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Aug 6, 2013 - Why did you decide to do a summer institute on Roman comedy? Tim: I first read a play by Plautus in a World Literature course as a freshman.

• Roman Comedy Plays

Roman theater began before Roman culture began to emulate the Greeks. Little, though, is known of theater produced by Etruscans and other ancient cultures. The Roman plays that live on in written form were produced in Greek-style amphitheaters, and many of the plays were essentially rewritten versions of Greek stories. In ancient Greece, however, plays were unlikely to contain graphic violence or sexuality; the opposite was true in Rome.

Romans Theater: No Limits

The Roman public loved a good spectacle. They loved to watch combat, and admired blood sports and gladiator competition. As a result, there was plenty of gore in most Roman theater.

Roman audiences also preferred less subtlety than the Greeks when it came to sexuality on stage. In fact, according to the book Living Theater by Edwin Wilson, one Roman emperor ordered an entire troupe of mimes to engage in actual intercourse on stage. The fact that this event was recorded for posterity suggests that it wasn't the norm -- but it may not have been an isolated event

Famous Roman Playwrights

Fewer plays were written in ancient Rome than in Greece. Many of those that were written seemed to be retreads of old Greek Myths (transplanted with the very similar Roman Gods). Perhaps the noted exception to this rule would be the domestic comedies of Plautus and Terrence. And of course, Seneca - perhaps the best known tragedian.

Roman Comedy Plays

There were hundreds more playwrights besides the three mentioned below. The Roman Republic and its subsequent empire greatly enjoyed the arts and entertainment. However, while there were many playwrights inancient Rome, only a small percentage of their works have survived the passage of time.

Plautus:

If you have ever seen Stephen Sondheim's A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, then you have experienced a taste, albeit with a corny 1960s flavor, of the Roman comedy master Plautus. He created over a hundred plays, many of which lampooned iconic figures within Roman society: the soldier, the politician, the clever slave, the philandering husband, and the wise but nagging wife.

N. S. Gill, About.com's Guide to Ancient History, recounts the remarkable career of one of the founders of comedic theater.

Terence:

Terence's life story is an ancient tale of rags to riches. Terence was the slave of a Roman senator. Apparently, his master was so impressed with young Terence's intellect that he released him from his service and even funded Terence's education. During his adult years, he crafted comedies which were primarily Roman-styled adaptations of Greek plays by Hellenistic writers such as Menander.

Seneca:

In addition to being a playwright, Lucius Annaeus Seneca was a lawyer and a Roman senator. He witnessed some of the darkest days of the Rome's empire, as he served under the sadistic Emperor Caligula. The next emperor in line, Claudius, banished Seneca, sending him away from Rome for over eight years.

After returning from exile, Seneca became the advisor of the infamous Emperor Nero. According to dramaturg William S. Turney, Nero ordered the assassination of his own mother, and then commissioned Seneca to write a speech that excused Nero's crimes.

During the playwright's lifetime he wrote tragedies, many of them re-inventions of Greek myths of decadence and self-destruction. For example, his play Phaedra details the sensual depravity of Theseus' lonely wife who lusts after her step-son, Hippolytus. Seneca also adapted the Greek myth of Thyestes, a sordid tale of adultery, fratricide, incest, and cannibalism with enough carnage to make John Webster cringe.

Seneca retired from public life, assuming that he might spend his elder years writing and relaxing, but the suspicious Nero ordered Seneca to commit suicide. Seneca complied, slashing his wrists and arms, slowly bleeding out. Apparently it was too slow, because according to the ancient historian Tacitus, Seneca called for poison, and when that failed him, he was placed in a hot bath to be suffocated by the steam.

Theatre of ancient Rome refers to the time period of theatrical practice and performance in Rome beginning in the 4th century B.C., following the state’s transition from Monarchy to Republic.^[1] Theatre of the era is generally separated into the genres of tragedy and comedy. Some works by Plautus, Terence, and Seneca the Younger survive to this day. Eventually, theatre would represent an important aspect of Roman society because it would come to function as the primary means through which the Roman people could express their political emotions during the republican and imperial periods of Rome.^[2]

• 2Genres of ancient Roman theatre
  • 2.2Roman comedy
• 3Roman theatre in performance

Origins of Roman theatre[edit]

Rome was founded in 753 B.C.E as a monarchy under Etruscan rule, and remained as such throughout the first two and a half centuries of its existence. Following the expulsion of Rome's last king, Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, or 'Tarquin the Proud,' circa 509 B.C.E., Rome became a Republic, and was henceforth led by a group of magistrates elected by the Roman people. It is believed that Roman theatre was born during the first two centuries of the Roman Republic, following the spread of Roman rule into a large area of the Italian peninsula, circa 364 B.C.E.

