Breheim1

Pat Breheim

Professor Gregory Jones

THE1000.004

28 February 2008

A Study of Theatres: Greek vs. Roman

To begin, let us examine the construction of the individual theatres themselves. When

constructing a theatre, the Greeks tended to use the existing landscape; searching for a hillside

with the proper profile in which they could fashion a ¾ circular arena with open sides. This

allowed the audience a sweeping view of the surrounding countryside as well as their fellow

spectators. The Romans, being the industrious engineers they were, usually built their theatres

on their own foundations. Roman theatres were constructed in a semicircular fashion with

enclosed sides. The Greeks were the first to employ both stone in their construction techniques

and the use of staggered seating built into the hillsides. They were also the first to employ higher

mathematics in perfecting the science of acoustics such that an actor’s voice could be heard on

the very top rows.

Contrasting the Greek theatres, the first Roman theatres were of wood and were short-

lived constructions, disassembled directly after being used. This custom was due to a prohibition

on permanent theatre structures that lasted until 55 BC. This was the year that the emperor

Pompey erected the Theatre of Pompey which was built both with the addition of a temple to

sidestep the law and the first to use stone and concrete in its construction. The Greek theatres

typically held around 15,000 people while the Roman theatres held up to 40,000.

In the Greek theatre the presentation area was a circular space, the orchestra, built level

with the skene. The orchestra was where the Greek choruses sang and danced as well as where
the actors performed. The orchestra was placed on a level terrace at the base of a hill, the slope of

which produced a natural theatron, symbolically a "watching place". Afterward, the word

"theatre" was applied to the whole area of theatron, orchestra, and skene. In conception, the

Roman theatre differed from the Greek in building a spectator area that was semicircular. The

Roman stage itself was large, elevated five feet and back dropped by a 2-3 story tall façade.

In a Greek theatre, behind the orchestra, was a large rectangular structure called the skene

(meaning "tent" or "hut").It was employed as a backstage area where actors could change their

costumes and masks, but also functioned to signify the location of the plays, which were usually

set in front of a palace or house. At first, the skene was a tent, put up solely for the religious

festival. The killing of a character was always heard, “ob skene”, or behind the skene, for it was

believed to be improper to show a death in sight of the audience. Later on, a stone scene wall,

called a paraskenia, became an ordinary extension to skenes in the theatres. A paraskenia was a

lengthy wall with projecting sides, which provided doorways for entrances and exits. Just behind

the paraskenia was the proskenion. The proskenion was columned, and was similar to the latter-

day proscenium. Greek theatres also had doorways for the actors and chorus members called

parodoi. The parodoi were tall arches that opened onto the orchestra, in which the performers

entered.

Roman theatres received their fundamental design from the first permanent Roman

theatre, the Theatre of Pompey. The theatres held affairs such as plays, pantomimes, and lectures.

The scaenae frons was a tall rear wall of the stage floor, supported by columns. The proscaenium

was a wall that supported the leading edge of the stage with niches to the sides. This served to act

as a picture frame for the performance. The Roman theatre, contrary to the Greeks, also had a

podium, which occasionally supported the columns of the scaenae frons. The scaenae was
 Breheim3

originally not part of the building itself, but built simply to provide a backdrop for the actors.

Upon the scaenae were painted elaborate landscapes which helped to illustrate a plays locale,

thus the term–scenery. Ultimately, it grew to be a part of the structure itself. The theatre was

separated by the stage (orchestra) and the seating section (auditorium). However, the orchestra,

rather than containing the chorus, was usually filled by senators, and eminent guests. Thus it was

easier for the Romans to dispense with a chorus in general, which following Plautus’ example;

they did (Heather, Roman). Vomitoria (entrances and exits) were often used by the audience to

purge themselves after reveling too much during a performance.

When looking at the differences and similarities in dramatic styles, Greek and Roman

dramatic performances often paralleled their respective building techniques. When performing a

play, the Greek and Roman actors employed the use of masks which made the doubling of actors'

roles easier. Another similarity was that both cultures did not use women actors. Greek theatrical

productions were mostly tragedy with some satyr or comedic type plays while the Romans

performed several types of plays which included dramas, tragedies, commentaries, pantomimes,

and comedies (Heather, Roman). The Greek performances employed a chorus ranging in number

from 50 in the time of Thespis to 15 in later Greek drama. The chorus consisted of ordinary

citizens which were not practiced actors. The chorus served many functions as it offered “a sense

of rich spectacle to the drama; it provided time for scene changes and to give the principle actors

a break; it offered important background and summary information that enhanced an audience's

ability to follow the live performance; it offered commentary about and underlined main themes

animating the action; and to model an ideal audiences response to the unfolding drama” (Baynes

,Richard). “It has been suggested that it was the rhythmic dance and chants of the chorus, placed

always to mediate the physical space separating audience and actor, which evoked the visionary
experience that was the very essence of Greek tragedy” (Sourvinou-Inwood). Greek drama

tended to teach moral lessons, whilst the Romans favored entertainment.

Roman theatrical performances generally did not use a chorus, but relied heavily on the

use of musical accompaniment as well as imagery and scenic elements to help set the drama.

Roman actors were more vigorous in their approach to acting and the actual performance than

their Greek counterparts. Roman theatres were the first to utilize both the concept of stock

characters and color coded garments which allowed the audience to tell much about a character

at first sight. When comparing and contrasting Greek and Roman theatres, we find that the

Roman theatre was less influenced by religion as a reflection of Roman culture and habits.

The Greeks were the first to employ scenic elements designed to enhance the spectacle of

their productions. Several of the scenic elements used by Greek theatre were; Machina (a

mechanical crane that gave the illusion of flying—hence the term–Deus Ex Machina), Phallic

props (used in satyr plays in honor of the Greek god of fertility, Dionysus), Ekyklema (wagons

used to bring deceased characters in sight of the spectators), and trap doors (or similar openings

in the ground to lift people onto the stage)

The Roman theatre was the first to use soliloquies and asides, as well as graphic blood

and violence in their presentations. Roman theatre productions were paid for by the state or by

wealthy citizens. The officials in charge were called Praetor/Aedile. They contracted with a

manager of a theatrical company who was then responsible for all details of the production. He

could choose to have his own group perform the plays. This was the beginning of acting

companies (Heather, Roman)

In short, today’s theatre is forever indebted to the heritage established by these two

diverse and ambitious empires. One can only stand in awe of the majesty and grandeur of their
 Breheim5

civilizations constructions, particularly in light of being erected some 400 years before Christ.

So much of the terminology and concepts employed within the Theatre today is derived from our

theatrical ancestors; that you could say today we owe them a rousing ovation!
 Works cited

Baynes ,Richard. The Classical Greek Chorus. 20 February 2008

<http://www2.selu.edu/Academics/Faculty/jwiemelt/classes/engl230/chorus.htm>.

Heather, Roman. Heathers Roman Theatre. 23 February 2008

<http://www.geocities.com/classic_theatre/>.

Sourvinou-Inwood. Tragedy and Athenian Religion. Oxford: University Press, 2003.