Each week I will post a question(s) on the blog for you to answer. After you have answered the question thoroughly, using complete sentences, choose another classmate's response and comment on their answer. Do you agree or disagree? Have they made a valid point? Did they notice something you did not? What?
Remember: If you are the FIRST to answer the question you need NOT respond to a classmate. Each well written response is worth a total of 20 points. (See E9 course expectations for more information.)
Conduct an online scavenger hunt and answer the following questions on a separate sheet of paper:
Who wrote Antigone and what are the dates of his birth and death?
When was Antigone written?
Where did the author live?
What are some important roles the author filled for his community during his life?
During what dramatic festival did this author defeat Aeschylus (a reigning great playwright) and earn fame that carried him for the span of his career? Hint: the city in which Antigone takes place.
How many complete tragedies remain from what are believed to be over one hundred plays authored by this individual?
Name the two plays associated historically and plot-wise with Antigone.
What is the City Dionysia Festival?
Describe the competition playwrights would participate in during this time.
How many actors performed in a play?
Why was facial expression unimportant?
Describe the staging of Greek drama during this time period?
How long did performances typically last?
Remember: Answer the questions on a separate sheet of paper, and bring your answers to class on Tuesday. Do NOT post your answers on the blog.
Question of the Week 9/3/10 (Post your answers on the blog, after you have created a Google account.)
After conducting your online scavenger hunt, what is the most interesting aspect you uncover about Greek drama?
![[Antigone_And_The_Body_Of_Polynices_-_Project_Gutenberg_eText_14994.png]](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4SxjTRnOmDWIr_1NSoytN-wn3c4eiLJRhDK92cG4bstuPQpDpXQayelbIIzvRnsoMyfU_EC_YreX7QCxZ5nsMUz7vDwqwO2aaOOhPS8ZbtaP_yZ_AfgzvcZIYKf6cZYwjBGtHHD4eZXQ/s1600/Antigone_And_The_Body_Of_Polynices_-_Project_Gutenberg_eText_14994.png)
i think it is interesting how the people of that time had competitions about their plays
ReplyDeleteI agree with what Lindsey said. I think it would be interesting if nowadays, people still participated in that kind of contest. Now, there are such things for movies, and people can win awards like the Oscars.
ReplyDeleteIn addition to competitions for plays, I found that writing three plays to go together was interesting.
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DeleteI've always been interested in the time of history something took place.
ReplyDeleteI thought that it was cool how they would make masks to really exaggerate their expressions so that people in the back could see what they were feeling, must have been hard to write the plays so their expression didn't change much. the masks also sounded useful because they could make their voices louder. @zola: writing three perfomances now isn't that uncommon- think of movies like shrek, where they keep trying to build on the same plot line.
ReplyDeleteI found what I learned to be very enlightening in a way. I found so many things that I didn't know about the Greek and their plays.I also think that Jack is right about how cool it is that the actors wear masks to exaggerate their expressions.
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ReplyDeleteI never knew that Greek playwrights actually had competitions to see who's was the best, I was also surprised by the amount of actors would participate in a play. I also never knew about the choir, I found that interesting how they were used to convey emotion.
ReplyDeleteI was interested to learn that Greek performances were such a major aspect in the Greek culture. I agree with Jeremiah's comment about the amount of actors used in a play, it was definitely a shocker.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Hannah about how the tragedies were such major aspect in the culture back then. I was shocked as well. Until now, I had not been exposed to this kind of literature. I am fascinated!
ReplyDeleteLike J-lights, I found the masks to be very interesting. Now in plays, facial expressions are almost everthing! It's cool to see that difference.
ReplyDelete-Austin
I didn't know that so few plays by Sophocles are still around. I agree with Jeremiah. I didn't know that there were so few actors that performed in a play.
ReplyDeletei was surprised that there were only like 3 actors and a chorus, it must be very hard for the actors to play so many characters.
ReplyDelete-ben fiering
i agree with lindsay, and i think that greek culture had a lot to do with competitions.
ReplyDeleteben fiering
i also agree with ben, what i also found interesting was that we still have a lot of information about the authors of these plays considering they were written B.C.
ReplyDeleteJordan Levin
I agree with both Zola and Hannah. I found it very interesting how back then there were competitions to see whose play was best and who had the best play. I never knew that. I also hadn't known that it was such a big deal back then. And I also agree with Hannah, three actors is very few and the mask aspect was very interesting.
ReplyDeleteI thought that it was really interesting how few people they used in a play. Nowadays, there are plays that people perform with a few amount of characters, but they are usually written in a way that there are only three characters. Back then, people had to double or sometimes triple cast.
