WEEK 4 - THEATRES, ACTORS AND ACTING IN SHAKESPEARE’S TIME

 Playhouses

There were two different types of playhouse in London during Shakespeare’s time. There were outdoor playhouses, also known as ‘amphi theatres’ or ‘public’ playhouses, and indoor playhouses, also known as ‘halls’ or ‘private’ playhouses. 
All outdoor playhouses had: 

• A central yard that was open to the sky;
• A raised stage sticking out into the yard;
• A roof over the stage, which was called ‘the heavens’,although the first Rose theatre (1587-92) may not havehad one;
• A tiring house behind the stage with a backstage area,where actors dressed and waited to come on. Abovethis were lords’ rooms, rooms for storage, and a roomlevel with ‘the heavens’ to work the special effects from
• Galleried seating all around the yard, on several levels,which was roofed.

There were several differences between indoor and outdoor theatres. Indoor theatres were:

• smaller than outdoor playhouses, holding about 500
 people, not thousands.
• built inside an existing building, so not open to the sky.
• more expensive (ranging from 6d to 2s and 6d),
 compared with open yard standing (at 1d) as in
 outdoor playhouses.

• lit by candles as well as daylight through the windows.

The Globe 

Playhouses, like the Globe, were outdoor theatres – they had some covered seating, but the yard in the middle was open to the sky. Indoor theatres were inside a larger building, so had a roof. They were much smaller than outdoor theatres. Plays were performed in the round and the Globe was very large. Therefore, actors would have to be very loud in order to be heard as they didn't have any microphones. The design of this theatre was possibly adapted from the inn-yards that had been used for rehearsals. The building was a polygonal wooden building with three galleries that surrounded an open yard.The Globe was very expensive to construct by Elizabethan standards. 

Actors

In this era, it was only boys and men who were allowed to become professional actors in England. Women were allowed to act in other areas of Europe, however this wasn't allowed in Shakespeare's productions. Women were not allowed to perform in public theatres until 1660. Boys would play all the female parts in shows while men would occasionally play the older women. While most women's roles were played by boys or young men in the all-male casts, occasionally some iconic or comedic female parts such as Juliet's Nurse may have been played by a particularly famous or popular actor.This seems very unfair as women are just as important as men in plays within today's society and I think we would struggle to cop without female actors. I find it strange that boys would have to play female parts as this would take away from the naturalism or truth within a performance. However, Shakespeare's plays weren't usually naturalistic so it wouldn't have been too odd at the time. There was a large variety of characters to be played and some actors were renowned for specializing in a certain type of part. This meant that William Shakespeare wrote some parts for a specific actor to portray. For example, Dogberry, in Much Ado About Nothing, was written for William Kemp because he was very good at physical comedy. Actors in Shakespeare's time also had to be skillful in fencing, dancing, singing and playing musical instruments in his plays. The costumes in Shakespeare's plays weren't usually historically accurate. Instead, they were very modern and designed to be aesthetically pleasing and impressive, especially for the leading parts. Costumes provided the essential wonder and were a key part of the plays. They were often second-hand clothes once owned and worn by royalty. I find this interesting as today we usually go for naturalistic costumes rather than aesthetically pleasing costumes. It doesn't seem anywhere as important now than it was in Elizabethan times. It seems extravagant and wasteful to spend so much money on costumes in my opinion. How much an actor earned depended on the location the company performed at. Companies earned more money when they performed in London rather than the country, therefore they were able to pay their actors more money. Some actors would be paid 10 shillings a week in London but only 5 shillings in the country. In some ways, this seems unfair as actors do the exact same job and get paid less money. However, I understand this as theatre was more popular in London, therefore plays probably received larger audiences and more money, therefore companies would be able to afford to pay actors more. Actors normally performed in the afternoon because they relied only on natural light to be seen as they didn't have the same equipment we have in today's society to chooses the amount of light we want. Plays were performed in repertory, meaning that the same play was never performed two days in a row. Often, actors would have to be in several plays at once playing several different roles which would have been very difficult and confusing for them.

