greek theatre - Assessment task:
Examine Greek myths and legends or information about Greek Gods and Goddesses. So that you can then...
Devise your own Greek tragedy in groups of five.
Firstly pick a greek myth to tell your group about (you must all choose a different myth in your group to present to each other).
Present each of your story ideas to the rest of the group and then vote on which one would be the best to develop into a script - just like the Greek Chorus would vote on which play they liked the best!
As a group, write a script for your Greek Tragedy - following the narrative guidelines below this task...
Three people must act as the chorus, and two other people as the main actors in the story.
Rehearse your script.
Extension - Make a mask for your character at home and/or Create a costume and bring it to class for performance.
Greek Play Structure:
You will be writing your own Greek play... and must take note of this particular structure...
Prologue
Characters speak, perhaps directly to the audience. Tell us what the play is going to be about, and what they think we will learn from it.
You just don’t "come right out and say it”. The necessary information must be revealed through natural-seeming comments by the characters.
Parados
Chorus, in unison, tells us what has happened before the beginning of the action of the play. They should also tell us who they are.
You can have the chorus speak in verse. (In a real Greek play, the chorus would "enter" here)
Episode 1
Characters, in masks, of course, act out the beginning of the action of the play.
You can have the chorus interrupt the action to ask questions or make comments. Remember that characters in Greek Tragedy tend to talk a lot about decision making and moral choices—what should I do? Am I doing the right thing? Etc. Remember that anything violent should take place offstage, with a character or "messenger" entering to tell us what happened.
Choral Ode 1
Chorus speaks about something connected with the theme of the story, but not necessarily about the story itself.
You may use a popular song or poem here, that you think expresses the mood or theme at this point in the play. (In a real Greek Tragedy the chorus would probably also "dance" at this point).
Episode 2
Characters act out the next part of the story, again with choral comment if you want.
Final Episode
Characters act out the end of the story.
Exodus
As or after the characters leave, the chorus tells us what we have learned from the story.
Intro to Greek Theatre... click here for original source website
The Greeks' history began around 700 B.C. with festivals honoring their many gods. One god, Dionysus, was honored with an unusual festival called the City Dionysia. The revelry-filled festival was led by drunken men dressed up in rough goat skins (because goats were thought sexually potent) who would sing and play in choruses to welcome Dionysus. Tribes competed against one another in performances, and the best show would have the honor of winning the contest. Of the four festivals in Athens (each reflecting seasonal changes), plays were only presented at one festival--City Dionysia. Historians believe that the Greeks patterned their celebrations after the traditional Egyptian pageants honoring Osiris.
At the early Greek festivals, the actors, directors, and dramatists were all the same person. Later, only three actors could be used in each play. After some time, non-speaking roles were allowed to perform on-stage. Because of the limited number of actors allowed on-stage, the chorus evolved into a very active part of Greek theatre. Though the number of people in the chorus is not clear, the chorus was given as many as one-half the total lines of the play. Music was often played during the chorus' delivery of its lines.
Although few tragedies written from this time actually remain, the themes and accomplishments of Greek tragedy still resonate to contemporary audiences. The term tragedy (tragos and ode) literally means "goat song," after the festival participants' goat-like dancing around sacrificial goats for prizes. Most Greek tragedies are based on mythology or history and deal with characters' search for the meaning of life and the nature of the gods. Most tragedies that have survived from this period begin with a prologue that gives the audience exposition to the following action. The chorus then introduces a period called the paradox. During this time introductions to characters are made, exposition is given, and a mood is established. The final scene is called the exodus when all the characters as well as the chorus depart.
