Theatre & Shakespeare

ByZach, Dolly, Sana, Dominika

The World Before the Theater

• Acting and plays existed long before 1576• James Burbage bought land → constructed the first theatre in London

in 1576• Guilds were tired of hectic city life → built theatre• Respectable craftsmen organized plays often → told stories from the bible• Had fewer resources, carried heavy equipment for long distances in guilds → productions were simple• Had a small number of actors → roles were doubled• Plays mixed comedy and tragedy

James Burbage

The Plot Heard Around the World

• Burbage originally created a round, unroofed, simple yet functional structure for the theatre

• However he wanted to profit → spent more money to make the theatre fancy

• Eventually the idea of theatres grew → Burbage, along with many others began creating/investing in theatres all over England• Domestic activity flourished in public theatres

First theater, Theater

Battle Lines Drawn• 1580s-90s: setting for clashes between enemies and friends of the theater.• The Privy Council was on the side of the actors because they usually

played in the Court for the Queen.• Drama and acting= a fearful commercial force

• Business owners/merchants angry that actors were now competitors• Refused to acknowledge acting as a job/work.

• Preachers/Puritans condemned theater and plays• Took away their audiences • Considered the theater as “Satan’s Synogogue”• “Moral Plague” - spreading of bad moral in theaters

• Elizabethans uncomfortable with theater, felt it was dangerous• Anyone/anything could change their identity (poor people acting as

upperclassmen, etc)

Origins• Before the creation of permanent theaters and acting companies, actors

and musicians joined together to create “troupes” • To these people, touring was their way of life and main source of income• Troupes got “licenses” from the mayor to perform• Traveled in small groups (no more than 3-4 men)• Performed in town squares, markets• They traveled too casually (relaxed, unconcerned), and were often

considered annoyances and a threat to a community’s peace and quiet• Whenever an official threatened to banish them, actors flashed their

“license” to perform, however most of the time, the person that gave them the license, the Earl of ___ or the Lord of ___ does not know what their actors are up to.

Double Trouble• Vagabonds- traveling players who performed without protection of a

nobleman• Players became permanent professional companies in London to avoid

punishment.• First royal permit was granted by the Queen to Earl of Leicester’s

servants to continue plays.• Queens Men- popular company• Acting was considered a trade in 1570s.

Traveling players performing

A Rung on the Ladder

• Commercial theater = business increase• Usually ten actors who owned shares in the acting company.• Shakespeare’s company grew.• Men in company split both the costs and profits of putting on a play.• Actors got the opportunity to become prosperous middle class citizens.• Hired men= menial servants• Book-keeper kept all the details relating to the play itself.• Young boys received theatrical education from experienced adult actors

in the company. • Role of theater manager varied from company to company.• Philip Henslowe- one of the most famous and powerful house-keepers

Double the Fun• As companies became more established, competition between them grew

• Dominated by Lord Chamberlain's’ Men and Lord Admiral’s Men• Lord Admiral’s Men had Edward Alleyn, a superstar of his day• Lord Chamberlain’s company was more popular -> Shakespeare was in

this company• After the death of Queen Elizabeth in 1603, Lord Chamberlain’s Men

were promoted to the King’s Men • The biggest threat to Lord Chamberlain’s Men was Burbage’s expired lease on the Theater -> they secretly moved the theater South of Thames and called it the Globe

The Globe

Global Dimensions• The move to the globe was the beginning of a new era of prosperity for

Chamberlain’s Men and Shakespeare -> famous actors Richard Burbage, Will Kempe, Robert Armin

• A challenge to the monopoly held by Lord Chamberlain’s and Admiral's men was the revival of boy-only companies in the early 1600s

• The Earl of Worcester’s Men (domestic comedians) finally managed to break the double monopoly• All three companies battled for audiences -> this required extremely

varied and ever changing schedule of plays• Companies who managed to keep up the schedule and create season hits were

invited to perform at the queens, and later kings, court -> a great honor• When the plague hit in the summer and theaters closed, the players were

forced to travel again• The real core of the theater world was to be found in London, England

The End