Off text improvisations

My off text improvisation was a scene involving Benedick and Beatrice before the play started. We came up with a theory that they had previously been in a relationship or at least dated before the play had begun. This explains the reason why they seem to know each other very well and also seem to dislike the other one and find them infuriating. We decided that this would be an interesting way to explore the relationship between Beatrice and Benedick, but also the relationship they both have with Margaret. It is very clear in the first half of the play that Beatrice and Benedick do not like each other. It could be considered that they hate each other. However, I don’t think this is true as they enjoy each other’s company purely to take the piss out of each other. I think they both enjoy their ongoing banter, even if it seems as if they both despise the other one. They can’t stand the site of one another and their mood changes whenever they see the other one. We decided that there must be a deeper and logical reason behind this, which we concluded occurred when the two ex-lovers broke up the first time. We then thought about the concept of Benedick and Margaret’s flirty banter between them and their strong relationship. Moreover, Margaret gains when the soldiers return home and the cold, sarcastic tone Beatrice takes with her could be the perfect explanation. In our improvisation, we decided that Benedick became bored of Beatrice and her foul behaviour and attitude. Therefore, he cheated on her with Margaret which made Beatrice hugely annoyed.

Gulf War

Wars in the Middle East since 1990

Gulf war

The Gulf War  started on 2nd August 1990 and finished on 28th February 1991. The aim of it was to set up operations leading to the build up of troops and defense of Saudi Arabia and Operation Desert Storm  in its combat phase, was a war in the Persian Gulf region waged by coalition forces from 34 nations led by the United States against Ba'athist Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion of Kuwait Saddam Hussein, the leader of Iraq,  ordered the invasion and occupation of neighboring Kuwait in early August 1990. This lead to Saudi Arabia and Egypt calling the United States and other Western nations to help out. Hussein defied United Nations Security Council demands to withdraw from Kuwait by mid-January 1991, and the Persian Gulf War began with a massive U.S.-led air offensive known as Operation Desert Storm. After 42 days of relentless attacks by the allied coalition in the air and on the ground, U.S. President George H.W. Bush declared a cease-fire on February 28; by that time, most Iraqi forces in Kuwait had either surrendered or fled. Though the Persian Gulf War was initially considered an unqualified success for the international coalition, simmering conflict in the troubled region led to a second Gulf War–known as the Iraq War–that began in 2003.

Gulf War Syndrome (PTSD)

This was a medical condition affecting many veterans of the 1991 Gulf War, characterized by fatigue, chronic headaches, and skin and respiratory disorders. Its origin is uncertain, though it has been attributed to exposure to a combination of pesticides, vaccines, and other chemicals. It relates to Post traumatic stress disorder and affected many soldiers, particually during the gulf war. 
Symptoms of PTSD include:

• Vivid flashbacks (feeling that the trauma is happening all over again)

• Intrusive thoughts and images

• Nightmares

• Intense distress at real or symbolic reminders of the trauma

• Physical sensations, such as pain, sweating, nausea or trembling.

Effect on play

It was interesting to research the gulf war as it gives me a better understanding of my given circumstances and the effect this has on my character. This explains why Benedick always tries to act masculine and strong as this is so crucial as a soldier. Furthermore, only 6.8% of American soldiers in the Gulf War were women, this explains his desire to always please women and why he acts like a bit of a ladies man. I don't think Benedick was heavily effected by Gulf war syndrome as he appears confident and relaxed most of the time. However, this might have effected him deep down to make him insecure, hence why he is trying to act so macho. The gulf war sets the context of the play and means that everyone is happy to be alive while always being slight on edge. Moreover, it means that everyone is happy to be alive and is more grateful for what they have on their lives. 

WEEK 3 - SHAKESPEARE’S LONDON AND ELIZABETHAN AUDIENCES

Who came to the theatres? 

 In general, there were more men than women who went to the theatre, but there was a huge variation in the type of people who went. Somebody described the audience of a show as ‘a gang of porters and carters’. Other people said it wad filled with servants and apprentices spending all their spare time there. However, the wealthy and elite members of society also went to the theatre. Occasionally, the royal family also went to the theatre. However, they didn’t go to public theatres,instead they summoned a group of skilled actors to perform at the courts of Elizabeth I and James I. This happens in A Midsummer Night's dreams where the mechanicals perform for the duke. I find it interesting how William Shakespeare was often influenced by his surroundings and included these in his famous plays.

How much did it cost? 

