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

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Ame STAGE IN SHAKESPEAREIS DAY

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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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NEW ST LOUIS THEATER STAGE About 450 B C Sophocles a Greek traglc poet Introduced painted scenery for drama but there was very seldom a change m scenery durmg a play When a change was necessary lt was effected by means of revolving prisms Some of the appliances used at that time were exceedmgly crude For instance a low platform on rollers was pushed forward when an actlon supposed to take place ln the mterxor of a scene must be shown and a crane the parts of gods On the balcony was a narrow platform upon whlch gods supposed to be stationary ln heaven could appear Ghosts ascendxng from the underworld mounted a platform on the lower stage The Roman theater was patterned after that of the Greeks and It used sxmllar equipment but the Romans were more elaborate ln their stage settmgs They had three types of movable scenery first for tragic drama they used facades wlth columns representlng public bLllldll'lgS second for comic plays private houses with wlndows and balcomes were considered flttlng thlrd for SBIIYIC drama there were rustlc scenes with mountains Caverns and trees About 50 B C the Romans began to construct permanent buxldlngs ln place of the outdoor theaters the success of which depended on the nature of the place where they were located There IS record of one splendid and costly theater of that tlme vwhxch seated no less than eighty thousand people I fuur!r'x:.'r17',XrLA S1 Inns l '.'u1rr - - . , . - . was arranged for the sake of elevating into mid air those actors who played , . 1 , ' . . , . . . . z , . ' . ' u . .3 . ' T. VT