All entries for October 2004

Halloween Ball – Optimis Prime, Transformers and Lots of photos

Just a big shout out to everyone i met/hugged/high fived/had photos taken with last night – Yes i was Optimus Prime!!!

Its amazing what you can do with 6 hours , 8 boxes, 2 rolls of selotape, 4 rolls of wrapping paper, some blue tack and a load of string /patience.

If anyone has any pictures can you blog them so i can steal them ? I know there was a lot (i started counting mid way through the night and i got to 20)

Cheers!!

btw heres a pic if u missed out!!

: 31 Oct 2004 15:02 |  Tags: Ramblings |  Comments (15) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

My Frogs Related hangover

Well i did get drunk….but reading the Frogs didnt really happen…..but holly threw up, i walked people home ….my gf called + was a bit angry that i couldnt create sentences…..then i threw up and im cleaning it up right now and it REAAAAAAAAAAAKS!!!!!!!

So all in all a good nite – shame on you who didnt cum to james'!!!

Hmmmmm lecture in half an hour and then one this afternoon AND a trip to bristol on a coach isnt seeming very appealing right now!!!

:)

: 25 Oct 2004 10:25 |  Tags: Ramblings |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Frescos

Using Roman Wall Paintings (frescos) as 'Evidence' for Traditions of Staging in Greece.

1. Consider the depictions of mythological scenes:

i What are the main similarities and main differences between the way in which the death of Pentheus is depicted in this fresco and in Euripides' Bakkhai? (Use an online text of the Bakkhai if you do not have your copy to hand.)

In Euripides Bakkhai the messenger describes how pentheus was "set astride a top limb" of a tree and how the madenads, being told by Dionysus "dug at the roots hoping to fell the big fir". The madeanads then then "tore the tree from the earth" upon which "pentheus smashed into the hard black ground….Pntheus ripped away his false hair ..to show his mother who he was"

Here is the death of Pentheus as depictd in the Fresco:

As you can see , Pentheus is clearly fallen from his tree (that isnt actually depicted at all in the image) . Assuming that the figure to his left is his mother (her blue dress makes her stand out from the rest of the characters) we can say that Pentheus is appealing to his mother (to quote the text : "STOP! Mother, i am Pentheus , your son! Born to Echion! Let me live!"). Yet there is no evidence of him removing or having rmoved his disguise that we hear in the text.

ii. Compare and contrast the way in which the death of Iphigenia is depicted in this fresco with how it is recounted in Aeschylus' Agamemnon, and/or in Euripdes' play Iphigenia at Aulis.

In this Fresco we see Iphigenia being dragged away (presumably to her death) appealing to the sky (perhaps to the two gods overhead). Her displays of flesh perhaps trying to illustarte her virginity/innocence?
The figure on the left is probably Clytemenstra – holding her head in her hands and the figure on the right is logically Agamemnon , looking quite thoughtful (or guilty?).

The chorus describes the death of Iphegnia in the Orestia in a way that would suggest Agamemnon 's lack of compassion or intervension in Iphigenias death , as well as Iphigenia's horror and emotional pleas to her father : "Her shrillings beseechings her cries Papa Papa Iphigeneia a virgin a virgin , whats a virgin to hawks and war lords?"
The actual emotions are presentend very accuuratley between the text and this fresco – the actual description of her killing : "she bends herself double wraps her clothes around her…hoisted like a god to the godstone…a gag in her mouth ….her garments stream groundwards…." isnt evident in this fresco.

iii. Why do you think the similarities and differences which you have identified may exist?

Simillarities exist between in the frescos because these are the main details of the myth that are undisputed or unchnaged through each different text or interpretation. Differences exist because of the variations that existed in the myths after many years of being passed down through the generations : no doubt some of the frescos were an artist interprtation – not an actual depiction of a scene.

iv. On reviewing your responses to the above questions, how useful do you find these Roman frescos to be as evidence for traditions of tragic performance in 5th-century Athens?

_2. Examine this mosaic from the House of the Tragic Poet in Pompei. _

i. What different types of masks can you see?

There are three lrage full face masks complete with beards and hair, one mask which appears to sit on top the top of the head as well as a "normal" mask with what appears to be two pipes (presumably for amplification or voice or to act as some kind of musical instrument).

