GREEK THEATRE

PHYSICAL ASPECTS

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ORCHESTRA

• Where the chorus would preform.
• Means "dancing place"
• In the shape of a circle.
• Fist made out of dirt/earth, but later was marble.

PARODOS

• Paths where actors and chorus members made exits and entrances.
• Means "pathway"
• Audience also uses them to enter/exit the theater before/after the performance.

SKENE

• Building directly behind the orchestra where actors/actress act and make entrances and exits.
• Means "tent"
• Also used to give access to the roof when actors/actresses want to give the appearance of a God

THEATRON

• Where the audience sat.
• Built on a hillside, in a semi-circle shape that surrounds the orchestra.
• Audience would bring cushions since the seats were made of hard wood or marble.
• The theatre of Dionysus sat around 14,000 people.
• Engineered so that people even in the highest seats could still hear since there were no microphones.

MECHANICS

DEUS EX MACHINA/MECHANE

• Mechane: Crane like contraption and lifted actors/actresses to give the illusion of flight. Also it gave the actor an appearance of a God.
• Deus ex machina: Person or thing that appears in a play to solve a seemingly hopeless problem.
• This idea and contraption are often used together.

PERIAKTOS

• Prism with 3 sides all containing different pictures/paintings.
• Used to change the scene/setting.

EKKYKLEMA

• Low platform that rolls on wheels to bring inner scenes out for the audience to see.
• Usually used in tragedies to display dead bodies.