ReplyDeleteI agree with J-lights (whoever you are...) about the trilogy aspect, but I also disagree. You gave an example about a movie, whereas they made trilogies of plays back then which you rarely ever see nowadays.
I agree with what Lindsey said. I think its very cool how they had competitions in their plays and they took it very seriously. I think it would be very cool to watch one of these play competitions.
ReplyDeleteTo what jack said, i don't see exactly how the masks would make voices louder, i might have missed that part but i would think that masks muffle sounds. And I liked how killing was an inappropriate thing to do onstage. It makes sense, and shows a different aspect than our society.
ReplyDeletei agree with conner it would be very interesting to watch one of these competitions. i find that most things that have been turned into a a competition have been taken more serously than others that have not. it is in mind a great thing that they did back then it makes thing more interresting.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was interesting that the writers were required to write three tragedies and a satyr for the competition. It seems like a lot to do for each festival.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Anjali. I expected that a lot of actors would be needed for a play, not just three and a lot of masks.
I thought it was interesting that there were so few people acting ing the play but so many people judging it. THere was more judges than actual actors! I agree with Lindsey and Zola that it was interesting that the plays were actually a competition. It was all so different from how plays are now.
ReplyDeleteI was very surprised by how few of Sophocles'complete tragedies remain. To think someone spent their entire life writing great stories and no one can appreciate them nowadays.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Lindsay. A play competition must have been very cool to watch. I am a little confused, J-Lights, about how wearing a mask would make someone's voice louder.
I think that it is cool how there is so few actors and still a ton of people go to plays. it is interesting how much plays have changed from then to now.
ReplyDeleteI think it would be really interesting to watch people compete tragedies. It would be pretty entertaining. I agree with Zola about how its interesting that he put three plays together. It's kind of like it just has different parts.
ReplyDeleteI didn't know that the masks were made so that people in the back where able to read the expressions like j-lights said. I think thats a pretty genius idea for such an early civilization
ReplyDeleteI was surprised that there were only 2 or 3 actors, and I agree with Lindsey about having competitions about who's play is better. It shows how much everything has changed since then.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was interesting how throughout all those years there were still readable plays from the B.C. era. Sarah: How have plays changed since the time of Sophocles?
ReplyDeleteI thought it was intriguing that playwrights would send in their "applications" to the festival before they were finished writing the plays. I also found it interesting that wealthy members of Athenian society were expected to fund a play as a service to the public.
ReplyDeleteAraya: I don't know if this is completely correct but it seems like the actors were given almost no credit compared to the playwrights themselves. Maybe that's a reason for the lack of actors?
I thought it was interesting that there were so many people in the chorus and so few actors. It seems like it would make the plays easier to perform and possibly more interesting if the amount of actors was greater than that of chorus members.
ReplyDeleteArya: I think it was four different writers, on for each tragedy and another for the satyr.
I thought it was interesting how all these fantastic playwrights seemed to be more than willing to try and compete to see who's play was better.
ReplyDeleteKatie: I agree! I found the "applications" thing funny! And almost relatable to today's world. I guess that put a lot of pressure on them to really make their plays enjoyable AFTER entering a festival!
I thought that it was very interesting how the actors in these performances had to wear masks. Traditionally, there were not very many actors (1-3 and a chorus) so the masks made it simple for spectators to put faces to each of the characters. It was hard for an actor in those days, for it was not uncommon to find one portraying several different characters in one play.
ReplyDeleteI would say that Anjali has a very good point when she says how interesting it was that there were only few people in each play. As I stated before, there were only 1 to 3 characters and a chorus. It seems odd how different our drama is nowadays because almost all of the time we have at least one actor for each part.
I feel the same way as J-Lights and Jeremiah. I find the it quite interesting by the use of masks during this time period. Also, I was wondering what happened when their feelings changed throughout the play? Would they have multiple masks easily at hand for the actor on stage?
ReplyDeleteI thought that Katie made a very good comment about the Dramatic Competitions, and how the playwrights would hand in their application before their play was finished. And as Zola said, I thought that it was interesting that they had something like the Tony's, the Oscars, or the Emmy awards back then.
ReplyDeleteI thought that it was interesting that there were only a three actors in each performance. I also never knew that they used to have competitions to see whose play was the best.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with Katie that it was interesting that the rich members from the Athenian sociaty where expected to fund a play!
I agree with Araya and Anjali it's deffinetly amazing how they put on such a huge show yet only had three actors and a ton of masks. It must have taken a lot of commitment and dedication to be able to do that. I also, personally think it interesting yet sad about how few plays from Sophocles are left from that time period when he wrote so many.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Brenna and Sydney. The fact that there were only three actors really surprised me. Now a days you can go to see a comedy with only three actors and a ton of parts, but its supposed to be funny and silly. The fact that they used so few actors for very tragic plays with characters with deep emotions is way more remarkable. It would be like trying to play Hamlet and Ophelia at the same time- not easy!