_
ii. What do you think is going on in this scene?_

3. Look at the masks in these frescos depicting actors, and those in the Pronomos Vase.

i. What differences can you discern between the 'tragic' masks depicted in the frescos and the vase?

ii. Why might the masks be different?

_iii. Why do you think the ancient artists (and viewers) might have been so interested in depictions of actors and masks?

_

4. Consider this painting from the Villa of the Mysteries, Pompeii.

i. Is it similar or different in subject to the vases considered in Q.3 above?
ii. What do you think the purpose of such paintings might have been?

: 22 Oct 2004 11:30 |  Tags: Sst1 |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Visual Resources – Staging the Eumenides

*Visual Resources – Staging the Eumenides *

i. Is it possible to determine whether the ancient vase paintings are depictions of theatrical performances, or of the myths upon which the plays are also based?

Short of some ouji board or necro fun (no no necrophillia) i guess we cant really know. But anyway i reckon its based more on the myths themselves than a singular or general performance. For a start there are no masks on the character – masks were used to show an emotion to the audience and the lack of them in the paintings suggests a painting of the myth. Afterall the myth itself was very important to the greeks as there were many variyn theatrical versions of a story. And anyway i doubt Aeschylus (524–456 BC) could have written his version of the Orestia when he was 10 so that the vase could have been painted :P

ii. In the light of your response to i. above, how significant may ancient vase paintings be as evidence for ancient theatre practice?

I spoze that some vases could be very significant but id say in general the vases depict the myths rather than an aspect of theatre practice. Maybe from an asthetic pov its maybe quite useful for looking at the kind of dress/costume tha should have been worn and exactly what half these weird creatures looked like.

.The 4th century B.C.E. Phlyakes vases from the south of Italy show temporary wooden stages which we believe are similar or identical to those that would have been used for comic performance in the 5th century B.C.E. How adequate or appropriate would such a stage have been for the performance of tragedy in the 5th century B.C.E., in particular the Eumenides?

i.The 4th century B.C.E. Phlyakes vases from the south of Italy show temporary wooden stages which we believe are similar or identical to those that would have been used for comic performance in the 5th century B.C.E. How adequate or appropriate would such a stage have been for the performance of tragedy in the 5th century B.C.E., in particular the Eumenides?

These stages wouldnt have been appropriate for a tragedy at all. The large choruswouldnt have even fited on the stage!! At certain points in the Euminde there are many characters on stage – only a large stage would have have been able to faciliitate these large numbers effectivley. Also there is a lot of physical action (i.e grim and necro killings) which no bugger would

have been able to see on a stage that is akin to some stacked matches.

ii. Where could Klytemnestra, Apollo and Orestes have performed in the opening scene of the play?

They all enter from the inner shrine and so should be sepeate from the audience. The small stage would have been adequate to act as this shrine but thehuge chorus may have been a bit stuck foir somewhere to be.

iii. Where could the chorus have performed?

On this kind of stage

i.What possibilities and limitations for performance does each type of scene building allow or impose?

Phlyakes stages
The actors and chorus are limited to performing on the stage and in the orchestra. The stages itself is asmall space and so wouldn't be able to hold many actors but sayin that only three could talk at once so i guess it didnt matter. The stairs at the front of the stage were probanly used by the actors to enter onto the stage.
The audience capacity was relatively small in comparisson to :

Theatre of Dionysus

The stone skene givesmore places to perform: infront of it ,in the orchestra or on the roof .
The three doors allowed entrances and exits, but only for the actors, not the chrous. The paraskenion on either side of the orchestra allowed actors and members of the chorus to enter from both sides, after having gathered in the Odeon of Pericles. The Odeon also served as, according to Vitruvius, a refuge from the rain and a place to store armour of dead soldiers that was presented to the theatre. The auditorium was able to hold thousands of audience members, giving the chorus an important role in entertaining with their song and dance.

ii.The action of the Eumenides is set in three locations. What are they?

