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Miss Ruffell's OPTION A - YEAR 12 DRAMA = = **Elizabethan Theatre ** The idea of this wiki is that it is a common place where we can all add information, ideas, pictures, knowledge, air issues and have discussions about Elizabethan Theatre, the genre we are studying for Achievement Standard 2.4!!


 * //Useful websites for resources about William Shakespeare... // [|www.shakespeares-globe.org/][|www.shakespeare-online.com/][|www.shakespeare.palomar.edu/bestsites.htm][|www.shakespeare-oxford.com/Shaklink.htm] ||

Other useful websites... (please feel free to add your own to this list!)

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[] (Jazz)

Below are the following categories in which research needs to be done under...

**The historical and social background ** > You were either considered upper class or lower class. This was primarily decided by where you lived and how much money made. Perhaps much like today, it would depend greatly on your education level and the things you wore also. > The fortunate part is that the gap between upper class and lower class was starting to dissipate slightly. Still, the rich were getting rich, but the poor seemed to be doing quite well too. Generally this was caused by the state of the economy in which England had for the vast majority of Queen Elizabeth I's reign as Queen of England. > The trade industry was blooming and most people had good steady jobs which paid well. People were able to provide for their families and this was something that thecountry had suffered for through many monarchs prior to Queen Elizabeth I.In the Elizabethan Social places like the theatres there was still special seating for the upper class which was usually dependent on the price that they paid. Generally the lower class would pay less (which is fair) and have standing room only. The sad part is that this was referred to as the **"stinkard pit".**This was clearly a derogatory reference to the lower class citizens that were forced into that area. (Miss Ruffell) The Elizabethan period in England had a daily life based on social order: the monarch as the highest, the nobility as second rank, the gentry as third, merchants as fourth, and labourers as fifth. The queen was believed to be God's representation here on Earth. They also believed that God had formed these social ranks and had showered blessings on each rank. Their Parliament had also regulated the clothes that can only be worn by each rank. For a labourer to wear clothes of the rich was not allowed and considered to be a defiance of the order. The Elizabethans had a high regard for family in a community. They believed that families were role models for the community. They were standardized and followed a deep respect for the importance of hierarchy. They had customary rulings for the behaviour of children that were taken from Bible passages. These passages were explanations on the duty of parents in properly raising their children and likewise the responsibility of children to respect and obey their elders. Another law stated that when an individual dies, there was a need to write in an inventory all of the possessions accounted to that individual because this was an informative source or the remaining witness on how the subjects of Elizabethan era lived. People from every social rank began to acquire more household properties during the period of Queen Elizabeth. It was noticeable how houses were constantly changing. For reasons of privacy and comfort, medieval structures using a barn pattern were modernized and added up more chambers or divided rooms. Other town houses in London and big country properties were usually owned by counsellors and courtiers of the Elizabethan time. These became great representations of architectural style during the period. Despite the developing awareness of the significance of comfort in any household, daily life in England during the Elizabethan era was still very difficult for the majority of the subjects. The Westerners ate at least two day meals, which are dinner and supper. The middle and low ranks ate vegetables and grains. The nobility class ate sweet food and meats. Generally, life expectancy reached until 42 years old, but of course the richer rank had lived years longer than that. All the more Elizabethan problems with sickness and diseases were worsened by the town's low sanitary measures. The treatment and procedures for medical attention were unorganized and fell short to complete the need; even people who were able to seek medical help had to go through painful procedures and other medication problems. Worst, the poor ranks had to undergo their medication through the traditional form of healing that was solely based on superstitious beliefs. Elizabethan period was considered to be the period where parlour was introduced, which became a section for new entertainment. The recreation was based on team or blood sports and other activities for personal amusement. For the wealthier rank, hunting became their favourite leisure game.
 * Social, political and economic history of London/England 1560-1642 **Elizabethan Society (Social Aspects) **
 * Daily Life in England during the Elizabethan Era **

• Life in Elizabethan England could be cruel and hard. The poor often went hungry, disease was widespread, medical treatments often felt more like torture and many women died in childbirth. Disasters and diseases were often blamed on women who did not fit into society – they were branded as witches and accused of working for the devil. (Katie)

