Prehistoric Theatre

Prehistoric Theatre

Imitation, Role Playing, and Storytelling • Imitation is universal among small children • Mimic and imitate mother and father as they play house • Role Playing • Adopt the behaviors required of certain roles in their society • Key in theatre • Small children role play as future professions • Aristotle • Suggested that theatre may have originated in human instinct to imitate

Imitation, Role Playing, and Storytelling cont. • Storytelling • An everyday activity with a theatrical element • Experienced Storytellers • Create suspense • Evoke laughter and tears • Keep alive traditions in their culture • Often take on voices of their characters • Take on the personalities of: • Old men • Warriors • Maidens • Ghosts

Shamens • The storyteller of societies without developed written language. • Kept alive the history of the people.

Ceremonies & Rituals

Ceremony • A formal religious or social occasion, usually led by a designated authority figure, such as a priest or chief. • Examples: • Graduation • Inauguration • Marriage

Ritual • The acting out of an established or prescribed procedure • Example • Mass • Jewish Yon Kippur

African Rituals • Western & Central African

• Performed by the Guru tribe

• A dancer depicting an animal • Wears a large mask

• Combines antelope horns, an abstracted human face, and a large toothed beak

• Participants enact someone or something • Bird • Animal • Spirit

• Participants are believed to be inhabited by the animal or spirit • Rituals follow a set sequence of events • Same words and actions repeated each time • Similar to today’s “script”

Ancient Egypt • Abydos • The sacred place of the ritual celebrating Osiris, god of the afterlife.

• Enacted for nearly 2000 years • Around 2500 to 550 B.C.E

• No actual text of Abydos • Only partial account by someone named Ikhernofert • Participated between 1887 and 1849 B.C.E

The Story of Osiris • Became king of Egypt and married his sister Isis, the goddess of health, marriage, and love • Osiris’s brother became jealous and killed him. • Scattered body throughout Egypt.

• Isis recovered body and brought Osiris back to life • Osiris could not stay on earth and was buried in Abydos • Went to dwell in the underworld • Became the most human of the gods • Judges people souls

Latin America • Staged rituals that celebrated • Seasons • Deities • Honoring war gods to seek favor.

• The Flowery Wars • The staged in full war garb • Theatrical combats • Ended in sacrifices to favor gods

Latin America cont. • Rabinal • Takes place in modern day Guatemala • Unsure when started • Flourished during early 1400s

• Ceremony actually called: Rabinal Achi • Meaning: Man of Rabinal

• Involved elaborate costumes, masks, sophisticated dance, poetry and music • Spanish later conquered area • …..and liked the ceremony

• Introduced some Catholic elements and allowed it to continue each year • Still performed to this day.

Rasaboxes

Rasaboxes •Based off of Indian performance •Created by Richard Sheckner

Where is Western Theatricality located?

Western Theatricality is located in: •Eyes •Ears

Indian Theatricality is located in the entire body. • External acting • Body influences emotions • Not mind

The Rasas •Rasa = flavor •Sandscript

• Bibhasta

• Disgust, distain, distaste, contempt, loathing, revulsion, repentance, repulsed

• Adbhuta

• Awe, curiousity, wonder, revere, discovery, surprise, the thinker

• Sringara

• Love, pleasure, passion, desire, happy, sweetness

• Raudra

• Rage, anger, violence, hostility, aggression, annoyance, wrath

• Bhayanaka

• Fear, shame, embarrassment, remorse, regret, guilt, nervousness, anxiety, apprehension, worry, terror

• Vira

• Brave, courage, the warrior, vigor, daring, heroic, energy, intensity

• Hasya

• Happiness, laughter, the clown, jovial, jolly, trickery, mockery, comedic, shameless, amusement

• Karuna

• Grief, sorrow, lament, compassion, empathy, sadness, heart broken, pity, despair, mourning, pain, loss, crying, the mourner

• Shanta

• Peace, contentment, tranquility