Following the devastation of widespread plague in 364 B.C.E, Roman citizens began including theatrical games as a supplement to the Lectisternium ceremonies already being performed, in a stronger effort to pacify the gods. In the years following the establishment of these practices, actors began adapting these dances and games into performances by acting out texts set to music and simultaneous movement.

As the era of the Roman Republic progressed, citizens began including professionally performed drama in the eclectic offerings of the ludi (celebrations of public holidays) held throughout each year—the largest of these festivals being the Ludi Romani, held each September in honor of the Roman god Jupiter.^[3] It was as a part of the Ludi Romani in 240 B.C.E. that author and playwright Livius Adronicus became the first to produce translations of Greek plays to be performed on the Roman stage.^[1][4][5]

The early drama that emerged was very similar to the drama in Greece. This was due to extensive contact between the Romans and the Greeks, which allowed the Romans to develop an interest in a new form of expression.^[6] Following the conclusion of the Third Macedonian War in 168 B.C.E., the Romans gained even more access to Greek culture, specifically in the arts, allowing for the Romans to further develop a basis for drama in their own society.^[7] The development that occurred was first initiated by playwrights that were Greeks or half-Greeks living in Rome.^[8] While Greek literary tradition in drama influenced the Romans, the Romans chose to not fully adopt these traditions, and instead the dominant local language of Latin was used.^[9] These Roman plays that were beginning to be performed were heavily influenced by the Etruscan traditions, particularly regarding the importance of music and performance.^[10]

Genres of ancient Roman theatre[edit]

The first important works of Roman literature were the tragedies and comedies written by Livius Andronicus beginning in 240 BC. Five years later, Gnaeus Naevius, a younger contemporary of Andronicus, also began to write drama, composing in both genres as well. No plays from either writer have survived. By the beginning of the 2nd century BC, drama had become firmly established in Rome and a guild of writers (collegium poetarum) had been formed.^[11]

Roman tragedy[edit]

No early Roman tragedy survives, though it was highly regarded in its day; historians know of three early tragedians—Ennius, Pacuvius and Lucius Accius. One important aspect of tragedy that differed from other genres was the implementation of choruses that were included in the action on the stage during the performances of many tragedies.^[12]

From the time of the empire, however, the work of two tragedians survives—one is an unknown author, while the other is the Stoic philosopherSeneca. Nine of Seneca's tragedies survive, all of which are fabulae crepidatae (tragedies adapted from Greek originals); his Phaedra, for example, was based on Euripides' Hippolytus. Seneca is well known for composing works which feature a heavy presence of violence and horror.^{[citation needed]}

Seneca appears as a character in the tragedy Octavia, the only extant example of fabula praetexta (tragedies based on Roman subjects, first created by Naevius), and as a result, the play was mistakenly attributed as having been authored by Seneca himself. However, though historians have since confirmed that the play was not one of Seneca's works, the true author remains unknown.^[11]

Roman comedy[edit]

All Roman comedies that have survived can be categorized as fabula palliata (comedies based on Greek subjects) and were written by two dramatists: Titus Maccius Plautus (Plautus) and Publius Terentius Afer (Terence). No fabula togata (Roman comedy in a Roman setting) has survived.

In adapting Greek plays to be performed for Roman audiences, the Roman comic dramatists made several changes to the structure of the productions. Most notable is the removal of the previously prominent role of the chorus as a means of separating the action into distinct episodes. Additionally, musical accompaniment was added as a simultaneous supplement to the plays' dialogue. The action of all scenes typically took place in the streets outside the dwelling of the main characters, and plot complications were often a result of eavesdropping by a minor character.

Plautus wrote between 205 and 184 B.C. and twenty of his comedies survive to present day, of which his farces are best known. He was admired for the wit of his dialogue and for his varied use of poetic meters. As a result of the growing popularity of Plautus' plays, as well as this new form of written comedy, scenic plays became a more prominent component in Roman festivals of the time, claiming their place in events which had previously only featured races, athletic competitions, and gladiatorial battles.