__**The Oath of Supremacy:**__ When Queen Elizabeth I took the throne, England was divided over the dominant religion. Elizabeth, deciding that the problem needed to be solved released the //Oath of// //Supremacy//, which all Churchmen and Officials would have to swear by. The oath declared that Elizabeth was the ruler of England in both a governmental and spiritual sense, and all those who questioned this questioned her right to lead England and the power of God. Below is a small segment of the oath: //"I, [Name], do utterly testify and declare in my conscience that the Queen's Highness is the only supreme governor of this realm and of all other her Highness' dominions and// //countries, as well in all spiritual and ecclesiastical things or causes as temporal, and that no foreign Prince, person, prelate, state or potentate hath or ought to have any juridiction, power, superiority, pre-eminence or authority ecclesiastical or spiritual within this realm..." - **Elizabethan England pg 56**// Essentially, this oath states that no one other than the Queen has any authority in England on a religious or spiritual sense. As Queen Elizabeth was a conservative Protestant, she had no desire to prosecute those who were Catholic, and therefore the //Oath of Supremacy// was to establish that regardless of whether a citizen of England was Protestant or Catholic, she was the one in power and that was made unquestionable by this declaration. -JustJoshing7
 * <span style="color: #7030a0; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 21px;">Georapghy of London at the time
 * [[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b7/London_Bridge_%281616%29_by_Claes_Van_Visscher.jpg width="424" height="191"]]
 * <span style="color: #7030a0; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 21px;">Religion (Protestant vs. Catholic)

__**<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">FUN FACTS WITH CASS AND HEN! (ft. Tammy) **__ <span style="display: block; font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">- In the elizabethan era only boys were allowed to attend formal education. <span style="display: block; font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">-Ben Jonson, an Elizabethan playwrite, once killed a man in a duel - Shakespeare is the second most quoted writer in the English language – after the various writers of the Bible. (Tammy)

**<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Elizabethan world view **
 * <span style="color: red; font-family: 'arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 21px;">The wheel of Fortune, and responses to the Medieval period **<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 15px;">The Wheel of Fortune - **<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 15px;">it was widely believed that fate (or fortune) was the main control-ling force in life. Just as part of a wheel moves from a low to a high position or from high to low, so does a man’s life. A man in a high position could expect (owing to a change in fortune) to suffer some disappointment or fall. Similarly, a man in an unhappy, lowly position could hope for a change in fortune and consequently a rise to a higher position. However, there was no way of knowing where the wheel would stop, where fortune would lead.

> people believed that everyone and everything was arranged in a specific order, and that this order was divinely pre-ordained. God was the head of all things; the king, his representative on Earth, was the head of the State, and the Pope the head of the Church. Everything was allocated a place on the great chain including animals, plants and minerals. Within each tier, there was also a hierarchy. For instance, the oak tree and the rose bush were decreed the higher plants, the lion the highest animal. All other plants and animals came below. Any break in the chain, such as killing the king, or a king abdicating, or marriage across the social spheres, pretty much ensured pre-ordained chaos. Queen Elizabeth had long occupied the throne, but had no heirs of her body. This created a very tense latter part of her reign, as the succession was not assured. It may be argued that the last part of the Elizabethan reign was obsessed with this issue.
 * <span style="color: red; font-family: 'arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 21px;">The chain of Being **<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 15px;">The Great Chain of Being **<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 15px;">–

[[image:http://sussexhigh.nbed.nb.ca/jjohnston/divine%20order%20ladder%20drawing%20resized.JPG]](KATIE)
In ancient Greek and Roman times, there was a medical belief that the body consisted of 4 humors or fluids. These humors were: blood, bile, black bile, yellow bile and phlegm. It was thought that when these four humors were in balance, a person was healthy. An imbalance in one of these fluids would not only affect their physical health, but also their personality and complexion. This belief became popular once in again in medical practice during the Elizabethan era. Practices such as bloodletting stemmed from this theory. (KATIE)
 * <span style="color: red; font-family: 'arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 21px;">The Four Humours

<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 15px;">When about to die, Cleopatra says: ‘I am fire and air; my other elements I give to baser life.’
 * <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 15px;">The Four Elements and the Four Humours **<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 15px;">– there was also a strong belief that everything that existed beneath the moon was made from a combination of the four elements: Fire, Air, Water, and Earth. The four elements had their counterparts in the four humours of the human body: blood, phlegm, melancholy and choler. If any of these humours predominated in the body, they determined the mood of the person. Hence the expressions: sanguine phlegmatic, melancholic and choleric. A balance made for a ‘good-humour’; an imbalance made for an ‘ill-humour’.

