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

QUESTION: 

What were the theatres or ‘playhouses’ of Shakespeare’s time like and how were plays staged in them? 




The Globe Theatre was the only theatre associated with William Shakespeare and it was built in 1599 by Shakespeare's playing company, Lord Chamberlain's Men. Before theatres and playhouses,actors had small companies where they had to do everything themselves and from this actors could make a good profit.  Then, Theatres and playhouses were built which were made of wood and plaster and could fit approximately 3000 people in them.During Shakespeare's time, there were two different types of playhouses,outdoor playhouses like ampitheatres or 'public' playhouses and indoor playhouses like 'halls' or 'private' playhouses. These types of playhouses were very different theatres and attracted different types of audiences.Playhouses were built by buisnessmen who had money to spare unlike acting companies that didn't. Buisnessmen saw the rising popularity of the touring acting companies that played in the yards of inns and other open spaces around the city which is what lead them to build playhouses. Most playhouses were built with a brick base with timber-framed walls. The gaps between the timbers were filled with sticks, hair and plaster. The roofs were made from thatch or tile.



QUESTION: 

Who were the actors of Shakespeare’s plays and how did the experience of being an actor differ from the experience today?

The main actors of Shakespare's plays were Richard Burbage, Will Kempe, Henry Condell and John Heminges. Richard Burbage played many of the lead roles in Shakespeare's plays like Othello, Richard III , Hamlet and King Lear.

During Shakespeare's time, acting was a job only open to boys and men. However women were acting but elsewhere in Europe but weren't allowed to act in public theatres until the year 1660. In Elizabethan plays, boys would play female parts whilst men would play older women. In this time, acting was also very hard so the actors would manage the theatre, make the costumes and learn hundreds of lines whereas now actors only need to learn their lines and perform them.

The life of an actor changed dramatically during Shakespeare's lifetime. Actors used to tour in companies, travelling the country to perform in towns and cities and in private homes. However, when Shakespeare died, actors drew in huge audiences because London had several permanent theatres where the actors would perform. Also back then, acting had a bad reputation because actors were seen as unruly and a threat to a peaceful society. 

The way actors would learn their parts/lines is very different to now as they were only given their part to learn which also had another actor's last words before their own to cue them in so they didn't get a whole copy of the play like actors get now.

In Shakespare's time, an actors earnings would depend on where the company was playing. The company made more money in London than in the whole country which means actors would earn higher wages.

Actors did not have much time to rehearse as they might spend a morning rehearsing and then perform in the afternoon. They would often be juggling several plays and several parts at one time. Actors usually performed in the afternoon because they often relied on natural light in their performance.