The cheapest tickets in an outside theatre were only 1 penny, these tickets bought you a place among the ‘groundlings’ standing in the ‘yard’ around the stage.  Bench seats were two pennies and these were situated in the lower galleries which surrounded the yard.  The most expensive seats were in the ‘Lord’s Rooms’. these seats usually cost around 6 pennies. The tickets to watch a piece of theatre were extremely cheap in comparison to today's society where tickets to see a west end show may cost around £80. This influenced why theatre was so popular and loved in Elizabethan times.

How did the audience behave? 

Some of the rich or powerful members of Elizabethan society went to the theatre to be seen and admired rather than to watch and enjoy the show. They dressed in their best clothes and some people would sit on the stage so that they could be seen by everyone. A lot of people in the audience were very loud and rude rather than watching shows in silence like we do today. This suggest that people went to the theatre as a social event or for fun rather than purely to enjoy the performance. They clapped the heroes and booed the villains, and cheered the special effects. It seems strange that they cheered the special effects as this is so unheard of in today's society. However, cheering heroes and booing villains is still common, especially in pantomimes. The theatre wasn't always a pleasant environment due to a large number of thieves  in the audience and occasionally fights broke out. In indoor theatres, the audience were thought to be more educated and richer than the audiences of an outdoor theatre. 

What was London like?

London was quickly growing due to migration from citizens from rural countryside areas into the city.  Between 1550 and 1600, the population grew from around 50,000 people to over 200,000. New buildings were being built everywhere in order to create room for the new people. Outside, the suburbs grew steadily into the countryside. London was a bustling, overcrowded city. The city was ridden with a large number of thieves and the overcrowding brought diseases such as the plague which struck almost every summer in Elizabethan times. In 1593 about about 10,000 people were killed and all the theatres were closed.

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WEEK 2 - SHAKESPEARE’S LIFE AND BIOGRAPHY

Where was he born? 

William Shakespeare was born in Stratford upon Avon in 1564. This was a very small country town in Warwickshire which wasn't much bigger than a village or a market. The population of England in 1564 was less than five million people. Stratford upon Avon had about 1,500 people living there. The town consisted of half - timbered buildings and was surrounded by countryside and woodlands. I get the impression that this was a very ordinary and quiet town. In 1553 King Edward VI re-founded the grammar school this was introduced to Stratford upon Avon so that young people could study there. This benefitted William Shakespeare greatly and made it an excellent place for him to live. Shakespeare was lucky as he could afford an education. However, he didn't like school very much and even mocked it in his plays. I find this interesting as this was such as valuable part of his life as the school taught him to read and write. 

Who was in his family?

Shakespeare had a large family as shown above. However, this wasn't uncommon in Elizabethan times. In proportion to the sizes of most families in that era, Shakespeare’s family was not large by those standards. Shakespeare's brothers and sisters consisted of:

Joan, born 1558, died before 1569.
Margaret, born 1562, died 1563 (aged 5 months).
(William, born 1564, died 1616.)
Gilbert, born 1566, haberdasher, died 1612. (A haberdasher sells hats, clothes, thread, ribbons etc.)
Joan*, born 1569, married William Hart, died 1646.
Anne, born 1571, died 1579.
Richard, born 1574, occupation unknown, died 1613.
Edmund,* born 1580, "player," died 1607.



William Shakespeare's father was called John Shakespeare. It is strange that there isn't very much known information or personal details about William, however there is quite a lot of known information about his father. John Shakespeare was a glove-maker and owned a few public offices. over a twenty year period. From about 1577, when William was 13, John Shakespeare suffered financial loss and ceased to play a part in local government. His situation improved from 1596 until his death in 1601.

William's mother was called Mary Shakespeare.  Mary was the daughter of a landowner in a lesser branch of an aristocratic family. Mary's maiden name was Arden. Shakespeare used this name as the setting of Shakespeare's As You Like It. This is interesting as it shows Shakespeare's strong relationships with his family and how this affected his work.



Unfortunately, William lost his two older sisters to the bubonic plague. This was very common in this period and 20% of the population of Stratford died from the plague. 

This could explain why a lot of his work focuses on sibling relations such as reunion in Twelfth Night or the loss of siblings in King Lear. Also, growing up with a socially mobile mother may hhave had an influence on his views about the roles of females in society; this was because he writes complex, three dimensional, diverse women throughout most of his plays. 