MONARCHY:• According the Great Chain of Being (a concept the Elizabethans inherited from the Middle Ages) God created everything in a strict hierarchy. The Monarch was the highest mortal, and the justification for this was that God had chosen them for their position. All women were considered inferior to men, except for Queen Elizabeth, who’s position as Monarch outweighed the fact that she was a woman. Accepting one’s place in the chain was a duty that would be rewarded by God in heaven. Disrupting the chain was thought to lead to chaos, but of course many people did challenge their position in society. (Katie)
 * <span style="color: red; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 21px;">The place of religion and the monarchy in society
 * <span style="color: red; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 21px;">Shakespeare’s life - Shakespeare is recognized as an actor, poet and playwright, when a rival playwright, Robert Greene, refers to him as "an upstart crow" in //A Groatsworth of Wit//. A few years later he joined up with one of the most successful acting troupe's in London: The Lord Chamberlain's Men. When, in 1599, the troupe lost the lease of the theatre where they performed, (appropriately called The Theatre) they were wealthy enough to build their own theatre across the Thames, south of London, which they called "The Globe." The new theatre opened in July of 1599, built from the timbers of The Theatre, with the motto "Totus mundus agit histrionem" (A whole world of players) When James I came to the throne (1603) the troupe was designated by the new king as the King's Men (or King's Company). The Letters Patent of the company specifically charged Shakespeare and eight others "freely to use and exercise the art and faculty of playing Comedies, Tragedies, Histories, Inerludes, Morals, Pastorals, stage plays ... as well for recreation of our loving subjects as for our solace and pleasure." (Tammy)


 * <span style="color: red; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 21px;">Other playwrights of the time (Marlowe, Jonson, Marston, Webster) The first great work of Elizabethan drama was Thomas Kyd's 'The Spanish Tragedy' (c.1588). Centering on the revenge of Hieronimo for his murdered son, Horatio, its mixture of intrigue in the court of an enemy country, gruesome on-stage violence (Hieronimo bites out his tounge rather than reveal his motives). Max :)

**<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">The Stage **
 * <span style="color: #00b050; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 21px;">The Playhouses

=**TYPES OF THEATRES**= In the Elizabethan period acting troupes could perform at different types of venues. There were Inn-Yards, Playhouses and Amphitheatres.

Inn-Yards were perfect venues as they provided a nice acting space as well as a room for the traveling performers and alcohol for the audience. Many acting troupes would travel the country so inns would give them a place to stay and a place to make money. The actors would perform in the cobblestone yards which major inns had due to transportation of the time being horseback. The audience capacity could be up to about 500 and the Inn-Yards were at their peak between 1576 and 1594. Eventually some Inn-Yards were converted into Playhouses.

A Playhouse was an indoor hall and would house a smaller, more exclusive, more expensive performance. Like Inn-Yards, Playhouses held an audience of around 500 people. Playhouses ensured that performances could be made during the cold winter months. Where Inn-Yards had a more middle class audience, Playhouses encouraged richer and more noble audience members as they could view plays in comfort and luxury.

After the success of performances in Inn-Yards James Burbage built the very first Elizabethan amphitheatre, The Theatre, in 1576. The Theatre was built in a style similar to Roman amphitheatres, but on a smaller scale. Amphitheatres were much larger than Inn-Yards and Playhouses and were designed to house up to 3000 people. Amphitheatres were also built for bear baiting, The Bear Gardens, and bull beating, the Bull Ring. Amphitheatres were generally built with timber, stone and plaster. This method was cheap and an Elizabethan Amphitheatre took around about 6 months to build. The Amphitheatres in London at the time were: 1576 The Theatre 1576 Newington Butts 1576 The Bear Garden 1576 The Bull Ring 1577 The Curtain 1587 The Rose 1595 The Swan 1599 The Globe 1600 The Fortune 1600 The Boar's Head 1604 The Red Bull 1614 The Hope (Jake)


 * <span style="color: #943634; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 24px;">The Globe Theatre **


