Author Question: Citing specific example, demonstrate how the location of theatre spaces indicate how theatre is ... (Read 67 times)

MirandaLo · **on:** Aug 27, 2018

Citing specific example, demonstrate how the location of theatre spaces indicate how theatre is valued in society.

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Question 2

What is the Torelli system and how did it work?

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lindahyatt42 · **Reply #1 on:** Aug 27, 2018

Answer to Question 1

The location of performance spaces within the larger community says something about the nature of performances and the way each one is valued by its society. The tribal celebration in West Africa is rooted in the community's daily life and is performed in the center of the village or inside the chief's home. The ancient Athenians placed their theatre next to the temple of Dionysus, underscoring Greek theatre's ritual origins. It was built on public land, into the slope of a hill just below the Acropolis, the seat of government and power, emphasizing the civic role theatre played in Athenian life. The public theatres of Elizabethan England were constructed in the rough neighborhoods on the outskirts of the city, reflecting general moral disapproval of theatrical activity. Under Louis XIV in France, state-sanctioned theatres were built close to the king's palaces, elevating the status of theatre-going and reflecting the king's love of the arts. Kabuki developed in the pleasure quarters of cities, where brothels and courtesans operated, reflecting the outcast position of actors at that time. In contrast, the earlier noh theatre took shape within the samurai courts. It was performed in palaces and temples and was considered to be a poetic, refined tradition.

Answer to Question 2

In the seventeenth century, Giacomo Torelli perfected a system for instant set changes. A series of flats along the side of the stage are painted to create a receding perspective. The scenic flats are placed in tracks on the stage and are attached to pole supports that fit through slots on the stage floor. These supports are attached to chariots, a system of interconnected ropes and pulleys below the stage. When the mechanism for running the pulleys is turned, one set of flats slides out and another set with a different design rolls in simultaneously, creating rapid scenic changes.