Greek Theater Research Paper
Dan Mullen
Structure of Greek Theater
Greek theater took great advantage of the natural surroundings, a great theater design, and technologically advanced props and equipment. The Theater itself consisted of 4 parts, the Orchestra, the Skene, the theatron, and the paradoi. Technologically advanced equipment such as the machina, or the ekeclema gave the greek theater an air of believability. Oedipus took advantage of many of these aspects of the theater, and used them to a great advantage. The theater consisted of four parts, and took advantage of sloping hillsides to make sure that everyone in the audience could view the play. The main part of the theater was the Orchestra, in which the actors would dance and sing. Orchestras were full circles, often very wide in diameter, topping 60 feet. The theatron seated the hundreds or thousands of people that attended the plays. As the seats got farther and farther away, they got increasingly higher up, so that everybody would be able to view the play. The skene, translated as "tent", was an area in back of the orchestra used by the actors to change and prepare for their next scene. Often the skene would have stairs of ladders leading to the top, so that actors could stand on it, especially if they were playing a God, or another important character. Finally, …show more content…
the Paradoi were long ramps used by actors to get from the front to the back if needed, and also by the patrons to enter and exit the theater. Technology advances gave Greek theater a distinct advance over other, previous theaters, and brought a sense of reality to the play.
The Machina, used by many Greek theaters gave the sense that a person was flying by hoisting them up in the air with a crane-like mechanism. The ekeclema, a wagon sort of device, wheeled characters on and off stage. The Greeks also made great use of trap doors, often using them to enter characters on stage that needed to enter in the middle of a scene. Pinakes were pictures hung from the skene to display the scenery of a play. Often mounted on rotating wheels, the Greeks could change the scenery by turning a simple hand
crank. The Oedipus trilogy would use many of these technologies when the actors acted this play. For encounters with the Gods in Oedipus at Colonus, the gods would have most likely stood on top of the skene, to give the impression that they were up in the sky, like the Greeks believed the gods to be. The rapidly changing scenery in Oedipus would have required the Pinakes, because the scenery changed dramatically from scene to scene. The skene would have again been used in Oedipus the king, when Oedipus is addressing his people, because it would have given him an air of being above everybody else. The technology used by Greeks in their theater displayed a knowledge of unsurpassed technology and design. The theaters took advantage of their natural surroundings, and incorporated the latest technology. All of this combined to modernize theater and plays, causing a great impact on what we see now.
Structure of Greek Theater
Greek theater took great advantage of the natural surroundings, a great theater design, and technologically advanced props and equipment. The Theater itself consisted of 4 parts, the Orchestra, the Skene, the theatron, and the paradoi. Technologically advanced equipment such as the machina, or the ekeclema gave the greek theater an air of believability. Oedipus took advantage of many of these aspects of the theater, and used them to a great advantage. The theater consisted of four parts, and took advantage of sloping hillsides to make sure that everyone in the audience could view the play. The main part of the theater was the Orchestra, in which the actors would dance and sing. Orchestras were full circles, often very wide in diameter, topping 60 feet. The theatron seated the hundreds or thousands of people that attended the plays. As the seats got farther and farther away, they got increasingly higher up, so that everybody would be able to view the play. The skene, translated as "tent", was an area in back of the orchestra used by the actors to change and prepare for their next scene. Often the skene would have stairs of ladders leading to the top, so that actors could stand on it, especially if they were playing a God, or another important character. Finally, …show more content…
the Paradoi were long ramps used by actors to get from the front to the back if needed, and also by the patrons to enter and exit the theater. Technology advances gave Greek theater a distinct advance over other, previous theaters, and brought a sense of reality to the play.
The Machina, used by many Greek theaters gave the sense that a person was flying by hoisting them up in the air with a crane-like mechanism. The ekeclema, a wagon sort of device, wheeled characters on and off stage. The Greeks also made great use of trap doors, often using them to enter characters on stage that needed to enter in the middle of a scene. Pinakes were pictures hung from the skene to display the scenery of a play. Often mounted on rotating wheels, the Greeks could change the scenery by turning a simple hand
crank. The Oedipus trilogy would use many of these technologies when the actors acted this play. For encounters with the Gods in Oedipus at Colonus, the gods would have most likely stood on top of the skene, to give the impression that they were up in the sky, like the Greeks believed the gods to be. The rapidly changing scenery in Oedipus would have required the Pinakes, because the scenery changed dramatically from scene to scene. The skene would have again been used in Oedipus the king, when Oedipus is addressing his people, because it would have given him an air of being above everybody else. The technology used by Greeks in their theater displayed a knowledge of unsurpassed technology and design. The theaters took advantage of their natural surroundings, and incorporated the latest technology. All of this combined to modernize theater and plays, causing a great impact on what we see now.