 * <span style="color: #943634; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">At this time, theatres were very new in Elizabethan England. For example, the very first theatre in Elizabethan London was introduced by an Elizabethan entrepreneur called James Burbage who named it ‘The Theatre’. When ‘The Theatre’ became old and tired, The Globe was then built in 1599 from the timbers of it, recycling theatres. **


 * <span style="color: #943634; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">William Shakespeare was very involved with his theatres and even helped with the construction of The Globe theatre which became an amazing success. Due to the popularity of Shakespeare’s plays, The London audience were eager for more new plays. Great actors such as Richard Burbage, Will Kempe and Edward Alleyn became the Johnny Depp and Leonardo Di Caprio of the Elizabethan era. According to many historians, a day out at the theatre was a real event - the design of the theatre was magnificent and the atmosphere was one to be reckoned with. **


 * <span style="color: #943634; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">At the beginning of the theatre’s construction, plays were first performed in the yards of inns as there were no purpose-built theatres until 1576. These outdoor theatres were carried on if the weather permitted. Later on, these plays were banned from the London City Limits due to many Londoners being strict Protestants and believing that the plays were the work of the devil. Some of the citizens of London also debated that there had been a rise in crime since the plays had been introduced; not to mention the spread of the Bubonic Plague due to the mass of crowds which were packed together when the plays were being performed. **


 * <span style="color: #943634; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The plays that were performed at The Globe included all of the most famous early plays of William Shakespeare. These plays had to be proof-read to ensure that no propaganda was spread to the masses of Londoners. **


 * <span style="color: #943634; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">On June 29 1613, there was a fire that completely destroyed The Globe but it was built again shortly afterward in 1614. Unfortunately, the Puritans ended the Globe Theatre and in 1642 the Puritan Parliament issued an ordinance banning all stage plays. **


 * <span style="color: #943634; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The Globe Theatre was demolished in 1644 **
 * <span style="color: #943634; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">(By Liaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaam) **


 * <span style="color: #00b050; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 21px;">The acting space

[]. (Henry)

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Main Features: <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">A typical Elizabethan unroofed public playhouse, firstly had a raised platform as a stage, and on three sides of this was a yard, an open area for standing audience members. Surrounding the stage and the yard were two or three gallery levels fully furnished with seats. Behind the stage was a back wall with 2 or 3 doors (or curtained doorways). These doorways provided the actors exits and entrances from backstage. A gallery, where musicians often sat, supported the back wall. Above this gallery was a tower, which acted as a storage area for machinery. From the top of this tower, a trumpet would signal a play's commencement and a flag would indicate that a performance was taking place. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The stage and its surroundings adopted the Spanish theatre's architectural backdrop. Above the stage was a canopy, on whose ceiling a blue sky with golden stars was painted. This canopy was suitably called the "heavens" and was supported by columns of classical design.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The stage: <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The Elizabethan stage was an adaptation of medieval conventions. For example, the Elizabethan stage platform originated in the medieval unlocalized plateau, and the facade of the Elizabethan stage had evolved from the mansions of medieval religious drama. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The Elizabethan stage also made use of trapdoors in the stage platform, and machinery in the towers, which was used to lift and move performers. Props, like beds, thrones, and altars were not used to show a scene's locale but to simply aid the action. (Jazz)


 * <span style="color: #00b050; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 21px;">The audiences