Relationships in his life

Many people contemplate the question of whether or not Shakespeare was homosexual. There are very few details of Shakespeare's sexuality that are publicly known. Many people have suggested that Shakespeare's sonnets are actually about someone he knew personally. There is some evidence that they are about his love for a young man. However, different interpretations suggest the same passages are a form of expressing an intense friendship rather than romantic love. It is known that he married a woman named Anne Hathaway in 1582 at the age of 18 after he impregnated her. This was an unusually early age to marry in this era. He also wrote sonnets about her which suggest that he was heterosexual.

Work

William Shakespeare was born in 1565 and died in 1616. His exact date of birth is unknown which adds to the mystery behind the famous playwright. He is the world's most famous playwright and is renowned for his sonnets, poems and creating new words and linguistics. He wrote 38 full length plays, 154 Sonnets and two long narrative poems. However, there are various rumours that not all of his work was written by him. His work is very mysterious and secretive as few records were kept in those days; some say some success could be attributed to his contemporaries, other writers, aliens or even time travel. Despite all the controversy, his influence has affected western literature for hundreds of years and will continue to do so for many more years.

WEEK 1 - SETTING THE SCENE – LIFE IN ELIZABETHAN ENGLAND

 Population

Life in Elizabethan England life was either very luxurious or the complete opposite; depending on whether you were born into nobility had a significant impact on what your lifestyle. Those who were born into nobility were wealthy and powerful members of society. They lived profligate lives and if they were close to the monarchy could enjoy all the benefits of court life. However this was only affected a small percentage of the population, 97% of the population lived in extreme poverty. Most people lived in old, damp and miserable cottages in the countryside with minimal possessions. They lived in an agricultural society where growing your own food was the only way you would be able to eat. During this period there was a shift in the economical/societal model as the mediaeval feudal system was adapting to a new hierarchical scheme based around trade and barter with goods from the newly discovered world were making their way into Elizabethan Britain. 

Entertainment

In Elizabethan England, private entertainment didn’t exist. You were considered lucky if you had a court jester or a minstrel to sing you songs or tell you a story. The most common way to have fun was to entertain yourself. This meant that people listened a lot more; secrets and scandal were widespread everyone’s secrets were known. However there were constantly outbreaks of the bubonic plague which meant morale was low so the poor needed a way to lift their spirits, forms of entertainment that did this include: travelling actor troupes, banquets and feasts, festivals celebrating special events, social dancing, jousts and tournaments, hunting and of course plays. Most Elizabethan entertainment was public which meant there must have been a strong sense of community for these people.  

Religon

Religion played a significant role in Elizabethan England. Due to the reformation of the church by King Henry VIII many people were split between being Catholic or protestant. This became a very important choice in your life as if you didn't follow the practises of the dominant religion you could risk being executed. Therefore, you had to constantly change religion or face religious persecution. After the days where ‘Bloody Mary’ tortured non-Catholics for going back to another system must have made it very hard for the Tudor citizens and must have caused confusion in their faith.  

Superstition

Superstitions were so common that they almost became facts in these days. Witchcraft was seen to be a serious threat and magic was more than just a fairy tale or myth.  Witch hunts was a sexist way to control the female form and make sure that women did not educate themselves and remained domesticated mothers and wives. William Shakespeare added his topic to some of his most popular plays. The tragedy- Macbeth warns against dabbling with the supernatural as it can have dire consequences on your immortal soul. However, superstition could also be positive people would believe in fairies and the magic of the night and of the forest such as in Shakespeare’s comedy- A Midsummer Night’s Dream. This meant that their imaginations could easily be ignited with stories, poems and plays.

Trade

Trade was a crucial skill and men learned this by becoming an apprentice or learning from school. They would train for careers such as tailors, merchants, masons, smiths, shoemakers etc. Women were more likely stay at home and raise the children but to earn a bit more of your upkeep you made take up weaving to make clothes or even servitude as cleaning appliances didn’t exist at this point. 

Medicine

Tudor medicine hadn't evolved that much from medieval times meaning that life expectancy was very low and general health was quite poor. In the countryside most cures would be from herbal solutions passed down through "old wives tales". This meant that villagers would live off the land for everything including solutions to their ailments. In towns and cities however blood letting was still a popular cure. Patients would have leaches attached to them because it was believed that too much blood is bad for you. Only the rich and powerful could afford doctors so if you really injured yourself you better start praying!