Theatres, actors and acting 4

WEEK 4 - THEATRES, ACTORS AND ACTING IN SHAKESPEARE’S TIME

QUESTION: What were the theatres or ‘playhouses’ of Shakespeare’s time like and how were plays staged in them? 

QUESTION: Who were the actors of Shakespeare’s plays and how did the experience of being an actor differ from the experience today?

websites used to help- http://www.folger.edu/shakespeares-theater

Acting was not a highly paid or highly respected profession.Actors were seen as   troublemakers who promoted hard living and sin.                                           In the 16th century, actors travelled from town to town on a cart, looking for audiences to pay to watch them perform.  Playhouses were not constructed in London until 1576.                              Due to the fact acting was not a respected profession, women were not allowed to act until after 1660.Teenage boys who hadn't gone through puberty would play the roles of women.                               Poor people were called ground-lings,Groundings would frequently talk, yell, and even throw  thing'during the play. If the audience liked or did not like the play or the actors, the ground-lings  would let everyone in the theatre know it. Rich people would even sit on stage and make  comments to the audience during the play. The most expensive seats in a theatre were the in the top row of the theatre, farthest from the audience.  The cheap seats were directly in front of the stage. Rich people would want  to have the most segregated and exclusive seats in the theatre, away from the rowdy,  poor people.People expected to see a new play everyday in theatres.This meant many actors and  playwrights were employed to meet the demands of audiences.                                                                          Theatres were open arenas or playhouses that had room for up to three thousand people. They were structures made mainly of wood. There was no heating and actors got wet when it rained. The stage was higher and there was an open pit in front of it where most of the  people could stand in. Richer people and noblemen sat in the gallery. There was almost  no scenery because the dialogue was the most important part of the play. Colourful and  well-designed costumes were very important and told the people about the status of a  character. Women never performed in plays, so young boys played female characters.  The performances took place in the afternoon because it was too dark at night. There was no stage crew as there is today. Actors had to do everything themselves -  from making costumes to setting the stage. Plays were organised by acting companies. They performed about 6 different plays  each week because they needed money to survive. They had almost no time for rehearsals. The companies in Shakespeare’s time had a hierarchical system. The company belonged to shareholders and mangers. They were responsible for  everything and got most of the money when the company was successful. Sometimes they even owned there own buildings. Actors worked for the managers and after some time became a permanent member of the company. Apprentices were young boys were allowed to act in menial roles. They also played females characters in plays. Lord Chamberlain’s Men and the Admiral’s Men were the two most important companies in London at that time. Among the most famous theatres during were the Globe, the Swan and the Fortune.

Shakespear 2

WEEK 2 - SHAKESPEARE’S LIFE AND BIOGRAPHY

RESEARCH: Research Shakespeare’s life, ensuring you include information about his origins, family, relationships, the world he lived in and questions surrounding his work. 

Websites i used to help me gain information to answer this question- 
http://www.folger.edu/shakespeares-life

Who was William Shakespeare? 

William Shakespeare (26 April 1564 (baptised) – 23 April 1616) was an English poet, playwright, and actor, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet, and the "Bard of Avon".

When did Shakespeare live? 

William Shakespeare was most likely born on about April 23, 1564, the date that is traditionally given for his birth. He was John and Mary Shakespeare's oldest surviving child; their first two children, both girls, did not live beyond infancy. Growing up as the eldest brother of the family, William had three younger brothers, Gilbert, Richard, and Edmund, and two younger sisters: Anne, who died at seven, and Joan.

Their father, John Shakespeare, was a leatherworker who specialized in the soft white leather used for gloves and similar items.He married Mary Arden.Shakespeare, as the son of a leading Stratford citizen, attended Stratford's grammar school.Its curriculum consisted of an intense emphasis on the Latin classics, including memorization, writing, and acting classic Latin plays. Shakespeare most likely attended until about age 15.Shakespeare lived through an outbreak of the bubonic plague in London (1524-94) and 1609. The plague also came to Stratford, when Shakespeare was just 3 months old

A few years after he left school, in 1582, William Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway. She was already expecting their first-born child, Susanna, which was a fairly common situation at the time. When they married, Anne was 26 and William was 18. Anne grew up just outside Stratford in the village of Shottery. After marrying, she spent the rest of her life in Stratford.
In early 1585, the couple had twins, Judith and Hamnet, completing the family. In the years ahead, Anne and the children lived in Stratford while Shakespeare worked in London, although we don't know when he moved there. Some later observers have suggested that this separation, and the couple's relatively few children, were signs of a strained marriage. If you were pursuing a theater career you had no choice but to work in London, and many branches of the Shakespeares had small families.
Shakespeare's only son, Hamnet, died in 1596 at the age of 11. His older daughter Susanna later married a well-to-do Stratford doctor, John Hall. Their daughter Elizabeth, Shakespeare's first grandchild, was born in 1608. In 1616, just months before his death, Shakespeare's daughter Judith married Thomas Quiney, a Stratford vintner. The family subsequently died out, leaving no direct descendants of Shakespeare.

His first published play was henry VI which appeared in 1594, he wrote a total number of plays equating to 38 and 154 sonnets, he wrote many different poems. Shakespeare worked as an actor, writer and co-owner of a drama company called the ‘Lord Chamberlain’s Men’- Later known as the King’s Men.His greatest plays include Hamlet, King Lear, Othello, Macbeth and Romeo and Juliet.The first publishing of Shakespeare’s works is the ‘First Folio’ published in 1623.

