Greek Theatre Facts!

A few of them I've wrote down!!

• Almost every Greek city had a Theatre because plays were part of many religious festivals.
• The Theatre's were built on hillsides in the open air!!, and could often hold more than 18,000 spectators. 
• All the actors were men!!  They wore large masks that exaggerated facial expressions and emotions. 
• Greek plays were either comedies or tragedies.. Tragedies were often about the past, where as comedies tended to be about current and everyday life!
• Plays were either spoken or sang in ryme! 

Interesting!!  I want to show you a picture below of an example of how magnificent the theatre's were.  Look below!!

The theatres had to accommodate large crowds (thousands and thousands of spectators) as well as large casts. There could be up to 50 members of the chorus.

The initial setting for the theatres was a tent in front of a circle of dirt with the audience sitting on a hillside. Over time, theatres were literally built into the hill. They were first made of wood and then stone. The tent was replaced with an actual building.

Theatre Architecture

The main areas of the amphitheatre are:

skene: (meaning - Hut or tent) Building behind Orchestra. There were often one or two entrances on the side, usually decorated as a palace, or temple, depending on what was needed in the play.

orchestra: (meaning - dancing place) A semi circular area in front of the skene. This was the playing area.

Parados: (meaning - passageway) Gangway entries for the chorus on either side of the skene.

theatron: (meaning - viewing place) The area where the spectators sat. Originally referred to just the audience.

Thymele: (meaning - altar) A platform in the orchestra. It is suggested that the leader of the chorus stood on it to speak. It's also suggested that this is an altar for Dionysus, but it doesn't seem likely that one would stand on an altar. There were possibly two platforms side by side.

These amphitheatres are well known for their acoustics. The theory is that the theatres were built so that someone sitting in the very back row could hear the actors. Imagine if you had to play to an audience of 14,000!

Thanks to http://www.theatrefolk.com/spotlights/the-greek-theatre for the information!