All six of the comedies that Terence composed between 166 and 160 BC have survived. The complexity of his plots, in which he routinely combined several Greek originals into one production, brought about heavy criticism, including claims that in doing so, he was ruining the original Greek plays, as well as rumors that he had received assistance from high ranking men in composing his material. In fact, these rumors prompted Terence to use the prologues in several of his plays as an opportunity to plead with audiences, asking that they lend an objective eye and ear to his material, and not be swayed by what they may have heard about his practices. This was a stark difference from the written prologues of other known playwrights of the period, who routinely utilized their prologues as a way of prefacing the plot of the play being performed.^[13][11]

Stock characters in Roman comedy[edit]

The following are examples of stock characters in Roman comedy:

• The adulescens is an unmarried man, usually in late teens or twenties; his action typically surrounds the pursuit of the love of a prostitute or slave girl, who is later revealed to be a free-born woman, and therefore eligible for marriage. The adulescens character is typically accompanied by a clever slave character, who attempts to solve the adulescens’ problems or shield him from conflict.^[14]
• The senex is primarily concerned with his relationship with his son, the adulescens. Although he often opposes his son's choice of love interest, he sometimes helps him to achieve his desires. He is sometimes in love with the same woman as his son, a woman who is much too young for the senex. He never gets the girl and is often dragged off by his irate wife.^[14]
• The leno is the character of the pimp or 'slave dealer.' Although the activities of the character are portrayed as highly immoral and vile, the leno always acts legally and is always paid in full for his services.^[14]
• The miles gloriosus is an arrogant, braggart soldier character, deriving from Greek Old Comedy. The character’s title is taken from a play of the same name written by Plautus. The miles gloriosus character is typically gullible, cowardly, and boastful.^[15]
• The parasitus (parasite) is often portrayed as a selfish liar. He is typically associated with the miles gloriosus character, and hangs upon his every word. The parasitus is primarily concerned with his own appetite, or from where he will obtain his next free meal.^[14]
• The matrona is the character of the wife and mother, and is usually displayed as an annoyance to her husband, constantly getting in the way of his freedom to pursue other women. After catching her husband with another woman, she typically ends the affair and forgives him. She loves her children, but is often temperamental towards her husband.^[14]
• The virgo (young maiden) is an unmarried young woman, and is the love interest of the adulescens, She is often spoken of, but remains offstage. A typical plot point in the last act of the play reveals her to be of freeborn descent, and therefore eligible for marriage.^[14]

Roman theatre in performance[edit]

Stage and physical space[edit]

Beginning with the first presentation of theatre in Rome in 240 B.C., plays were often presented during public festivals. Since these plays were less popular than the several other types of events (gladiatorial matches, circus events, etc.) held within the same space, theatrical events were performed using temporary wooden structures, which had to be displaced and dismantled for days at a time, whenever other spectacle events were scheduled to take place. The slow process of creating a permanent performance space was due to the staunch objection of high-ranking officials: it was the opinion of the members of the senate that citizens were spending too much time at theatrical events, and that condoning this behavior would lead to corruption of the Roman public. As a result, no permanent stone structure was constructed for the purpose of theatrical performance until 55 B.C.E

During the time of these temporary structures, theatrical performances featured a very minimalist atmosphere. This included space for spectators to stand or sit to watch the play, known as a cavea, and a stage, or scaena. The setting for each play was depicted using an elaborate backdrop (scaenae frons), and the actors performed on the stage, in the playing space in front of the scaenae frons, called the proscaenium. These structures were erected in several different places, including temples, arenas, and at times, plays were held in Rome’s central square (the forum).^[13][1]

In 55 B.C., the first permanent theatre was constructed. Built by Pompey the Great, the main purpose of this structure was actually not for the performance of drama, but rather, to allow current and future rulers a venue with which they could assemble the public and demonstrate their pomp and authority over the masses. With seating for 20,000 audience members, the grandiose structure held a 300-foot-wide stage, and boasted a three-story scaenae frons flanked with elaborate statues. The Theatre of Pompey remained in use through the early 6th century, but was dismantled for it stone in the Middle Ages. Virtually nothing of the vast structure is visible above ground today.^[13][3]

Actors[edit]

The first actors that appeared in Roman performances were originally from Etruria. This tradition of foreign actors would continue in Roman dramatic performances. Beginning with early performances, actors were denied the same political and civic rights that were afforded to ordinary Roman citizens because of the low social status of actors. In addition, actors were exempt from military service, which further inhibited their rights in Roman society because it was impossible for an individual to hold a political career without having some form of military experience. While actors did not possess many rights, slaves did have the opportunity to win their freedom if they were able to prove themselves as successful actors.^[16]

The open-air declaiming, gesturing, singing, and dancing of Roman stage acting required stamina and agility.^[17]

The spread of dramatic performance throughout Rome occurred with the growth of acting companies that are believed to have eventually begun to travel throughout all of Italy. These acting troupes were usually composed of four to six trained actors. Usually, two to three of the actors in the troupe would have speaking roles in a performance, while the other actors in the troupe would be present on stage as attendants to the speaking actors. For the most part, actors specialized in one genre of drama and did not alternate between other genres of drama.^[18]

