are modern even to our arts but should we trace back through the epochs of time we would find that most of our modernlsms are derived from some ancient form or custom of which the drama serves as an example DOROTHYROHLHNC Settn , , , . . . . , . y . 9 . I - 3- s , . , ln the modern drama these unities are not characterized by the rigid . ' . . ' . . - - , , . Q . . , . . . , ,

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Ame STAGE IN SHAKESPEAREIS DAY