Early praise for Shakespeare came from writers such as Ben Johnson. Jonson said Shakespeare was the – “Soul of the age, the applause, delight, the wonder of our stage”Shakespeare acted in many of his plays he was acquainted with queen Elizabeth I. After she died  Shakespeare’s company was awarded a royal patent by the new King James I.Shakespeare is often referred to as Elizabethan playwright, but most of his players were written in the Jacobean period.In 1599, the company built their own theatre, The Globe on the south banks of the River Thames. 

Many of Shakespeare’s plays were based on historical accounts, dramatised by Shakespeare. He also dramatised stories from classical writers such as Plutarch and Holinshed.Hamlet was based on a well known Scandinavian legend called -Amleth

Elizabethan times 1

WEEK 1 - SETTING THE SCENE – LIFE IN ELIZABETHAN ENGLAND

The Time Travellers Guide to Elizabethan England is a documentary that first aired on the BBC in 2013. It gives insights into life in Elizabethan England. Below is a link to a series of clips on the BBC website which you should watch to gain an insight into life in this period. As you watch the clips and make notes bear in mind the question below.

QUESTION: What sense do you get of what life was like in Elizabethan England? Try to include information on: The population, entertainment, religion, superstition, medicine.

Websites that i used to help: 

https://schoolworkhelper.net/shakespearean-elizabethan-medicine-and-doctors/

http://www.elizabethan-era.org.uk/elizabethan-entertainment.htm

http://www.elizabethanenglandlife.com/elizabethan-era-religion-and-religious-beliefs.html

http://www.elizabethan-era.org.uk/elizabethan-superstitions.htm

The Population

From watching the documentary i have understood that living in 1558 in the Elizabethan era was only beneficial for those that were wealthy, rich and powerful and if you were unfortunate enough to live in the countryside you would live in unhealthy conditions and 

have minimal belongings. It wasn't unusual to find a house with seven+ people living in it. They would often live in darkness, the inside of the houses were basic there would be one fire in the centre and many small windows, the consequences of this, is smoke would gathers and contaminate and fill up the small space creating an extremely unhealthy environment furthermore although the windows would get rid of some of this it also would bring in a vast amount of cold air meaning the space in which they live in is contaminated. 

Elizabethan Era is the period associated with the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603) is often considered to be a golden age in English history, it is focused mainly on the lives of

the era's wealthy nobles. The nobles held great power and frequently lived colorful and extravagant lives, but they made up only about 3 percent of the population. Although the vast majority of the Elizabethan population was quite poor, few firsthand historical records of their daily lives have survived. Members of the lower classes in England were mainly uneducated, so they did not usually keep journals or written records describing their own lives. Adding on England's farming economy was forever changed by the outbreak of the bubonic plague, or infectious disease, that arrived on the European continent in 1348, killing more than one-fourth of the population in a few years. Continued outbreaks of the plague 

are estimated to have killed from one-third to one-half of Europe's population by 1400. So many people died that many villages were left without lords, fields were left without farmers, and children were left without parents. 

Entertainment

During the Elizabethan Era there was no TV's or games They entertained themselves by reading and doing other activities There was many forms of entertainment, but only for the higher classes, these forms of entertainment include:

• Plays
• Banquets
• Feasts
• Fairs
• Mystery Plays
• Festivals
• Dancing
• Jousting/Tournaments
• Games and Sports
• Animal Sports
• Hawking
• Hunting

Religion and Superstitions

During this era many people were Christian in England, many would go to church on Sunday.Most people believed in Hell as real place, and that the devil was a specific person. Queen Elizabeth's father, Henry VIII, broke away from the Catholic Church in Rome and became head of the Church of England. Across Northern Europe at this time groups of people protested against the Roman Catholic Church, they were known as Protestants. They did not obey the pope.

Religion was a big political issue, being the wrong religion could get you imprisoned, tortured or executed. It also affected relations with other countries. Spain, a Catholic country, wanted England to return to Catholicism and the Spanish king sent an Armada. Due to the fact religion was so closely associated with politics, playwrights had to be very careful.Shakespeare avoids talking directly about Christianity, but throughout his plays we see references to Heaven and Hell. An example of this is Hamlet, he  can’t bring himself to kill his uncle while he is praying, because his prayer will mean he will go straight to Heaven which is the opposite of what hamlet wants for him. 

Many superstitions are based on trust in magic or chance. Fear of the supernatural and forces of nature or god resulted in the belief of superstitions during the Elizabeth Era. Women were  those most often accused of being witches. There were 270 Elizabethan witch trials, out of  the 270, 247 of them were women and only 23 were men.During the Elizabethan era people blamed explainable events as the work of witches - the Bubonic Plague, unexplained  deaths or unpleasant illnesses, bad harvests or crop failures, the death of animals and  unexplained fires.Those accused of witchcraft were usually old, poor, or vulnerable.  Superstition 1 - Witches were able to fly  Superstition 2 - A witch was often portrayed as an old crone or hag  Superstition 3 - Witches are closely associated with living alone  Superstition 4 -Witches brewed magic potions over a cauldron The Elizabethans considered an eclipse as an evil omen. A pot stirred counter-clockwise brings bad luck to those who ate the contents. It was during the Elizabethan era the saying “God Bless You” following a sneeze  originated. The Elizabethans used this saying to ward off the devil that could enter  one’s body when you open your mouth to sneeze. The Elizabethans believed a black cat crossing your path would cause a mishap.  Medicine In Shakespearean times the health and medical suggestions were commonly based on superstition and complete guesses. The doctors would commonly prescribe herbal  medicines. Many diseases were not recognized, so the doctors would use the most  powerful herbal drugs. Another common idea was to use leeches to "suck out the bad blood". Other things that were used were minerals to make people healthier and laxatives  ,to get peoples digestive systems to start working. Other ideas were blood letting, purges and using physiology.Most of these drugs were not used for their correct purposes.