Agamemnon conclusion; Elizabethan Theater Research

Please see the post above this one about the play project requirement for this course.

Let's finish watching Agamemnon. Then it's off to the lab to research Elizabethan theater. The research notes and the questionnaire are due by the end of class today.

Unsure of how my colleagues cover Shakespeare each year (and whether or not you come from a tradition that includes the study of Shakespeare) it's my duty to give you a little info. We'll start with a quick, if dry, overview of the time period.

Renaissance Theater video (4 min)

Theater as we know it in Shakespeare's day as being performed in a typical PLAYHOUSE didn't occur until 1576. It was James Burbage who built the first playhouse called, appropriately, "the Theater"--a permanent building dedicated to showing plays for commercial interest. Before then, plays were generally performed in courtyards, tennis courts, inns or guild houses. Private showings for the nobles or upper classes would be commissioned as well in indoor theaters where any one could afford a ticket.

Actors joined an acting company. Shakespeare, for example, first belonged to the Chamberlain's Men, then to the King's Men (after Elizabeth's death). Only men were allowed to act in the Elizabethan theater. Younger actors (boys) often played the female roles because they would have looked more like women (i.e., no beard). This helps to explain why so many of Shakespeare's plays include cross-dressing. Consider that Juliet, for example, would have been played by a boy to the older actor playing Romeo. New actors were often given smaller roles so as to train with the experienced actors--who often played the major roles. Shakespeare himself was recorded as playing various small roles in his plays. The most famous example was the ghost of Hamlet's father in Hamlet.

Plays were written (often in collaboration) by the actors in the company (who also doubled as the house manager, director, props master, producer, etc.) This helps to explain why some characters in Shakespeare's plays disappear mid play or return as new characters in the 4th or 5th acts. It's hard to be on stage while also taking money at the door.

Lines for a play were written on sides and distributed to the company members. It would be rare for an actor to have a complete script (the writer would, of course) but printing costs money, so copies were kept to a minimum. This helps explain why there are A sides and B sides to Shakespeare's works. Some lines or sides were changed by the actors or the writer during the performances. Famous actors might even change the author's lines by slipping in a bit of well-rehearsed and well-known comedic business for the audience's benefit.

Finally, having one's works collected in a folio book or quarto would have been rare. Scripts that got out of the hands of a company could be stolen by other theater companies, so copies were not passed around generally. The King's Men must have thought a lot about Shakespeare to have his works printed and bound! Luckily they did--or we could not frustrate future high school students by forcing them to read his plays!

On your graphic organizer (to be turned in at the end of class as participation credit & for your notes for our final exam) please use your time in the lab to take notes on the following topics:

1. Elizabethan actors & acting troupes
2. Elizabethan writers/playwrights
3. Elizabethan stage craft & theaters
4. Elizabethan audiences
5. Elizabethan sports & leisure activities (apart from the theater)
6. Elizabethan clothing & costumes
7. One other area that you found interesting about the time period/setting (see last link below for some ideas...)

Some information has been given to you already in the text or the film links above.
More information about all of this can also be found here.
and here...

and here...
and here...

Use your time wisely as you research. Consider: if I were to write a play in the Elizabethan period (or using an Elizabethan setting) what kind of story would I tell from what I learned today!

HOMEWORK: None. Complete your research and notes if you did not do so already. Feel free to begin writing or gathering ideas for your play project (see post above this one!)