Three well-known Greek tragedy playwrights of the fifth century are Sophocles, and Euripedes. Aeschylus , who was a competitor at the City Dionysia around 499 B.C., wrote some of the oldest tragedies in the world. Only a few of Aeschylus' plays have survived but they include The Persians and the Oresteia trilogy. Aeschylus is attributed with the introducing the second actor to the stage. Another Greek playwright was Sophocles, and only seven of his tragedies--including the still-popular Antigone, Electra, and Oedipus Rex--have survived. Sophocles won twenty-four contests for his plays, never placing lower than second place. His contributions to theatre history are many: He introduced the third actor to the stage, fixed the number of chorus members to fifteen, and was the first to use scene painting. Euripedes was another prolific playwright who is believed to have written 90 plays, 18 of which have survived, including Medea, Hercules and The Trojan Women. He was often criticized for the way he questioned traditional values on stage. Euripedes also explored the psychological motivations of his characters actions which had not been explored by other authors. His plays were used as pattern for other authors for many years after his death.
Comedy was also an important part of ancient Greek theatre. No one is quite sure of the origins of comedy, but it is said that they derived from imitation. All comedies of note during this time are by Aristophanes . Aristophanes, who competed in the major Athenian festivals, wrote 40 plays, 11 of which survived--including the most controversial piece of literature to come from ancient Greece, Lysistrata, a humorous tale about a strong woman who leads a female coalition to end war in Greece. Although only 33 tragedies and 11 comedies remain from such a creative period, the Greeks were responsible for the birth of drama in the Western world.
Devise your own Greek tragedy in groups of five.
Firstly pick a greek myth to tell your group about (you must all choose a different myth in your group to present to each other).
Present each of your story ideas to the rest of the group and then vote on which one would be the best to develop into a script - just like the Greek Chorus would vote on which play they liked the best!
As a group, write a script for your Greek Tragedy - following the narrative guidelines below this task...
Three people must act as the chorus, and two other people as the main actors in the story.
Rehearse your script.
Extension - Make a mask for your character at home and/or Create a costume and bring it to class for performance.
Greek Play Structure:
You will be writing your own Greek play... and must take note of this particular structure...
Prologue
Characters speak, perhaps directly to the audience. Tell us what the play is going to be about, and what they think we will learn from it.
You just don’t "come right out and say it”. The necessary information must be revealed through natural-seeming comments by the characters.
Parados
Chorus, in unison, tells us what has happened before the beginning of the action of the play. They should also tell us who they are.
You can have the chorus speak in verse. (In a real Greek play, the chorus would "enter" here)
Episode 1
Characters, in masks, of course, act out the beginning of the action of the play.
You can have the chorus interrupt the action to ask questions or make comments. Remember that characters in Greek Tragedy tend to talk a lot about decision making and moral choices—what should I do? Am I doing the right thing? Etc. Remember that anything violent should take place offstage, with a character or "messenger" entering to tell us what happened.
Choral Ode 1
Chorus speaks about something connected with the theme of the story, but not necessarily about the story itself.
You may use a popular song or poem here, that you think expresses the mood or theme at this point in the play. (In a real Greek Tragedy the chorus would probably also "dance" at this point).
Episode 2
Characters act out the next part of the story, again with choral comment if you want.
Final Episode
Characters act out the end of the story.
Exodus
As or after the characters leave, the chorus tells us what we have learned from the story.
Intro to Greek Theatre... click here for original source website
The Greeks' history began around 700 B.C. with festivals honoring their many gods. One god, Dionysus, was honored with an unusual festival called the City Dionysia. The revelry-filled festival was led by drunken men dressed up in rough goat skins (because goats were thought sexually potent) who would sing and play in choruses to welcome Dionysus. Tribes competed against one another in performances, and the best show would have the honor of winning the contest. Of the four festivals in Athens (each reflecting seasonal changes), plays were only presented at one festival--City Dionysia. Historians believe that the Greeks patterned their celebrations after the traditional Egyptian pageants honoring Osiris.
At the early Greek festivals, the actors, directors, and dramatists were all the same person. Later, only three actors could be used in each play. After some time, non-speaking roles were allowed to perform on-stage. Because of the limited number of actors allowed on-stage, the chorus evolved into a very active part of Greek theatre. Though the number of people in the chorus is not clear, the chorus was given as many as one-half the total lines of the play. Music was often played during the chorus' delivery of its lines.
