History+of+the+Theater+Stage+Structure

Literature Egyptian Theaters

**Greek Theaters **

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 * [|The Theatre of Dionysus] **

//**Attending the Theatre in Athens - Greek Theatre **// media type="youtube" key="0-nlnIRMPvk" height="184" width="327" align="left" THE OLDEST THEATRE IS THAT OF //[|DIONYSOS]// //ELEUTHEREUS ON THE SOUTH SLOPE OF THE// [|ACROPOLIS] //OF// //[|ATHENS]//.

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__[|Greek - Roman Theatre Glossary] __ [|"Deus Ex Machina"]

Greek theater design is characterized by a stage and a semi-circular "bowl" seating area, usually built into a natural outdoor location (as opposed to Roman amphitheaters, which were circular free-standing structures, like a football stadium). Thanks to later adoption by the Romans, Greek theater design spread across the Mediterranean, the Middle East and Europe long after the fall of ancient Greek civilization.

The basic design of a contemporary theater space has changed little since ancient Greece: an elevated stage for actors (**logeion**), a lower area for a chorus or musicians (**orchestra**) and a raked seating area for the audience (**koilon**). These basic elements were perfected by the ancient Greeks to where every seat in the theater was afforded exceptional sightlines and acoustics. A theater in antiquity could hold as many as 20,000 people, which made the structure not only important culturally, but as a social destination as well. Source: http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/interactives/greece/theater/theaterscontemporary.html media type="youtube" key="9AiAGW8CDaw" height="360" width="640"Greek Theatre Theatre buildings were called a **theatron**. The theaters were large, open-air structures constructed on the slopes of hills. They consisted of **three main elements: the orchestra, the skene, and the audience.** **Orchestra**: A large circular or rectangular area at the center part of the theatre, where the play, dance, religious rites, acting used to take place. **Skene:** A large rectangular building situated behind the orchestra, used as a backstage. Actors could change their costumes and masks. Earlier the skene was a tent or hut, later it became a permanent stone structure. These structures were sometimes painted to serve as backdrops. Rising from the circle of the orchestra was the **audience**. The theatres were originally built on a very large scale to accommodate the large number of people on stage, as well as the large number of people in the audience, up to fourteen thousand. 

[|Theater]

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<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 20px; text-align: right;">[|Greek Theatre Architecture]

**<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 20px;">Greek and Roman Theatre Structure ** Italian media type="youtube" key="Wokv1sj8BXE" height="190" width="338" align="center"




 * Roman theatres ** derive from and are part of the overall evolution of earlier Greek theatres. Indeed, much of the architectural influence on the Romans came from the Greeks, and theatre structural design was no different from other buildings. However, Roman theatres have specific differences, such as generally being built upon their own foundations instead of earthen works or a hillside and being completely enclosed on all sides.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 20px;">Renaissance Theater Structure