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About this episode

The Roman theatre was shaped with a half circle or orchestra space in front of the stage.. The stage was supported in front by open columns. To solve the problem of lighting and sound - the theaters were outdoors.The huge amount of people present still held problems for the sound as the audience would not always stay quiet. To solve this problem, costumes and mask were worn to show the type of person on stage. Different symbols were worked out. The actors wore masks - brown for men, white for women, smiling or sad depending on the type of play. The costumes showed the audience who the person was - a purple gown for a rich man, a striped toga for a boy, a short cloak for a soldier, a red toga for a poor man, a short tunic for a slave etc. Women were not allowed act, so their parts were normally played by a man or young boys wearing a white mask.The actors spoke the lines, but a second actor mimed the gestures to fit the lines, along with background music. Some things are represented by a series of gestures, which are recognized by the audience to mean something, such as feeling a pulse to show a sick person, making the shape of a lyre with fingers to show music.The audience was usually more interested in their favorite actors than the play itself. The actors would try to win over the audience's praise with decorative masks, costumes, dancing and mime. If the play scripted an actor's dying, a condemned man would take the place of the actor at the last moment and actually be killed on stage. The Romans loved the bloodthirsty spectacles.Rows of seats were added for honored guests. The stage was lowered and 2 short flights of steps leading down to the stairs were added.The one ancient theatre to survive in Rome, the Theatre of Marcellus, was started by Caesar and completed by Augustus in the year 11 or 13. It stands on level ground and is supported by radiating walls and concrete vaulting. An arcade with attached half-columns runs around the building. The columns are Doric and Ionic.

• Category

  How To

• Release Date

  Mar 16, 2007

• Runtime

  05:15