- •Фгбоу впо
- •Пояснительная записка
- •Contents
- •Part I. Cinema lesson 1. Filmmaking and its constituents
- •Vocabulary
- •1. Fill in the blanks with the words from the list below; explain your choice.
- •3.Crossword.
- •4. Translate the sentences using the essential vocabulary.
- •6. Read Part 1 of Text 1 and check your answers to ex. 5.
- •7. Find the following expressions in Part 1 of Text 1; give the English definition and the Russian translation.
- •Text 1. The history of filmmaking
- •8. Answer the following questions taking into account the information given in Part 1 of Text 1:
- •9. Read Part 2 of Text 1 and fill in the gaps (1-7) with the following word combinations:
- •10. Answer the following questions taking into account the information given in Part 2 of Text 1:
- •11. Paraphrase the following sentences using the new vocabulary:
- •12. Prepare a summary of both parts of Text 1 (see Appendix 1). Mention the names in bold, try to use the new vocabulary and some additional information from Video 1.
- •16. Match the speakers’ names from the left column (1-6) with their points of view from the right column (a-f).
- •17. Read the following quotations about filmmaking. Which one do you like? Write an essay based on the one you’ve chosen.
- •Lesson 2. Professions and equipment
- •Vocabulary
- •1. Read the definitions and give the equivalents from the active vocabulary.
- •2. Match the word (1-9) with its definition (a-I).
- •3. Make up 5 sentences in Russian and 5 sentences in English using the active vocabulary from Lesson 1 and Lesson 2 for your group-mates to translate.
- •4. Find as many words from Lesson 1 and Lesson 2 as possible in the table below.
- •5. Read Text 2 carefully. Choose the correct title for each phase of the filmmaking process from the list given below:
- •6. Find the equivalents of the following expressions in Text 2, give the Russian translation:
- •Text 2. The filmmaking process
- •7. Use the information about the phases of filmmaking given in Text 2 and make up a dialogue:
- •8. Prepare a summary of Text 2 (see Appendix 1). Mention all the phases; try to use the new vocabulary.
- •9. Translate the sentences below from Russian into English:
- •11. Do you know the following stars? Add a correct proper name to each photograph. What are they famous for?
- •Audio 1
- •12. Read the following information before listening to Audio 1:
- •13. Listen to Audio 1. Choose whether the following statements are true or false, explain your choice:
- •14. Listen to Audio 1 one more time. Check your answers to ex. 12. Guess who the speaker is. Audio 2
- •15.Read the following information before listening to Audio 2:
- •16. Listen to Part 1 of Audio 2. Fill in the gaps.
- •17. Listen to Part 1 of Audio 2 one more time. Check your answers to ex. 15. Guess who the speaker is.
- •18. Listen to Part 2 of Audio 2 and choose the correct answers to the following questions:
- •19. Listen to Part 2 of Audio 2 one more time. Check your answers to ex. 17.
- •2. Choose the word that fits the content of the sentence best.
- •3. Match the columns.
- •4. Paraphrase the following sentences using the active vocabulary from Lesson 1, Lesson 2 and Lesson 3.
- •5. What do you know about the film genres? Match the titles of the popular films from the left column (1-10) with the proper genres from the right column (a-j).
- •6. Divide into 3 groups and read one film review by Roger Ebert, a famous film critic and a winner of the Pulitzer Prize (1975), choosing from Text 3, Text 4 or Text 5:
- •Text 3. Spirited away
- •7. Match the phrases from Text 3 (1-7) with their definitions (a-g); use them in your summary. Try to translate the phrases into Russian.
- •8. Find the equivalents of the following expressions in Text 3, give the Russian translations. Use them in your summary.
- •10. Match the phrases from Text 4 (1-7) with their definitions (a-g); use them in your summary. Try to translate the phrases into Russian.
- •11. Find the equivalents of the following expressions in Text 4, give the Russian translations. Use them in your summary.
- •12. Translate Paragraph 7 of Text 4 from English into Russian beginning with “After I saw InglouriousBasterds at Cannes…” up to “…not enough to see them once”. Text 5. Star wars
- •13. Match the phrases from Text 5 (1-7) with their definitions (a-g); use them in your summary. Try to translate the phrases into Russian.
- •14. Find the equivalents of the following expressions in Text 5, give the Russian translations. Try to use them in your summary.
- •15. Translate Paragraph 2 of Text 5 from English into Russian beginning with “Star Wars was a technical watershed that…” up to “…you can only observe how well it did it”.
- •16. Translate the following sentences from Russian into English.
- •Vocabulary
- •1. Paraphrase the first sentences using the words given (do not change them). You can use between 4 and 8 words, including the word given.
- •2. Fill in the gaps using only one word (a verb, preposition, noun, etc).
- •3. Make up 5 sentences in Russian and 5 sentences in English using the active vocabulary from Lesson 3 and Lesson 4 for your group-mates to translate.
- •4. Fill in the gaps with the given words in the suitable forms.
- •5. In the extract below find 14 mistakes, they might concern the grammar, spelling, article determination, etc.
- •6. Fill in the blanks with the words from the list below.
- •7. Read 4 parts (a-d) of Text 6 carefully. Single out the most important sentences in each paragraph.
- •8. Look through Text 6 once again. Find at least 3 metaphors.
- •9. Find the following words and word combinations in Text 6. Give the English definitions and translate them into Russian.
- •Text 6. Current state of animation industries around the world
- •10. Read the following sentences. Which part (a-d) of Text 6 gives these pieces of information?
- •11. Complete these sentences with the information from Text 6. Try not to look into the text!
- •12. Make up 5 questions based on the information given in Text 6 for your group-mates to answer.
- •13. Prepare a summary of 4 parts (a-d) of Text 6 (see Appendix 1):
- •14. Translate the sentences below from Russian into English:
- •1. Read Text 7. Suggest the Russian equivalents for the words and expressions in bold and translate the sentences containing them into Russian. Text 7. 100 greatest movies: the wizard of oz
- •2. Answer the following questions taking into account the information given in Text 7.
- •3. Find the equivalents of the following expressions in Text 7, give the Russian translation.
- •4. Use the equivalents you’ve found to fill in the gaps in the following sentences (2 sentences for each word):
- •5. Translate the following sentences into English using the new vocabulary from exercises 1 and 3.
- •6. Find in Text 7 at least 5 more words and expressions concerning the film industry and make up 10 sentences of your own (5 in English, 5 in Russian) for your group-mates to translate.
- •7. Prepare a summary of Text 7 (see Appendix 1). Use the new vocabulary. Part II
- •1. Are you an expert in the field of famous soundtracks? Listen to some of them and check your knowledge using the following table.
- •2. Read the following information before listening to Audio 4:
- •Audio 4
- •3. Listen to Audio 4. Fill in the gaps.
- •4. Listen to Audio 4 one more time. Check your answers to ex. 3.
- •5. As is known “Over the Rainbow”became Garland’s signature song. Read the quotation given below.
- •6. Answer the following questions:
- •Part III
- •1. Read Text 8 and fill in the gaps with the following word combinations:
- •2. Look through Text 8 again. Which sentence can be used as a headline for the whole review? Suggest your own variant of the headline also.
- •3. Does the review correspond to the classical scheme of film analysis (see Appendix 3)? What parts are included and what parts are skipped?
- •4. List the advantages and disadvantages of The Wizard of Oz 3d conversion pointed out by the author.
- •5. Paraphrase the following sentences using the new vocabulary.
- •6. Using the new vocabulary make up 10 sentences of your own (5 in English, 5 in Russian) for your group-mates to translate.
- •Frank Morgan (1890-1949)
- •Ray Boldger (1904-1987)
- •Bert Lahr (1895-1967)
- •Jack Haley (1898-1979)
- •Writing
- •13. Which one do you like? Write an essay based on the one you’ve chosen.
- •14. How carefully were you watching “The Wizard of Oz”? Take the test to see how well you know it! The Wizard of Oz Quiz
- •Part II. Theatre lesson 1. Theatre and drama, types of play
- •Vocabulary
- •1. Give your associations with the word “Theatre”.
- •2.What springs to mind when you hear the word ‘theatre’?Fill in the mind map.
- •3. Translate the following sentences from English into Russian.
- •4. Fill in the table with the definitions and exemplary sentences given below.
- •5. Fill in the gaps with the appropriate words (drama or theatre).
- •6. Find the correct words for:
- •7. For further extension of your knowledge about types of play translate the following text into English.
- •9. Find the following expressions in Text 9; give the English definition and the Russian translation.
- •Text 9.Subsidized and commercial theatres (ingreat britain)
- •10. Answer the following questions taking into account the information given in the text:
- •11. Comment on the difference between subsidized and commercial theatres.
- •12. Are the resubsidized and commercial theatres in Russia? How does the system function in this country?
- •13. Translate the following sentences from Russian into English.
- •14. Translate the following sentences from Russian into English.
- •15.Render Text9 (seeAppendix2). Use the new vocabulary, mention the names of theatres, dates and numbers related to them.
- •16. Read Text 10 and give definitions to the following words and expressions. Give the synonyms to them (if possible). Comment on the shades of meaning:
- •Text 10.The earliest english comedies
- •17. Answer the following questions taking into account the information given in the text:
- •18. Work in mini-groups. Write down the key words and share your list with other groups. Render the text with the help of the list of keywords you have got.
- •19. You are going to read the text on British theatre. Before reading comment on the following:
- •20. Nine sentences (or parts of sentences) have been removed from Text 11. Choose among the sentences a – j the one which fits each gap (1 – 9). There is one extra sentence. Check yourself.
- •Text11. British theatre today
- •21. Answer the following questions:
- •22. To learn about theatres in Russia and Yekaterinburg render the following text into English (see Appendix 2). Театральный десант
- •Video 7
- •24. Give the English definition and the Russian translation to the following words:
- •25. Fill in the gaps with the words or word combinations from the video. Read the sentences beforehand!
- •26. Ask and answer the following questions with your partner:
- •28. Read the following quotations about theatre. Which one do you like? Write an essay based on the one you’ve chosen.
- •Lesson 2. Inside the theatre
- •Vocabulary
- •Vocabulary
- •1. Translate the following sentences from English into Russian.
- •2. Fill in the blanks with the words from the list below; explain your choice.
- •3. Answer the following questions.
- •4. Match the word (1-10) with its definition (a-j).
- •5. Comment on the seating plans below pointing out the following things:
- •7. Translate the sentences using the essential vocabulary.
- •8. ReadText12andgivetheequivalentstothefollowingwordsandexpressions.
- •9. Fill in the blanks with the words from ex. 8:
- •10. Make up 5 sentences in Russian and 5 sentences in English using the from ex. 7 for your group-mates to translate. Text 12. The early london theatres
- •11. Comment on the scenery and peculiarities of play productions and performances at the early British theatres. Compare and contrast them with the modern ones.
- •14.In what respect were the following names mentioned in the audio?
- •18. Fill in the gaps with the words or word combinations from the video. Read the sentences beforehand!
- •19. Ask and answer the following questions with your partner?
- •Vocabulary
- •1. Read the definitions and give the equivalents from the active vocabulary.
- •2. Match the word (1-7) with its definition (a-g).
- •3. Find the English equivalents from the active vocabulary to the following words and word combinations:
- •4. Find as many words from active vocabulary as possible in the table below.
- •5. TranslatethefollowingsentencesfromRussianintoEnglish.
- •6. Translate the following sentences from Russian into English.
- •7. Read Text 13 part 1. Match the headings (a-h) with the corresponding paragraphs (1-8).
- •8. Translate the words in bold from the text. Text 13. Who works in a theatre?
- •9. Give the definitions to the words in bold from the text, read the words and their definitions for your partner to write down.
- •10. Render the text to your partner. Use the words in bold from the text.
- •11. Read Text 13 part 2. Match the headings (a-I) with the corresponding paragraphs (1-9).
- •12. Translate the words in bold from the text.
- •13. Give the definitions to the words in bold from the text, read the words and their definitions for your partner to write down.
- •18. You are going to listen to the text about Mo Crow, a show manager at the Royal Albert Hall in London. Listen to Episode 1 and fill in the missing parts.
- •19. Listen to Episode 2. Fill in the missing parts. Say what is being described.
- •21. Listen to Episode 4. Fill in the missing parts.
- •22. Listen to the whole text again. Answer the questions.
- •Lesson 4.Actors and acting
- •Vocabulary
- •1. Translate the following sentences from English into Russian.
- •2. Fill in the blanks with the words from the list below; explain your choice.
- •3. Fill in the gaps with the words from the list below. Act out the dialogues.
- •4. Dramatize the following situations.
- •5. Read Text 14and find the English equivalents to the words in the list below.
- •6. Think of a famous actor/actress. Describe the way he/she builds up his/her part. Use the words and word combinations from Text 14. Let your group mates guess who it is.
- •7. Read Text 15and find the English equivalents to the words in the list below.
- •Text 15.The art of acting
- •8. Translate the following sentences from Russian into English.
- •10. They say some parts may be fatal for the actors performing them, e. G. Voland, Ivan the Great, etc. Can a part influence an actor’s life and fate? Provide illustrations.
- •11. Prepare reports on the following topics:
- •12. Pre-read about the following topics:
- •16. Why are the following dates significant for the history of British drama: 1574, 1576, 1598, 1599, 1613?
- •22. Ask and answer the following questions with your partner.
- •Impression
- •Vocabulary
- •1.Translate the following sentences from English into Russian.
- •2.Fill in the gaps with the words from the list below. Act out the dialogues.
- •3. Translate the following sentences from Russian into English.
- •4. Crossword.
- •5.Dramatize the following situations.
- •6. Round table “Theatre Today”. Present any theatre (Russian, foreign, local) according to the following plan:
- •7. Read Text 17. What issues does this review high light?
- •8. Underline the epithets used in the review, give their definitions. Text 17. The importance of beeing earnest at regent’s park
- •Video 9. Five truths
- •10. Watch Video 8.Fill in the gaps in Ophelia’s monologue with the words from the list below.
- •11. Compare and contrast the two performances, share your impression of each of them.
- •How to write a review
- •Quiz 2 «inside the theatre»
- •Quiz 4 «actors and acting»
- •Quiz 5 «the success or failure of a production or performance»
- •Final rendering “cinema” современное кино – коммерция или искусство?
- •Finalrendering “theatre”
- •Final project
- •Interview (preliminary prepared)
- •Commentary
- •References
8. Translate the following sentences from Russian into English.
1) У этой труппы большой и разнообразный репертуар. 2) Ее личные качества, знание различных актерских приемов и магнетизм позволяет ей вжиться в роль без труда. 3) Вживаться в роль ей помогает личный опыт и ее наблюдения за другими людьми. 4) Играл он плохо, но внешне на роль подходил. 5) Она так вжилась в роль Джульетты, ее игра была такой трогательной, что у зрителей навертывались слезы на глаза. 6) Она самая разносторонняя актриса в труппе. 7) Он начал свою театральную карьеру как любитель. 8) Актеры-профессионалы часто обучают актеров-любителей. 9) Она получила хорошую подготовку по мастерству актера и практический опыт игры на сцене. 10) Несмотря на свою молодость, он был уже опытным актером. 11) Она известная балерина и выступала во всех большихконцертных залах, как в России, так и за границей. 12) Сегодня она впервые выступает на сцене в роли Дездемоны. 13) Чулпан Хаматовой обычно дают играть характерные роли. 14) Актер строит многогранный образ, обогащая его своим воображением. 15) Хотя по внешним данным она вполне подходит для роли, ей не удалось вдохнуть жизнь в героиню. 16) Чтобы создать правдивый образ, наполненный жизнью, актер должен досконально знать роль и обогатить ее своим опытом. 17) Посмотри список актеров, даже во второстепенных ролях играют очень известные актеры. 18) он начал с проходных ролей (без слов), но однажды, когда ведущий актер заболел, ему предложили сыграть главную роль. 17) Молодая актриса играла неплохо, внешность ее соответствовала внешности персонажа, но в середине второго действия она от волнения забыла свои слова, и ей пришлось суфлировать.
9. Work with your partner. Imagine that one of you is a famous stage actor/actress. The other is an interviewer. Interview the actor/actress about his/her career and/or latest performance. Use the words and word combinations from Text 14.
10. They say some parts may be fatal for the actors performing them, e. G. Voland, Ivan the Great, etc. Can a part influence an actor’s life and fate? Provide illustrations.
11. Prepare reports on the following topics:
The Stanislavsky system. What is the “Magic If”, “Emotional Memory”, “Method of Physical Actions”? Do Russian actors still follow the system? Is it taught in American and European drama schools?
The American Method of acting. Are there any other methods or systems?
National features of acting. National theatre.
Russian drama actors, ballet dancers, opera singers, directors. Are they highly appreciated abroad? Why? Why not? Is Russian acting more convincing and true-to-life?
12. Pre-read about the following topics:
Mary I Tudor’s reign: home policy
The Elizabethan era: the golden age in English history
The history of religion in Great Britain
The Church of England
13. Find the English equivalents to the following words and expressions in Text 16. Prepare 5 sentences in Russian with these words and expressions for your group mates to translate.
1) бродяга |
7) самое большее |
2) непристойный |
8) искаженные сцены |
3) развиваться с удивительной (невероятной) скоростью |
9) сразу завоевал любовь публики |
4) городские власти |
10) распространение идей |
5) без чьего-либо согласия |
11) держать под контролем |
6) обновлять |
12) светский человек (джентльмен, щеголь) |
14. Match the paragraphs (1-6) with the titles (A-G).
Performances
Regulation and licensing of plays
Objections to playhouses
Playhouses
Composition and ownership of plays
Companies of actors
15. Comment on the following issues:
the difficulties connected with the authorship and licensing of plays;
Elizabeth`s policy with respect to drama;
the social status of actors;
peculiarities of playhouses and performances.
TEXT 16. ELIZABETHAN PLAYHOUSES, ACTORS, AND AUDIENCES
The Elizabethan era was a time associated with Queen Elizabeth I’s reign (1558–1603) and is often considered to be the golden age in English history. It was the height of the English Renaissance and saw the flowering of English poetry, music and literature. This was also the time during which Elizabethan theatre flourished, and William Shakespeare and many others composed plays that broke free of England’s past style of plays and theatre. It was an age of exploration and expansion abroad.
The theatre as a public amusement was an innovation in the social life of the Elizabethans, and it immediately took the general fancy. Like that of Greece or Spain, it developed with amazing rapidity. London’s first theater was built when Shakespeare was about twelve years old; and the whole system of the Elizabethan theatrical world came into being during his lifetime. The great popularity of plays of all sorts led to the building of playhouses both public and private, to the organization of innumerable companies of players both amateur and professional, and to countless difficulties connected with the authorship and licensing of plays. Companies of actors were kept at the big baronial estates of Lord Oxford, Lord Buckingham and others. Many strolling troupes went about the country playing wherever they could find welcome. They commonly consisted of three, or at most four men and a boy, the latter to take the women’s parts. They gave their plays in pageants, in the open squares of the town, in the halls of noblemen and other gentry, or in the courtyards of inns.
(1) ____________
The control of these various companies soon became a problem to the community. Some of the troupes, which had the impudence to call themselves “Servants” of this or that lord, were composed of low characters, little better than vagabonds, causing much trouble to worthy citizens. The sovereign attempted to regulate matters by granting licenses to the aristocracy for the maintenance of troupes of players, who might at any time be required to show their credentials. For a time it was also a rule that these performers should appear only in the halls of their patrons; but this requirement, together with many other regulations, was constantly ignored. The playwrights of both the Roman and the Protestant faith used the stage as a sort of forum for the dissemination of their opinions; and it was natural that such practices should often result in quarrels and disturbances. During the reign of Mary*, the rules were strict, especially those relating to the production of such plays as The Four P’s, on the ground that they encouraged too much freedom of thought and criticism of public affairs. On the other hand, during this period the performance of the mysteries was urged, as being one of the means of teaching true religion.
Elizabeth granted the first royal patent to the Servants of the Earl of Leicester in 1574. These “Servants” were James Burbage and four partners; and they were empowered to play “comedies, tragedies, interludes, stage-plays and other such-like” in London and in all other towns and boroughs in the realm of England; except that no representation could be given during the time for Common Prayer*, or during a time of “great and common Plague in our sad city of London”. Under Elizabeth political and religious subjects were forbidden on the stage.
(2) ____________
In the meantime, respectable people and officers of the Church* frequently made complaint of the growing number of play-actors and shows. They said that the plays were often lewd and profane, that play-actors were mostly vagrant, irresponsible, and immoral people; that taverns and disreputable houses were always found in the neighborhood of the theaters, and that the theater itself was a public danger in the way of spreading disease. The streets were overcrowded after performances; beggars and loafers infested the theater section, crimes occurred in the crowd, and prentices played truant in order to go to the play. These and other charges were constantly being renewed, and in a measure they were all justly founded. Elizabeth’s policy was to compromise. She regulated the abuses, but allowed the players to thrive. One order for the year 1576 prohibited all theatrical performances within the city boundaries; but it was not strictly enforced. The London Corporation generally stood against the players; but the favor of the queen and nobility, added to the popular taste, in the end proved too much for the Corporation. Players were forbidden to establish themselves in the city, but could not be prevented from building their playhouses just across the river, outside the jurisdiction of the Corporation and yet within easy reach of the play-going public.
This compromise, however, did not end the criticism of the public. Regulations and restrictions were constantly being imposed or renewed; and, no doubt, as constantly broken. In the end this intermittent hostility to the theater acted as a sort of beneficent censorship. The more unprincipled of the actors and playwrights were held in check by the fear of losing what privileges they had, while the men of ability and genius found no real hindrance to their activity. Whatever the reason, the English stage was far purer and more wholesome than either the French or Italian stage in the corresponding era of development. However much in practice the laws were evaded or broken, the drama maintained a comparatively decent standard.
(3) ____________
In 1578 six companies were granted permission by special order of the queen to perform plays. They were the Children of the Chapel Royal, Children of Saint Paul’s, the Servants of the Lord Chamberlain, Servants of Lords Warwick, Leicester, and Essex. The building of the playhouses outside the city had already begun in 1576.
This banishment was not a misfortune, but one of the causes of immediate growth. There was room for as many theaters as the people desired; a healthy rivalry was possible. At Blackfriars* the Servants of Lord Leicester had their house, modeled roughly after the courtyard of an inn, and built of wood. Twenty years later it was rebuilt by a company which numbered Shakespeare among its members. In the meantime, the professional actor gained something in the public esteem, and occasionally became a recognized and solid member of society. Theatrical companies were gradually transformed from irregular associations of men dependent on the favor of a lord, to stable business organizations; and in time the professional actor and the organized company triumphed completely over the stroller and the amateur.
(4) ____________
The number of playhouses steadily increased. Besides the three already mentioned, there were in Southwark* the Hope, the Rose, the Swan, and Newington Butts, on whose stage The Jew of Malta*, The Taming of the Shrew*, and Tamburlaine* had their premieres. At the Red Bull* some of John Heywood`s* plays appeared. Most famous of all were the Globe, built in 1598 by Richard Burbage*, and the Fortune, built in 1599. The Globe was hexagonal without, circular within, a roof extending over the stage only. The audience stood in the yard, or pit, or sat in the boxes built around the walls. Sometimes the young gallants sat on the stage. The first Globe was burned in 1613 and rebuilt by King James and some of his noblemen. It was this theater which, in the latter part of their career, was used by Shakespeare and Burbage in summer. In winter they used the Blackfriars in the city. At the end of the reign of Elizabeth there were eleven theaters in London, including public and private houses. Various members of the royal family were the ostensible patrons of the new companies. The boys of the choirs and Church schools were trained in acting; and sometimes they did better than their elders.
(5) ____________
Scholars and critics have inherited an almost endless number of literary puzzles from the Elizabethan age. A play might be written, handed over to the manager of a company of actors, and produced with or without the author’s name. In many instances the author forgot or ignored all subsequent affairs connected with it. If changes were required, perhaps it would be given to some well known playwright to be “doctored” before the next production. Henslowe*, who had an interest in several London theaters, continuously employed playwrights, famous and otherwise, in working out new, promising material for his actors. Most dramatists of the time served an apprenticeship, in which they did anything they were asked to do. Sometimes they made the first draft of a piece which would be finished by a more experienced hand; sometimes they collaborated with another writer; or they gave the finishing touches to a new play; or revamped a Spanish, French, or Italian piece in an attempt to make it more suitable for the London public.
The plays were the property, not of the author, but of the acting companies. Aside from the costly costumes, they formed the most valuable part of the company’s capital. The parts were learned by the actors, and the manuscript locked up. If the piece became popular, rival managers often stole it by sending to the performance a clerk who took down the lines in shorthand. Neither authors nor managers had any protection from pirate publishers, who frequently issued copies of successful plays without the consent of either. Many cases of missing or mutilated scenes, faulty lines or confused grammar may be laid to the door of these copy brigands. In addition to this, after the play had had a London success, it was cut down, both in length and in the number of parts, for the use of strolling players – a fact which of course increased the chances of mutilation.
(6) ____________
Public performances generally took place in the afternoon, beginning about three o’clock and lasting perhaps two hours. Candles were used when daylight began to fade. The beginning of the play was announced by the hoisting of a flag and the blowing of a trumpet. There were playbills, those for tragedy being printed in red. Often after a serious piece a short farce was also given; and at the close of the play the actors, on their knees, recited an address to the king or queen. The price of entrance varied with the theater, the play, and the actors; but it was roughly a penny to sixpence for the pit, up to half a crown for a box. A three-legged stool on the stage at first cost sixpence extra; but this price was later doubled.
The house itself was not unlike a circus, with a good deal of noise and dirt. Servants, grooms, prentices and mechanics jostled each other in the pit, while more or less gay companies filled the boxes. Women of respectability were few, yet sometimes they did attend; and if they were very careful of their reputations they wore masks. On the stage, which ran far out into the auditorium, would be seated a few of the early gallants, playing cards, smoking, waited upon by their pages; and sometimes eating nuts or apples and throwing things out among the crowd. At first there was little music, but soon players of instruments were added to the company. The stage was covered with straw or rushes. There may have been a painted wall with trees and hedges, or a castle interior with practicable furniture. A placard announced the scene. Stage machinery seems never to have been out of use, though in the early Elizabethan days it was probably primitive. The audience was near and could view the stage from three sides, so that no “picture” was possible, as in the tennis-court stage of Paris. Whatever effects were gained were the result of the gorgeous and costly costumes of the actors, together with the art and skill with which they were able to invest their roles. The inn-court type of stage required a bold, declamatory method in acting and speaking; and these requirements were no doubt speedily reflected in the style of the playwrights.
England was the last of the European countries to accept women on the stage. In the year 1629 a visiting company of French players gave performances at Blackfriars, with actresses. An English writer of the time called these women “monsters”; and the audience would have none of them. They were hissed and “pippin-pelted” from the stage. Boy actors were immensely popular, and the schools were actually the training ground for many well-known comedians and tragedians. The stigma of dishonor rested, however, upon the whole profession, playwrights, players, and on the theater itself. The company in the pit was rough, likely to smell of garlic and to indulge in rude jests. The plays were often coarse and boisterous, closely associated with bear-baiting and cock-fighting. Playwrights and actors belonged to a bohemian, half-lawless class. The gallants who frequented the play led fast lives, and were constantly charged with the corruption of innocence.
Comparison between an Elizabethan and an Athenian performance affords interesting contrasts and similarities. The Athenian festival was part of an important religious service, for which men of affairs gave their time and money. Every sort of government support was at its disposal, and manuscripts were piously preserved. All this was contrary to the practice of the Elizabethans, who tried to suppress the shows, lost many of their most precious manuscripts, and banished the plays to a place outside the city walls. In both countries, however, the audiences were made up of all classes of people who freely expressed their liking or disapproval. In each country the period of dramatic activity followed close upon the heels of great military and naval victories; and the plays of both countries reflect the civil and national pride.