1) Elizabethan theatre saw the rise of playwrights such as John Lyly, Thomas Kyd, George Peele, Christopher Marlowe, Robert Greene, and William Shakespeare. Actors formed companies sponsored by nobles for protection. 2) Plays evolved from religious shows depicting biblical stories to intricate plots with deeper characterization classified as comedy, history, or tragedy. 3) Performances took place in small, cramped theatres like The Globe that relied on imagination rather than sets due to minimal props and special effects. Costumes helped identify characters in place of sets.

1. Elizabethan Theatre Jason Soong Maddy Margulies Melissa Reinbold

2. Actors and Playwrights John Lyly: The Courtly Dreamer One of the first of the Elizabethan university wits Thomas Kyd: Father of the Revenge Tragedy Fame from basically a single work The Spanish Tragedy is an extremely popular and influential play George Peele: Poet of Pageant and Drama Large selection of genres Christopher Marlowe: Risk Taker and Mystery Maker Most accomplished and important playwright before Shakespeare Thought to be a secret agent for the Queen

3. Actors and Playwrights Cont’d. Robert Greene: A Man at War Within Himself Most important and colorful of playwrights Wrote first famous romantic comedy Disliked Shakespeare, openly accused him of stealing his works William Shakespeare: A Playwright of All Time Greatest playwright of all time Led an almost totally mysterious and undocumented life Ben Jonson: Shrewd Critic of Human Follies Considered more important than Shakespeare Lived a more controversial life More interesting to the public

4. Actors and their Companies Before Elizabethan times, actors  Social outcasts Mid 16th century  actors formed groups called companies Example: The Queen’s Men was a famous group and had the most highly skilled actors Playwrights and acting companies did not make a lot of money Companies sponsored by nobles to gain political protect

5. Role of an Actor Most important part of the play Needed to memorize lots of dialogues Memorize as many as 50 different parts for 25 different plays in a single month Needed to show lots of emotion and big gestures Compensation for lack of props and sets Spoke clearly, quickly, but musically

6. Plays before Elizabethan Times Religious shows Simple shows that depicted biblical stories for church use Simple with no dramatic action and boring for audiences Mystery Cycles Performed in churches, but more popular Depicted famous biblical scenes and accomplishments of saints Morality Shows Combination of religious drama and nonreligious entertainment

7. Elizabethan Shows Elizabethan plays: Intricate plots with deeper and more varied characterization Growing emphasis on "true to life" situations Classification of comedy, history and tragedy

8. Elizabethan Shows Cont’d. Comedy: "Happily ever after" plays that usually ended in marriage Ex. A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Merry Wives of Windsor

9. Elizabethan Shows Cont’d. History: Play that is based of off lives of people and events that occurred Ex. Henry V, Henry VIII, Richard II

10. Elizabethan Shows Cont’d. Tragedy: Shows with "tragic heroes" that undergo a series of unfortunate events which usually leads in death of lead Ex. Hamlet, Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet

11. Theaters Small, cramped and dirty (by our modern standards) The Swan-The Rose ( the Globe's rival theater who had Christopher Marlowe) The Theatre (the first playhouse in England and original theater before the Globe)

12. Theaters Cont’d. The Globe - important theatre; probably most famous because associated with Shakespeare. 1642  Puritans took down all theatres, closed all places that had to do with entertainment Sam Wanamaker  Rebuilt Globe Theatre

13. The Stage Platform stage Trap doors – actors hidden from audience and appear Large and located in the center of the stage Curtains used for backdrops

14. Sets No sets or backdrops Audience used imagination to create scenery No modern lighting Used natural lights Words were more valued than secenery

15. Costumes Costumes were expensive and fancy Very large w/ lots of decorations and colorful fabric Compensation for lack of sets Helped differentiate between characters

16. Props and Effects Props were important to shows because of no set Expensive, so there weren’t many Took lots of time to make Famous prop  Cannon in The Globe Musicians added effects

17. Audience Lots of audience participation Audience determined fate of the show Brought food and threw it if they didn’t like the performance