Unit 12 questions

Antigone's first performance was in Athens around 440 BC. The original play written by Sophocles, was around 4/5 hours long. As they were performed outside in amphitheatres, there were no intermissions either. These events which were held in honour of Dionysus, always had a large audience because it was really the only source of entertainment in that time. Originally in the tragic plays of Ancient Greece, the chorus consisted of 12 singers and dancers. They would all stay on the same rhythm to represent one entity. Later on, the numbers increased and a 3rd actor was added (Sophocles). The leader of the chorus began to interact with the actors, and this brought ancient Greek tragedy nearer to the modern understanding of 'dramatic plot'. The acting was very full out as they had to be seen and heard throughout the whole audience. This made their gesturing very grand.
For my Shakespeare Monologue, 'Much Ado About Nothing' was first performed in the late 1590s. It is a comedic play, and the first production was by the Lord Chamberlain's men, a company of actors that Shakespeare wrote for most of his career.

 In the Elizabethan Era, Shakespeare's plays were often performed in the Globe and Blackfriars Theatres. Before these venues, the plays would be performed in the courtyards and back rooms of pubs. Actors then had the reputation of hard drinkers, and the plays supposedly promoted ungodly ideas. This contrasts with the Greek era of theatre as their performances were in honour of the Gods. There was a lack of set and lighting, and would be performed in the afternoon for the best natural light. As most leading roles would have been played by men, Beatrice in 'Much Ado' would have been played by a very skilled male actor. After every performance, they would finish with a 'jig', so the actors had to be able to dance well too. In these times, people would refer to attending the performances as 'hearing' the play rather than 'watching' it. This is because the minimal use of set design and gender switched roles, so Shakespeare would use imagination to evoke the desired image (particular locations and environments). When performing my monologue, I simply just stood on a podium with plain clothing. It showed that it was more about hearing the performance rather than observing my appearance, the setting etc.  



In the Greek era, plays competed in the Festival of Dionysus, which was very culturally important back then compared to now. The event was held annually in Athens, where all the citizens would come together for this time. The 'Thyleme' was an altar in the middle of the theatre stages, where a goat would usually be sacrificed to thank the God. As it was the only source of entertainment, there would be thousands upon thousands of people that would attend. There was no fee either, as the reasons were for the religious aspect. Greece was made up of small independent city-states. Athens grew in power and took over many of the states. Only native-born males were granted citizenship. By the 5th century, Athens has become a democracy, but only citizens could be a part of the political life, meaning women, slaves and foreigners were not a part of this. Women were excluded from the festivals, meaning they would not act and couldn't even be in the audience.
 Nowadays, the religious aspect has diminished as people purely come in the joyment of plays and theatre arts. Audience today also have to pay to go and are available throughout the year, rather than only a few set days per year. Women are also allowed to be involved in the performances and be in the audience etc.

In the Elizabethan era, the theatres would be filled with all different social classes, but would be in their sections of the audience seating. The commoners were known as the 'groundlings', who would pay a penny to watch from the pits of the globe theatre. The gentry (people of a high social class) would pay to sit in the galleries along with cushions for comfort. The rich nobles could afford to pay to sit on a set of chairs on the side of the stage itself. The theatres were known for quick spreading plagues, with the bubonic plague closing the theatres in 1593, 1603 and 1608. Between 1660 and 1700, plays were extremely popular and people would flock to the theatres when a new play was being performed. This showed the country's stability which was firstly doubtful when Queen Elizabeth took the throne. However when the needs were being met in the country, they could focus on increasing the importance in the arts, music and theatre. Nowadays, the behaviour of the audiences in the theatre are significantly different compared to back then. The audience would behave very boisterously, particularly the 'groundlings'. Cabbage and other vegetables would often be thrown at the performers in criticism, sometimes even furniture which would cause damage. Audiences today are much more respectable and for obvious and legal reasons, would not be allowed to disturb to performances.


In Shakespeare's plays, he uses prose and verse which differentiate between the character's social classes. In the higher characters, which were normally the protagonist and people from higher social classes would talk in verse, using rhyme schemes and a rhythmic pattern that displays their education and their royal status (being a queen/king). The sub-plot was for lower social class characters who would talk in prose. Showing the opposite of the verse, prose lack rhythmic pattern which shows their lack of education and debased position.


We made a number of creative choices for our performance of 'Antigone' when interpreting the text. Some of which were:

• Boiler suits for chorus: This choice of costume for the chorus members came from the idea of them representing 'refugees'. The dark dye stained suits showed the lack of importance of the chorus characters, and separates them massively from the royal characters of the play
• Guard role split into 2: Me and Emily both had the guard role, so we became a pair of guards who each showed a different set of morals. One, who partly lied to save their backs, and another who admitted the truth out of fear of punishment.
• Use of masks: We used masks of different emotions that were largely exaggerated. The varied emotions reflect the ones expressed through the play
• Use of trench: We used trenches for the chorus members to wait in as they watch on at the other characters
• Music: Our chorus started above the audience in a long line around the edge of the seating, where we produced a harmonious tune with our voices. We also used a harpist for certain scenes in the background which linked to the Greek music that would have been played in that era,

In developing my vocal and movement skills to create characterisation, I have interacted more with the other characters. Particularly with the chorus, it starts off with them siply interacting with each other, isolated socially from the other characters. However, as time progresses the chorus connect more with the royals such as Creon, when they are taking over his sanity and getting into his mind as he self-destructs. 

describe the contrast between your roles when performing to an audience?
There was a strong contrast between the roles in Antigone when performing to an audience, in terms of the mood and atmosphere. Creon's presence was often uncomfortable to the audience as his power and pride was very distinct, as well as having an aggressive nature. Whereas Antigone was the heroine of the story, fighting for justice and having a strong will power. The chorus were the commentators of the narrative, the voice of the audience and although on the inside of the play have little significance, through another perspective on the outside actually are important as they guide the onlookers through the plot.