Outside the temple of Apollo at Delphi
Inside the inner shrine of the temple of Apollo
The temple of Athene in Athens

iii.How might these scene changes have been staged?

i. What kinds of spatial and choreographic relationships between theatre, spectators, actors and chorus, could have been established in each case?

ii.How might different spatial relationships have affected the meaning of the scene, or the characterisation and status of the characters and chorus?

i. How did the physical conditions of spectatorship for ancient Athenian audiences differ from the usual conditions of spectatorship in a conventional theatre building today?

ii. Do these differences suggest a fundamentally, or merely superficially different theatrical experience?

iii. Read the short note on Greek Audiences, and the longer text by Csapo and Slater. How might a style, or styles, of performance have evolved in response to the scale and sight-lines of the theatre, and the nature of the spatial and emotional relationship between Athenian spectators and performers?

iv. Might different parts of the theatre have demanded different styles of performance?

v. How might the style of choral performance have differed from that of the character actors?
More generalised acting, lesser costume, not neccesarily pro actors

: 15 Oct 2004 11:12 |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Class lookalikes

Anyone else notice a certain resemblance of the Hecuba doll to someone in our class???

Anyway, any1 noticed any other (the harsher the better) lookalikes (apart from Graham and King of the Hill Dude and Hugh n Sam Weis)

And before you get there…..I DONT LOOK LIKE ABRAHAM LINCOLN

: 15 Oct 2004 00:52 |  Tags: Ramblings |  Comments (10) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

SST1 : Hugh's Q's (he's so cool even his work rhymes)

a: http://perseus.uchicago.edu/ – bit of a strange one – hard to navigate and find any really relevant information to theatre students. The links to the exhibitions is interesting – giving some beautiful examples of Greek crafts and architecture – but not much else.

b: http://ancienthistory.about.com/od/greekarchitecture/

Lots of links to various information – quite detailed sections , including an Alphabetical List of Monuments – handy for looking up about famous monuments – particuarly theatres.

A photographic archive of the archaeological and architectural remains of ancient Athens is a great resource if youve never had the privellage of seeing the architecture of ancient Athens before – it helps to give you a sense of what it really looked like.

c : http://wings.buffalo.edu/AandL/Maecenas/index.html – A HUGE collection of colour and black and white photos documenting the Parthenon and the theatre and Temple of Apollo (to name a few)- very thorough and well set out. A really good resource if your having trouble picturing how everywhere actually looked 2000 years ago ( but you do have to use your imagination a bit….failing that just squint)

d: http://www.whitman.edu/theatre/theatretour/home.htm an impressive map of Europe where you can take a "virtual tour" of the various theatres listed . There is a map of the theatre with pictures relating to certian views from the seating . The full circular 3d photo things are really good, with added zoom!! – a bit trippy as well .

Its all pretty funkay ….apart from the fact that theres no Greek theatres up yet….just Turkish ( favourtism methinks)

Found good old MJ in the online catalogue….swanky : )

Author Törnqvist, Egil, 1932-
Title Strindberg's Miss Julie : a play and its transpositions / Egil Törnqvist and Barry Jacobs.
Publication info. Norwich : Norvik, 1988.

Location Classmark Barcode Loan Type Status

Central Campus PT 9812.F82 92104231 STANDARD AVAILABLE Central Campus PT 9812.F82 9210424X 7-DAY LOAN AVAILABLE Central Campus PT 9812.F82 89034945 STANDARD AVAILABLE

Phys. descript. (300)p : ill ; 19cm.
Series Norvik Press. Series A ; no.5
Subject Strindberg, August, 1849–1912. Fröken Julie.
Added author Jacobs, Barry.
ISBN 1870041089 (pbk)

Heres a website to add http://www.theatrehistory.com/ancient/greek.html
Found it via the untold wonders of google by searching for :ancient greek theatre

Pretty interesting wbesite , lots of stuff on authors, some bits on costume but the best bit (dont get too excited hugh)is:

Records and Preservation of Greek Plays – The archons of Athens kept records of the contests at both the city festivals, giving the names of the choregoi (citizens appointed to defray part of the expense of the production), the poet-teachers (called didascaloi), the actors, plays, and victors in the contests.

Wow, how much fun can a young man have in an afternoon!

: 14 Oct 2004 15:28 |  Tags: Sst1 |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem