The good Athenian girl might do something devious, for example, while the courtesan might be a “hooker with a heart of gold”. Playwrights took this opportunity to surprise audiences.
Drama masks how to#
Since the character masks were so recognizable, theatergoers knew exactly how to feel about each character - and what to expect in terms of behavior. 3Ĭarole Ra d dato from FRANKFURT, Germany, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
On the other hand, if the actor was wearing a female mask with a round face, red hair swept into a tall updo, and a wreath of ivy, you’d know she was a courtesan - an upper-class prostitute. You’d know instantly that this female character was a good Athenian woman with high morals. If you were attending a tragic play in Athens in the year 500 BC, you might see a female mask with dark hair and a thin face. Instead of wearing stage makeup, like we do today, actors wore a different mask for every type of character. The comedy and tragedy masks originate in ancient Greek theaters. History of the drama masks Actors are often portrayed studying their theater masks as they create each characterĭave & Margie Hill / Kleerup, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Some researchers also believe that the mouth openings acted like megaphones, amplifying actors’ voices.Īn actor wearing an oversized mask Hellenic vase found in the Greek city of Paestum // Louvre Museum, Public domain, via Wikimedia CommonsĪccording to Edith Hall, a professor of classics at King’s College London, these vases are a rare opportunity to see actors in costume. The Theatre of Dionysus in Athens held between 15,000 and 17,000 people! Masks were larger-than-life and made with exaggerated features, so audiences could identify the characters clearly. If you’ve ever been to Greece, you know that ancient theaters were enormous. Ancient theater in Epidaurus, GreeceĬarole Raddato from FRANKFURT, Germany, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons Plus, since women weren’t allowed to be actors, the drama masks enabled men to play female roles. (the Three-Actor Rule) By changing masks and wigs, they could transform into a new character in seconds. In ancient Greece, three actors played all of the speaking roles in a play. Since these rituals involved masks, it was only natural that the first actors would also be masked. The first plays evolved from the rituals worshipping the god Dionysos. 1 Why did ancient Greeks wear masks in theater?Īncient Greek actors wore masks in the theater because it was a cultural tradition. In this context, playwrights would have used it to give an effeminate quality to certain male characters, including the god Dionysos. Based on the plays that survive, some argue that it was actually a women’s shoe.
Historians don’t agree on the use of the buskin in the theater. The heel made the actor look taller - perfect for the heroic, ideal humans in Greek tragedies. Tragic actors wore buskins, which were high-heeled boots. The Roman playwright Plautus mentions the soccus in his play Epidicus ( Act 5, Scene 2). The soccus tradition started in ancient Greece and continued into Roman times. Low-cut and loose-fitting, this thin-soled shoe was similar to a modern slipper. “Sock and Buskin” refer to two types of footwear worn by the world’s first actors. Melpomene and Thalia with a drama mask in the Louvre’s Galerie d’Apollonįaqscl, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons, edited for color Sock and Buskin Melpomene was the Muse of tragedy, and Thalia was the Muse of comedy. The names Thalia and Melpomene are references to two of the Greek Muses, the deities who were the source of inspiration for artists and musicians. Although the words come from Greek drama, it’s a modern invention to use them as names for the theater masks - the ancient Greeks and Romans did not start the trend. The tragedy and comedy masks are usually called “Thalia and Melpomene” or “Sock and Buskin”. Modern audiences sometimes ascribe additional meanings: the range of human emotion, for example, or the extremes of the human experience. The laughing mask symbolizes comedy, while the crying mask represents tragedy. When used together, the two drama masks are a symbol for the theater. What do the comedy and tragedy masks mean?
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