ReplyDeleteI think that its really cool how now we still do the same sort of things. We have film festivals, and they had Plays. Although there are many differences it still has the same concept. At a film festival you go and there are lots of new movies showing and people rating them. Back then the people would go to the Plays and rate them while just having a good time like at the film festivals.
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ReplyDeleteI agree with Carolyn about how the play writers would compete with each other to see who had the better play. I never thought about the different play writers ever interacting with each other like that, if at all.
ReplyDeleteI, personally, love how much Greek Drama is up for interpretation. Most of the play is experienced through the music and the chorus, the actors are only there for a little added visual. When the violin plays a small tune, you know something tragic has happened, you don't need to see it. I like to think that the playwright figured out what the chorus was gonna sing and how the orchestra was going to play first before he added in the actors to please the crowd. It's about what the author wants you to feel, not who or what is on stage. Maybe that's why there was no need for any extra people. Between the setting, the simple costumes and masks, it was pretty much up to you to imagine the scene, but I like it that way. It's like reading a book that you would never go see the movie of. It could ruin it. That's what I often don't like about modern theatre and drama, they give you everything there is to know and there's no imagining this character was actually this way or that...it's final.
ReplyDeleteI like how Austin commented on facial expressions being everything nowadays. It's true! It's like in "Jaws." You hear the music and you know it's coming, but you still need to see the careless expression of the swimmer when you know she's not going to make it. Kind of depressing, but does anyone turn away during that part? No, you have to see the girl's face...just have to...
I think it's really cool that the greeks were so enthusiastic about their plays. It was a big part of their culture, which is so different from ours. These days, people are more famous for being in plays or movies then writing them. I also thought it was interesting how detailed these plays seem to be, yet they only have three actors and different masks. It must have taken a really long time to figure everything out before they performed it.
ReplyDeleteJ-lights: what do you mean that the masks would make the actors voices sound louder? It seems like it might have the opposite affect.
I found it interesting that the people who judged the plays, appointed Athenian citizens, were always influenced by the loud audience response. Unlike the expected audience respect shown in all performances nowadays, this audience would mock the actors, yell, beat the benches with their hands, or throw food if they didn't like what they saw. Since what the audience thought of your play was so crucial, many playwrights tried to win over the audience through flattery or handing out small gifts.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Hailey, I also think it would be a good experience and be very interesting to watch a tragedy. It would be fun to see how different the real ones were from the remakes people do of them today.
I agree with Anjali's connection between modern and ancient theater. Back then there could be numerous characters, yet only three were able to interact on stage at one time. Now a days, we take full advantage of the limitless amounts of actors or actresses we can have on stage at once. For example, there are twenty person dance ensembles on broadway now. I admire how much work they put in for a day long play with only three actors. They must have loved to act because of all the hard work and commitment they put in.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was very intriguing how they wore masks in their plays, it leaves the facial expression up for interpretation. Much of our movies and plays are based on facial expression. Having your face covered they must have needed to add dramatic voice inflections and body language.
i think that the most interesting aspect that i uncovered about greek drama was the fact that before sophocles all plays of that era were done with only two actors. sophocles was a pioneer because he broght 3 actors into his plays.
ReplyDeleteI was also surprised that only 3 people and a chorus were involved in staging a play.
ReplyDeletei thought that bens comment on lyndseys post was interesting. after thinking about it i realized that i agree with ben, they did like to compete but at the same time they were very fair and demacratic for there time. i always thought of a democracy as very civillized and non competitive but now i realize that democracy is very competitive
ReplyDeleteI think that it is amazing that nearly all of sophocles's tragedies are gone now, Its amazing how much time he put into them and now they will never be seen again.
ReplyDeleteTo worthy's comment, I think that's a great connection and that we still have festivals that are somewhat like what was around 1500 years ago is amazing.
I think that there were many interesting things about Greek drama. I was most surprised about how there were only 3 people and a chorus in all the plays. I thought it was different how the people would act when they didn't like the plays. Audience members would even throw food at the stage if they didn't like what they were seeing.
ReplyDeleteI like Mike's comment about how it's amazing that they put so much time into the plays and now they will never be seen again.
I Think that its very interesting to see the difference between dramas today and dramas in Greek (Greek: only 3 people +chorus...)
ReplyDeleteI agree with Rocco's comment, because they only had three people perform in each play that they would perform. Also they would do it with masks on so that no one could see who they really were.
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