Although few tragedies written from this time actually remain, the themes and accomplishments of Greek tragedy still resonate to contemporary audiences. The term tragedy (tragos and ode) literally means "goat song," after the festival participants' goat-like dancing around sacrificial goats for prizes. Most Greek tragedies are based on mythology or history and deal with characters' search for the meaning of life and the nature of the gods. Most tragedies that have survived from this period begin with a prologue that gives the audience exposition to the following action. The chorus then introduces a period called the paradox. During this time introductions to characters are made, exposition is given, and a mood is established. The final scene is called the exodus when all the characters as well as the chorus depart.
Three well-known Greek tragedy playwrights of the fifth century are Sophocles, and Euripedes. Aeschylus , who was a competitor at the City Dionysia around 499 B.C., wrote some of the oldest tragedies in the world. Only a few of Aeschylus' plays have survived but they include The Persians and the Oresteia trilogy. Aeschylus is attributed with the introducing the second actor to the stage. Another Greek playwright was Sophocles, and only seven of his tragedies--including the still-popular Antigone, Electra, and Oedipus Rex--have survived. Sophocles won twenty-four contests for his plays, never placing lower than second place. His contributions to theatre history are many: He introduced the third actor to the stage, fixed the number of chorus members to fifteen, and was the first to use scene painting. Euripedes was another prolific playwright who is believed to have written 90 plays, 18 of which have survived, including Medea, Hercules and The Trojan Women. He was often criticized for the way he questioned traditional values on stage. Euripedes also explored the psychological motivations of his characters actions which had not been explored by other authors. His plays were used as pattern for other authors for many years after his death.
Comedy was also an important part of ancient Greek theatre. No one is quite sure of the origins of comedy, but it is said that they derived from imitation. All comedies of note during this time are by Aristophanes . Aristophanes, who competed in the major Athenian festivals, wrote 40 plays, 11 of which survived--including the most controversial piece of literature to come from ancient Greece, Lysistrata, a humorous tale about a strong woman who leads a female coalition to end war in Greece. Although only 33 tragedies and 11 comedies remain from such a creative period, the Greeks were responsible for the birth of drama in the Western world.
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greek Theatre Stage building
Students had to use their problem solving and maths skills together in groups to create a small 3D model of a Greek stage using only two bits of card, sissors, tack, glue, and popsicle sticks. |
Year 8 Term 2 2014 - final greek theatre 3d stages
Term #3 2014 - Greek pRESENTATIONS
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sparta.pdf | |
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Ancient Greek Home Life | |
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Term #4 2014 build a 3d greek theatre task
Medea text by euripides
Greek Myths and legends exercise...
Link to BBC website - Primary History
TASK: Watch the Jim Henson's The Storyteller Greek Myths DVD to see a range of Greek myths and legends. As you watch them, take note in your journals of the following three things:
TASK: Explore the Gods and Heroes section of the BBC website to do some more investigation around Greek mythology... LINK TO WEBSITE HERE - PLEASE CLICK
Once you've had a good hunt around the website and a read-up on the various Gods and Heroes... take the quiz on the webpage to see what you've learned.
TASK: Watch the Jim Henson's The Storyteller Greek Myths DVD to see a range of Greek myths and legends. As you watch them, take note in your journals of the following three things:
- Name of the Greek myth
- Who are the characters?
- A basic/brief description of the plot/story
- What is the moral? What lesson is learned in this story? What does it tell us?
TASK: Explore the Gods and Heroes section of the BBC website to do some more investigation around Greek mythology... LINK TO WEBSITE HERE - PLEASE CLICK
Once you've had a good hunt around the website and a read-up on the various Gods and Heroes... take the quiz on the webpage to see what you've learned.