Creating a Professional Theatre

I. Renaissance

A. Artists turned their attention to Greece and Rome.

B. Revived interest in the Classical art was Greek and Roman plays and theatrical practices.

C. During this period the understanding of the classical theatre was severely limited.

D. Playwrights began to write plays that imitated classical subjects.

II. Religion

A. Some fractions soon found theatrical performance a good propaganda medium.

B. Fights began because playwrights exploited the fact the majority of their audience couldn’t read and displayed their own views on things ,1550 both church and state tried to reduce these disputes.

C. In 1558 when Elizabeth I toke the English throne she banned plays that involved political and religious subjects.

D. Forbidden to perform religious and political Ideas the theatre had to circle around the ideas of classical literature, Historical Chronicles, and legends.

III. Guilds

A. Devoting ones life to the theatre was considered wasteful and sinful.

B. Guilds stop supporting theatre companies due to the fact it took people away from their work, engaged immoral behavior, spread diseases, and offered cover for seditious activities.

IV. Survival

A. Groups had to be able to play often, have lots of different plays to perform, and have a performance space large enough for a sensible number of audience, and have a permit to charge an entrance fee.

B. The costumes, set, and production personnel had to be supplied by the group

C. They were also called “master less men” because they didn’t belong to a guild, subject to punishment and arrest.

V. License

A. Rulers insisted that companies have licenses to perform

B. This required to have the play be seen by the ruler before preformed in order to ensure that the play didn’t stir up political or religious controversy

C. Despite this, the London city council sought to forbid performances within the city