Theatre During The Renaissance Period

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Advancements and Developments of the Theatre during the Renaissance Period Meredith McLaughlin History of the Theatre I Finney November 29, 2012 Soon following the Medieval period in history, a rebirth and renovation of society took place. During this time, the arts flourished. New technologies were developed to enhance this. Architects, painters, sculptors, writers, performers and playwrights all took what had been done in the past and merged them with the modern happenings of the time. The Renaissance began in central Italy in the cities of Florence, Siena, and Venice. Here, we see the remains of ancient Greek culture brought together, providing humanist scholars with new texts. By the 16th century, its influence was felt in literature,…show more content…
The English theatre scene, which performed both for the court and nobility in private performances, and a very wide public in the theatres, was the most crowded in Europe, with a host of other playwrights as well as the giant figures of Christopher Marlowe, Shakespeare and Ben Jonson. The establishment of these theatres was largely the main reason there was such a huge success in English Renaissance theatre. This allowed this area of fine arts to be more fixed and permanent rather than a transitory phenomenon. There were two types of permanent theatres at this time: public and private. The public theatres, such as Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, were built to occupy around 1,500 spectators.(Trumbull.) The stages had much less ornamentation than the theatres of Italian Renaissance. It was the actor’s duty to use their skills and acting abilities to take the audience into the world that they were creating for them and keep them involved throughout the entire production. Simple props were used to slightly enhance this such as the use of benches or stools. The public theatres, much like the Italian Renaissance theatres, had the three levels of inward-facing galleries that overlooked the open center, into which jutted the stage; essentially a platform surrounded on three sides by the audience, only the rear being restricted for the entrances and exits of the actors and seating for the musicians. The upper level behind the stage could be used as a balcony, as in Romeo and Juliet, or as a position from which an actor could address a crowd, as in Julius Caesar. The floor space in the theatre was the place occupied by groundlings that paid only a penny to be admitted inside. The second level was the place where middle-class spectators that paid two or three pence would be seated. Lastly, the third level

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