=
The Elizabethan Theatre reached people from all walks of life - from Royalty to the Nobility and then the Commoners. The reasonable pricing allowed all classes of people to attend plays and performances. All the pricing was determined by how comfortable the seating was. Not by how close you were to the performers or what you did for a living(class). (Katie/Jess) Also the most expensive seats were almost parallel to the stage and were up very high, not much was able to be seen on stage but the point of these seats were to be seen by all the others. They looked down on every one showing those who could afford the most expensive seats in the house, were not only above the rest of the audience literally but in the social hierachy wise aswell. (Max/Katie/Jess)===== The audience was divided into sitting and standing areas, and the “groundlings”, who paid to watch not to sit, were commonly known for their rowdy behavior. (Katie) Prosperous woman would wear a mask to disguise their identity. (Melina) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> The audience members came from all walks of life: men and women, infants and adults. To enter the theatre, one penny was paid and the person was entitled to stand in the yard before the stage (and was referred to as grounding). An extra penny allowed them to sit in the first floor gallery and another penny another gallery higher. It is possible the amount of audience members reached into the thousands. As performances were often three hours long, their behavior became very rowdy. Talking during dull moments, joviality and the selling of food added up to great commotion actors had to deal with. (Jazz) For technology of the stages, go to this website: [] (Jazz)
 * <span style="color: #00b050; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 21px;">Technology of the stage and costumes
 * In elizabethan era plays, all the action took place on a small stage. A painted wall was used to show the setting. There were some special effects but these were fairly rudimentary. For example if a scene called for thunder, stagehands pounded a drum or rippled sheet metal. If a scene required a ghost or a god, stagehands lowered him on a winch line or sent him up through a trap door. A character wounded in a sword fight clapped a hand to his chest, bursting a pouch beneath his shirt to release blood–or a facsimile thereof. Sometimes, the acting company fired a cannon to salute an important person in the audience or set off fireworks to suggest an omen. Productions often included vocal and instrumental music, especially in plays performed on special occasions before royalty. Minor characters usually sang the vocal selections. Instruments used included the trumpet, the oboe–called an hautboy or hautbois (pronounced O bwa)–and stringed devices such as the viol and the lute. (Henry) **

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Elizabethan costume fundamentally consisted of Elizabethan dress. No matter the period of the play, actors always wore contemporary costume. However, according to a character's racial or national stereotype, characteristic accessories would be added to the outfit. This included a breastplate and helmet for Roman soldier, a turban for a Turk, long robes for Eastern characters, gabardines for Jews and a dress for a Moor. <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Costumes accounted for a majority of companies' expenses especially their maintenance. In Elizabethan theatre, processions, battles and celebrations were the order of the day and vibrant color and pageantry was exhibited. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">(Jazz) Music had been used to accompany poems during the medieval era. The Elizabethans taste for the Theatre was soon enhanced by the accompaniment of music. It was only a short step to combine the accustomed music with its accompanying verse with the exciting pageantry of the Elizabethan theatre. The importance of music to the Elizabethans was reflected in the plays of William Shakespeare who makes more than five hundred references to music in his plays and poems! The plays of William Shakespeare were divided into three categories - Comedies, Tragedies and Histories. Each genre required a different emotions to be reflected in the music. The Shakespeare plays As You Like It and Twelfth Night contain six songs each. And it is believed that 'Full fathom five' and 'Where the Bee Sucks' were written by Robert Johnson (1580-1634) for the first performance of the Tempest. Elizabethan Theatre musicians were usually situated in a section of the 'Lords Rooms'. The 'Lords Rooms' were situated in a gallery immediately above stage wall and facing the backs of the actors. A perfect position for the musicians to accompany the plays. The theatre musicians also took strategic places on the theatre stage and were even known to play under the theatre stage giving the impression of distance or providing an eerie atmosphere in plays like Macbeth. The hautboy (an early oboe) provided a high pitched, supernatural effect which accompanied the witches in Macbeth. []
 * <span style="color: #00b050; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 21px;">Use of music and musicians

Music was taught in schools and universities such as the England Madrigal School. A madrigal was the most common form of secular vocal music. Many famous composers emerged from this school.

Musical period timeline: Medieval (500 - 1400), Renaissance (1400 - 1600), Baroque - started getting more technical (1600 - 1760), Classical (1750 - 1830), Romantic (1815 - 1910), (1900 - 2000)

Musicians in the Elizabethan era were known as Waits. They began to be known as Waits in the Medieval period. Street musicians or traveling minstrels were looked down upon. Street musicians played at markets and fairs and were soon outgrown by tavern, court and theatre musicians. Theater became increasingly popular when music was added to it. Theater music became even more popular with the rise of William Shakespeare in 1556.

William Byrd (1539 - 1623) is considered the greatest composer of Elizabethan times. He was the leading composer of religious music. William was the chief organist and composer for Queen Elizabeth. John Bull (1562 - 1628) was the best known organist. John Dowland (1563 - 1626) was the leader composer of lute music. He published a songbook Ayres in 1597 which became a bestseller. The most famous composer for the Globe Theatre was Robert Johnson (1582 - 1633). He composed pieces such as the 'Full Fathom Five' and 'Where the Bee Sucks' which were written for 'The Tempest'. [] Other composers: John Taverner (1490 - 1545), Thomas Morley (1557 or 58 - 1602), Orlando Gibbons (1583 - 1625), John Blitheman (1525 - 1591)

Songs in the Elizabethan era were very poetic and were focused on the simple harmonies in the vocals, rather than the music. Music was very soft in this era, shown evidently in Shakespeare's plays.