The most famous actor to develop a career in the late Roman Republic was Quintus Roscius Gallus (125BCE- 62BCE). He was primarily known for his performances in the genre of comedy and became renowned for his performances among the elite circles of Roman society.^[19] Through these connections he became intimate with Lucius Licinius Crassus (italicize name), the great orator and member of the Senate, and Lucius Cornelius Sulla.^[20] In addition to the acting career Gallus would build, he also would take his acting abilities and use them to teach amateur actors the craft of becoming successful in the art. He would further distinguish himself through his financial success as an actor and a teacher of acting in a field that was not highly respected. Ultimately, he chose to conclude his career as an actor without being paid for his performances because he wanted to offer his performances as a service to the Roman people.^[21]

Though the possibility exists that women may have performed non-speaking roles in Roman theatrical performances, the overwhelming majority of historical evidence dictates that male actors portrayed all speaking roles. The public opinion of actors was very low, placing them within the same social status as criminals and prostitutes, and acting as a profession was considered illegitimate and repulsive. Many Roman actors were slaves, and it was not unusual for a performer to be beaten by his master as punishment for an unsatisfactory performance. These actions and opinions differ greatly from those demonstrated during the time of ancient Greek theatre, a time when actors were regarded as respected professionals, and were granted citizenship in Athens.^[14][1]

Notable Roman playwrights[edit]

• Livius Andronicus, a Greek slave taken to Rome in 240 BC; wrote plays based on Greek subjects and existing plays. Rome's first playwright
• Plautus, 3rd century BC comedic playwright and author of Miles Gloriosus, Pseudolus, and Menaechmi
• Terence, wrote between 170 and 160 BC
• Gaius Maecenas Melissus, 1st century playwright of a 'comedy of manners'
• Seneca, 1st century dramatist most famous for Roman adaptations of ancient Greek plays (e.g. Medea and Phaedra)
• Ennius, contemporary of Plautus who wrote both comedy and tragedy
• Lucius Accius, tragic poet and literary scholar
• Pacuvius, Ennius's nephew and tragic playwright

See also[edit]

References[edit]

1. ^ ^abcdMoore, Timothy J. (2012). Roman Theatre. Cambridge University Press. ISBN9780521138185.
2. ^William J. Slater, Roman Theater and Society, (Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press, 1996), vii.
3. ^ ^abZarrilli, Phillip B.; McConachie, Bruce; Williams, Gary Jay; Fisher Sorgenfrei, Carol (2006). Theatre Histories: An Introduction. Routledge. pp. 102, 106. ISBN978-0-415-22728-5.
4. ^Banham, Martin (1995). The Cambridge Guide to Theatre. Cambridge University Press. ISBN9780521434379.
5. ^Beacham, Richard C. (1991). The Roman Theatre and Its Audience. Harvard University Press. ISBN9780674779143.
6. ^Gesine Manuwald, Roman Republican Theatre, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2011), 15.
7. ^Gesine Manuwald, Roman Republican Theatre, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2011), 17.
8. ^Gesine Manuwald, Roman Republican Theatre, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2011), 18.
9. ^Gesine Manuwald, Roman Republican Theatre, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2011), 19.
10. ^Gesine Manuwald, Roman Republican Theatre, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2011), 25.
11. ^ ^abcBrockett, Oscar; Hildy, Franklin J. (2003). History of the Theatre. Allyn and Bacon. ISBN9780205358786.
12. ^Gesine Manuwald, Roman Republican Theatre, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2011), 74.
13. ^ ^abcBieber, Margarete (1961). The History of Greek & Roman Theater. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. pp. 151–171.
14. ^ ^abcdefgThorburn, John E. (2005). The Facts on File Companion to Classical Drama. Infobase Publishing. ISBN9780816074983.
15. ^Hochman, Stanley (1984). McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of World Drama. VNR AG. p. 243. ISBN9780070791695.
16. ^Gesine Manuwald, Roman Republican Theatre, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2011), 22-24).
17. ^Gesine Manuwald, Roman Republican Theatre, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2011), 73.
18. ^Gesine Manuwald, Roman Republican Theatre, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2011), 85.
19. ^William J. Slater, Roman Theater and Society, (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1996), 36.
20. ^William J. Slater, Roman Theater and Society, (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1996), 37.
21. ^William J. Slater, Roman Theater and Society, (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1996), 41.

External links[edit]

• The Ancient Theatre Archive, Greek and Roman theatre architecture - Dr. Thomas G. Hines, Department of Theatre, Whitman College
• Cliff, U.The Roman Theatre, Clio History Journal, 2009.
• Roman Theater, Roman Colosseum, 2008.
• Classical Drama and Theatre, Mark Damen, Utah State University
• What the Roman Play Was Like, A Short History of the Drama, Martha Fletcher Bellinger
• Rhyme, Women, and Song: Getting in Tune with Plautus, Anne H. Groton, Olaf College