User:Sctbr/English Renaissance theatre

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The acting companies functioned on a repertory system: unlike modern productions that can run for months or years on end, the troupes of this era rarely acted the same play two days in a row.^[1] Thomas Middleton's A Game at Chess ran for nine straight performances in August 1624 before it was closed by the authorities; but this was due to the political content of the play and was a unique, unprecedented, and unrepeatable phenomenon. The 1592 season of Lord Strange's Men at the Rose Theatre was far more representative: between 19 February and 23 June the company played six days a week, minus Good Friday and two other days. They performed 23 different plays, some only once, and their most popular play of the season, The First Part of Hieronimo, based on Kyd's The Spanish Tragedy, 15 times. They never played the same play two days in a row, and rarely the same play twice in a week.^[2][a] The workload on the actors, especially the leading performers like Richard Burbage or Edward Alleyn, must have been tremendous.

One distinctive feature of the companies was that they included only males. Female parts were played by adolescent boy players in women's costume. Some companies were composed entirely of boy players.^[b] Performances in the public theatres (like the Globe) took place in the afternoon with no artificial lighting, but when, in the course of a play, the light began to fade, candles were lit.^[5] In the enclosed private theatres (like the Blackfriars) artificial lighting was used throughout. Plays contained little to no scenery as the scenery was described by the actors or indicated by costume through the course of the play.^[6]

In the Elizabethan era, research has been conclusive about how many actors and troupes there were in the 16th century, but little research delves into the roles of the actors on the English renaissance stage. The first point is that during the Elizabethan era, women were not allowed to act on stage. The actors were all male; in fact, most were boys. For plays written that had male and female parts, the female parts were played by the youngest boy players.^[7] Stronger female roles in tragedies were acted by older boy players because they had more experience. ^[7] As a boy player, many skills had to be implemented such as voice and athleticism (fencing was one).^[7]

In Elizabethan entertainment, troupes were created and they were considered the actor companies. They traveled around England as drama was the most entertaining art at the time.

Elizabethan actors never played the same show on successive days and added a new play to their repertoire every other week. These actors were getting paid within these troupes so for their job, they would constantly learn new plays as they toured different cities in England. In these plays, there were bookkeepers that acted as the narrators of these plays and they would introduce the actors and the different roles they played. At some points, the bookkeeper wouldn't state the narrative of the scene, so the audience could find out for themselves. In Elizabethan and Jacobean plays, the plays often exceeded the number of characters/roles and didn't have enough actors to fulfill them, thus the idea of doubling roles came to be.^[8] Doubling roles is used to reinforce a plays theme by having the actor act out the different roles simultaneously.^[9] The reason for this was for the acting companies to control salary costs, or to be able to perform under conditions where resources such as other actor companies lending actors were not present.^[9]

There are two acting styles implemented. Formal and natural. Formal acting is objective and traditional, natural acting attempts to create an illusion for the audience by remaining in character and imitating the fictional circumstances. The formal actor symbolizes while the natural actor interprets. The natural actor impersonates while the formal actor represents the role. Natural and formal are opposites of each other, where natural acting is subjective. Overall, the use of these acting styles and the doubled roles dramatic device made Elizabethan plays very popular.^[10]

The acting companies functioned on a repertory system. Unlike modern productions that can run for months or years on end, the troupes of this era rarely acted the same play two days in a row^[11] and may not have repeat a play if it was unpopular.^[12] Thomas Middleton's A Game at Chess ran for nine straight performances in August 1624 before it was closed by the authorities; but this was due to the political content of the play and was a unique, unprecedented, and unrepeatable phenomenon. The 1592 season of Lord Strange's Men at the Rose Theatre was far more representative: between 19 February and 23 June the company played six days a week, minus Good Friday and two other days. They performed 23 different plays, some only once, and their most popular play of the season, The First Part of Hieronimo, based on Kyd's The Spanish Tragedy, 15 times. They never played the same play two days in a row, and rarely the same play twice in a week.^[2][c] The workload on the actors, especially the leading performers like Richard Burbage or Edward Alleyn, must have been tremendous. Actors from this era would have had limited time for group rehearsals, instead learning their lines independently from cue scripts or parts.^[12] A part, from which be derive the modern words 'part' or 'role,' would contain only an actor's lines and the first few words of his cue.^[12]

Acting companies included only actresses, not actors. Female parts were played by adolescent boy players in women's costume. Some companies were composed entirely of boy players.^[d] For plays written that had male and female parts, the female parts were played by the youngest boy players.^[7] Stronger female roles in tragedies were acted by older boy players because they had more experience. ^[7] Boy players exercised abilities such as athleticism, vocal skills, and fencing.^[7] Performances in the public theatres (like the Globe) took place in the afternoon with no artificial lighting, but when, in the course of a play, the light began to fade, candles were lit.^[5] In the enclosed private theatres (like the Blackfriars) artificial lighting was used throughout. Plays contained little to no scenery as the scenery was described by the actors or indicated by costume through the course of the play.^[6]

Elizabethan actors never played the same show on successive days and added a new play to their repertoire every other week. In these plays, there were bookkeepers that acted as the narrators of these plays and they would introduce the actors and the different roles they played. At some points, the bookkeeper wouldn't state the narrative of the scene, so the audience could find out for themselves. In Elizabethan and Jacobean plays, the plays often exceeded the number of characters/roles and didn't have enough actors to fulfill them, thus the idea of doubling roles came to be.^[8] Doubling roles is used to reinforce a plays theme by having the actor act out the different roles simultaneously.^[9] The reason for this was for the acting companies to control salary costs, or to be able to perform under conditions where resources such as other actor companies lending actors were not present.^[9]

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