The Renaissance period (1400 - 1600) was music period during the Elizabethan era. Instruments such as the harpsichord, lute, flute, violin, organ, spinet, virginals and viol were commonly used. The harpsichord was an early form of a piano, it could only play terraced dynamics. Giovanni Gabrieli from the Renaissance period was the first composer to identify dynamics in music notation e.g. forte, piano. The dynamics used in pieces were fairly simple as not many composers used them. Go to this website for characteristics in Elizabethan music: [] (Jazz)

This is an exerpt from a publication written in 1920 by W.J. Lawrence on Music in the Elizabethan theatre [] (Henry) In Shakespearian theater, sets and props were minimal, or non-existent (although the Globe did employ effects involving a balcony and trap-doors), and so a scene was painted for the audience using text. In general, text was the key component of plays in Elizabethan England – the expression “going to HEAR a play” was common. (Katie) **<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">The text ** > The unique feature of Elizabethan drama is that one play was not played twice and certainly not within the same week. A new play was belted out almost every day. The theme of Elizabethan drama ranged from history of monarchs or the country including various European countries, tragedy, comedy and something called revenge drama emerged which the audience quite liked. (max)
 * <span style="color: #00b050; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 21px;">Use of props
 * <span style="color: #e5681b; font-family: 'arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 21px;">Themes and ideas Earlier, dramas were based on the bible stories, mystery, or had a moral attached to it and even tried to recreate Greek or Italian drama. However, during the Elizabethan period, drama branched out to political plays, comedy and historical content. It veered away from bible stories and tackled the reality.


 * <span style="color: #e5681b; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 21px;">Structure – verse, blank verse, iambic pentameter, rhythm & pace etc


 * <span style="color: #e5681b; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 21px;">Tragedy, comedy or history


 * __<span style="color: #943634; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 64px;">Playwrights __**

<span style="color: #943634; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Shakespeare was a very famous playwright of the Elizabethan era but people fail to remember the other playwrights like Marlowe and Jonson. London had a large population of people who readily devoured literary works and performances which spawned these playwrights.

<span style="color: #943634; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">We tend to picture playwrights as being pompous, frilly clothed public schoolboys when, in actual fact, the playwrights were mainly self-made men from modest backgrounds. Of course, some of them were educated at either [|Oxford] <span style="color: #943634; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> or [|Cambridge] <span style="color: #943634; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">, but many were not. For example, Christopher Marlowe was killed in a bar-room brawl, ending his spree of tragic plays, and Ben Jonson killed an actor in a duel.

<span style="color: #943634; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Playwrights were normally paid in increments during the writing process, and if their play was accepted, they would also receive the proceeds from one day's performance. However, they had no ownership of the plays they wrote. Once a play was sold to a company, the company owned it, and the playwright had no control over casting, performance, revision or publication.

<span style="color: #943634; font-family: 'times new roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">[|http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Marlowe#Arrest_and_death]

<span style="color: #943634; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">^^interesting link, shows playwrights as being a bit dodgy and ‘blasphemous’ (puritan thing)

<span style="color: #943634; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">(By Liaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaam)

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">For a playwright they often needed to sell between 4 or 5 plays a year. Once a company bought a play, it was that company's property and the playwright gained no further income.

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The life of a play lasted between one and two years, depending on its popularity. A company learnt a new play about every 17 days, and after a play's main performance, it was later performed after a few weeks' intervals until they were dropped from the repertory.

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">At one stage, during a four-week period in the autumn of 1595, 15 different plays were performed. Plays were usually performed at 2pm, as it was not too warm yet there was sufficient light. <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">(Jazz)

**<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">The performances **
 * <span style="color: #ff0066; font-family: 'arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 21px;">The acting companies- Theatre became so popular during the Elizabethan time, actors began forming acting troupes. These troupes required a license to perform. The Earl of Leicester's Men were one of the first ever acting troupes formed during the Elizabethan era. It was formed in 1572 (4 years before the construction of the first theatre), they were members of The Earl of Leicester's household, and performed for the court. The Earl of Leicester's was greatly favored by Queen Elizabeth, and she granted the troupe a license to perform. In 1576, troupe leader James Burbage built The Theatre so the troupe could stage their productions. After the The Earl of Leicester's death in 1588, they troupe merged with Lord Strange’s Men. Lord Strange’s Men was made up entirely of members of Lord Strange’s household. They toured London before they began performing at court in 1582. The troupe performed at The Rose Theatre and The Theatre, where it is widely believed they performed several of Shakespeare’s plays. When Lord Strange died in 1594, the group split; some toured the provinces and others joined the Chamberlain’s Men. (Adam)

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Two kinds of acting companies existed during the Elizabethan era. These were adult companies and boys' choirs. The latter consisted of a group of choirboys who were conducted by a choirmaster (who received all profits). <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">They performed in court chapels. <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The other company consisted mainly of 12 to 25 adult men. No women were allowed on stage, so young boys played the female roles. Many of the main actors were shareholders in the company and received a share of the profits. <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">As apprentices, young boys were apprenticed from the age of 10 years to a senior actor, who would train him in performance, provide him with toom and board and receive his apprentice's wage until he came of age and became an independent actor. <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">To survive, acting companies had to perform often to secure a constant income. They also had to have a large repertory of plays to perform, so as to keep the limited amount of audience members coming back. <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">All Elizabethan acting companies had to be under patronage of various nobles, otherwise they were referred to as "masterless men", classified as vagabonds or rogues. <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Two main acting companies performed in London theatres, and these were the Lord Chamberlain's Men, and the Admiral's Men. <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Shakespeare was part of the Chamberlain's Men, whose patron was the Lord Chamberlain and who were run by Richard Burbage. The actors in this company owned shares within it as well as their playhouse and its properties. <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The Admiral's men, patronaged by Sir Admiral and run by Alleyn, had no shares in their company. They paid rent for the use of a theatre to Henslowe, who also paid them salaries. <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">(Jazz)

Generally termed today as being melodramatic. This is distinguished by emphasized and even exaggerated displays of emotions, as well as relatively stereotypical characters. The actors annunciation in speech and their actions echoed the drama intensely. Styles were more declamatory and ranting than acting styles seen today. (Jazz) Dramas were very conventional and not very realistic. Poetry being the obvious convention commonly used in every play. Others included asides, soliloquies, boys playing the roles of women, battles (with only a few participants), the daylight convention (many scenes are set at night, though the plays took place in mid-afternoon under the sky), a convention of time (the clock and calendar are used only at the dramatist's discretion), the convention of "eavesdropping" (many characters overhear others, which the audience is privy to but the overheard characters are not), and movement from place to place as suggested by the script and the audience's imagination. Exits were strong, and when everyone departed the stage, a change of scene was indicated. There was relatively little scenery. Scenery was mostly suggestive; for example, one or two trees standing in for a whole forest. The elaborate costumes—for which companies paid a great deal of money—supplied the color and pageantry. Minimal scenery and limited costume changes made the transitions between scenes lightning-fast and kept the story moving. There was also often dancing before and after the play. [] (Jazz) According to Elizabethan science, a person’s emotional/psychological and physiological states were closely linked. Therefore, a character going through an intense emotional outbreak would show certain recognisable symptoms. One common symptom was going pale or red, and Eizabethan actors developed the ability to “change complexion” at will. This was a highly valued talent. (Katie) Some male actors who would play females were castrated to make them sound more high piched. (max) The standing of Elizabethan Actors improved when the purpose-built theaters were introduced. A play could attract as many as 3000 people to the theater and the Elizabethan actors were the equivalent of today's superstars. Many of the major Elizabethan Actors became stake holders in the theaters and became wealthy men. They mixed with the nobility and played before royalty.(Milena)
 * <span style="color: #ff0066; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 21px;">The style of acting
 * <span style="color: #ff0066; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 21px;">Acting conventions
 * <span style="color: #ff0066; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 21px;">Actors <span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 21px;">- Woman did not act in those times, men had to play women roles! (Tammy)

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**Joseph Taylor (1586 - 1652)**
(KATIE)

**Actors were considered such a threat that that regulations were imposed and licenses were granted to the aristocracy for the maintenance of troupes of players! Actors would be asked for these credentials - they were treated with suspicion! (Melina)**