Shakespeare and the theater

1. Shakespeare

2. Life of Shakespeare

3. Shakespeare Born April 23, 1564 in Stratford-upon Avon His father, John Shakespeare was a successful glove maker Finally given coat of arms (family crest) in 1596 after William’s success His mother, Mary Arden came from a rich, landowning family Was the third of eight siblings, although his two older siblings died young

4. Shakespeare in love November 1582, 18 year old Shakespeare married 26 year old Anne Hathaway, also of Stratford upon Avon May 1583, Susanna (1 st child) was born Had three kids: Susanna, Hamnet , and Judith Hamnet died at eleven, leaving Shakespeare without a son

5. “All the World’s a Stage” 1588, Shakespeare began writing and acting Five poems 154 sonnets 37 plays Histories, comedies, and tragedies In 1599, Shakespeare became a principle holder of the globe theater

6. The Globe James Burbage built the first theater named, “The Theater” Where Burbage built the theater, charged too high of a rent and Burbage decided to relocate across the River Thames Moved materials from “The Theater” across the river to South Bank and used them to build the “Globe Theater” Southbank was a “liberty” or suburb just outside of London (where theaters weren't allowed) Prostitution and other unseemly activities took place around these locations

7. The End of the Globe Extremely lucrative (money making) until 1613 During the performance of Henry VII , the Globe caught fire and was burnt down Rebuilt in 1614 “The Globe II” 1624, Globe shut down by Puritan England

8. New Place 1597, Shakespeare bought New Place where he would retire in 1611 New Place destroyed after Shakespeare’s death Too many tourists ruined it, although some of the gardens still remain intact

9. The Death of the Bard Shakespeare died April 23, 1616 Buried in Holt Trinity Church in Stratford-upon-Avon Anne Hathaway (wife) died in August 1623 Anne Hathaway, daughter Susanna, Dr. John Hall (son-in-law) and Thomas Nash (Susanna’s son-in-law) were buried next to Shakespeare

10. ““Curse Been” Curse on Shakespeare's grave Good friend for Jesus sake forbear To dig the dust enclosed here! Blest be the man that spares these stones, And curst be he that moves my bones Stated that no body could dig up his bones Common for religious/research purposes to dig up bodies and experiment on them Shakespeare fear of exhumation caused him to put in his will that he wanted a curse written on his tombstone

11. Elizabethan Theater

12. Queen Elizabeth Queen Elizabeth's reign: 1558—1603 Known as “Golden Age” because it was the height of the British renaissance Poetry and drama flourished under her Time of religious peace because everyone was following the Church of England (Christianity) Some citizens practiced Catholicism, which Elizabeth, unlike many other rulers of the time, allowed Elizabeth did not, “look into the hearts” of her citizens and they were able to quietly practice whatever religion they chose

13. Early Theater Elizabeth was frugal, which helped her restore England's budget Because of the financial stability, the people of England, including Elizabeth, began enjoying the theater Before Elizabeth’s reign, plays were performed by noblemen actors In 1572, actors began to be required to have a patron in order to keep traveling on the road to perform in different towns As a result of this decree, acting became better, because actors and playwrights were forced to hone their craft to ensure patronage This meant that the quality of playwrights improved drastically

14. Strict London The city of London considered actors master less men so they were looked down upon and weren't allowed within the city limits Queen Elizabeth, on the other hand, enjoyed theatre, and a compromise was reached when theatres began to spring up in London's suburbs, specifically those located on the south side of the River Thames Also located in South worth were other unseemly activities, including bear baiting, cock fighting and prostitution Because of Elizabeth's support, theater owners were allowed to say that public performances were really rehearsals for the queen which allowed them to both make a success and legally stay open

15. Popular Elizabethan Theaters On of the most popular theaters was, “The Theater” Built by James Burbage and John Brayne in Shoreditch in the year 1576 More companies soon followed suit: The Rose 1587 The Swan 1595 The Fortune 1600

16. Construction of Elizabethan Theaters Theaters during the Elizabethan era looked much different than modern theater almost round in shape Had a wood exterior Had a thatched roof (making it extremely flammable) Had three stories that surrounded an open space at the center

17. All the Classes Gather The theater brought all different classes together to enjoy one performance 15% of London’s population would attend the theaters at any given day, but the Queen was the most important audience Elizabeth would have to okay every play before it was performed, and had to approve/disapprove any play Because of this, playwrights would find a way to flatter the Queen within the play to win her favor The Queen herself never went to the theaters—instead, they were given to her privately

18. Classes are Separate Despite the fact that all the classes were together to watch one performance, there was still a very rigid structure of acceptance Each watched the play from different sections of the theatre Upper Class: sat in the “Royal Box”, which was located on the third story, (or Upper Gallery) Wealthy: sat in the middle gallery, while the moderately wealthy sat in the lower gallery

19. “Groundlings” Any commoner who attended the show was known as a groundling Because their entry was one pence, they had to stand in the open area at the center of the theatre on the ground Groundlings would often yell insults or suggestions at the actors and on many occasions throw food on the stage if they didn’t like what was happening (either the quality of the actor or what the character was doing)

20. All Audiences Because playwrights had to appeal to both the lower and the upper class, they would include subtle compliments to the Queen and bawdy (dirty) jokes for the lower class Playwrights would do this by including Comic relief Action Direct dialogue with the Audience

21. Staging a Show To stage a show, you needed A patron A company Shareholders Playwright(s) Actors Costumes Props An Audience

22. The Lord Chamberlain's Men Shakespeare’s acting company Produced by Lord Chamberlain in 1594 As a patron, Lord Chamberlain was basically the behind-the-scenes man that gave the company permission and money to perform their shows

23. Shareholders A company was compromised of shareholder who, much like modern-day shareholders, owned a piece of a company These shareholders were responsible for managing the company Most, if not all, shareholders were also the major actors in the plays

24. The Playwright All playwrights at this time were men Some were formally educated at Oxford or Cambridge, but many were not While Shakespeare himself was also an actor, most playwrights stayed behind the scenes A playwrights was paid incrementally throughout the writing process, and if his play was accepted, he would receive a part of the profit Once he handed his play over to the company, it was no longer his, it was the companies

25. Actors With the major role already filled by the shareholdes , minor actors were hired by the company to act in small roles Rarely showe the same show two days in a row –pressure on actors was tremendous A good memory was helpful, but not 100% necessay “Cue acting”

26. A Boys Club Women were not allowe to perform on stage until 1630 Pre-pubescent boys were dressed in costume an played womens roles

27. Costumes Costumes were extremely elaborate during Shakespeare’s time Scenery was not, so often times the costumes would set the tone for the play Costumes were so important when trying to convincingly portray men as women

28. Setting the Scene (with no scenery) In order to inform their audience about the setting, Shakespeare and his contemporaries would always have a character mention something about the setting at the beginning of the scene if it was important to the play

29. The Plays themselves Whether knowingly or not, Shakespeare used a rigid structure that helped him write solidly-structured plays quickly The most important structure to know in the plot structure

30. Plot Structure of Tragedy Exposition Complication Rising Action Climax Falling Action Moment of final suspense Catastrophe

31. Drama Terms

32. Types of Speech Monologue : a long, interrupted speech spoken in the presence of other characters Soliloquy: a speech, usually lengthy, in which a character, alone on stage, expresses his/her thoughts on stage Dialogue : conversation between two or more characters, (seeking a mutual understanding) Aside: words spoken by a character in a play, ususally in an undertone, not intended to be heard by other characters on stage

33. Character Types Chorus: a company of performers whose singing and narration provide explanation Foil: when one characters traits are different from the opposing character, therefore making one seem different then they are Protagonist: main character Antagonist: opposes main character

34. Other Key Terms Prolouge : introduction to a piece of drama before a performance The prolouge in The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet was delivered by the chorus Tragedy : a lay that tells of the destruction of a noble hero Comic relief: in a tragedy, a short comic scene that provieds respite from the building tension of the play Blank Verse: poetry written in unrhymed lamble pentameter line “Two households, both alike in dignity/ In fair Verona where we lay our scene”