elizabethan theatre
...re performing others would go through the crowds and pick pocket (Lace, 74). Touring companies were small, usually less than ten people (Lace, 74). Actors traveled by wagon and slept in or under them (Lace, 74). Almost no women were actors, women’s parts were played by younger boys (Lace, 74). Elizabethan theater was strongly influenced by individuals and events - It also was an influence on the people themselves. Although there were many outstanding actors and playwrights, only a few are acknowledged for their affect in molding early theater. When Christopher Marlowe, the most famous playwright in his time (Lace, 79), died, William Shakespeare was his successor. Shakespeare decided drama was to be his career after seeing the Queen’s Players during a visit to his hometown of Stratford-on-Avon in 1587 (Lace, 79). By the time of Marlowe’s death, Shakespeare was already well known for his three part “Henry VI” in 1592 (Lace, 79). His plays “Love’s Labour’s Lost” and “Romeo and Juliet”, both in 1594, were performed and he became the most outstanding playwright of his time (Lace, 79). Before Elizabeth’s reign was over, “Richard II”, “Julius Caesar”, “Henry V”, and “Hamlet” had been performed (Lace, 79). James Burbage was the second most influential actor of the Elizabethan period, but not only for his acting talent. Burbage built the first ever public playhouse in England, opening in 1576 (Unknown, 218). Burbage financed the building of “The Theater” alone, a well off man but was still considered a rogue. Actors were not the only influence on theater. When Mary Tudor decided the throne was rightfully hers, the War of the Roses ensued (Lace, 73). Because of the War of the Roses, many nobles, that employed actors, were killed (Lace, 73). This forced actors to form their own troupes (Lace, 73). In 1572, parliament passed the Poor Laws, making it a criminal offense to be a vagabond (Lace, 75). This reduced the number of acting companies and required them to be licensed by the government (Lace, 75). Companies already sponsored by nobles were given licenses (Lace, 75). This made gaining legal status an important step for the acting profession (Lace, 75). Informal protection was now backed up by the law, this was useful to the increasing hostility of city officials towards plays and actors (Lace, 75). The cornerstone of Elizabethan Drama were, in fact, the theater houses themselves. At “The Theater” the price of admission was a penny, this entitled one to stand on the ground around the stage (Lace, 77). The poorest and most boisterous were looked down upon by the more well off, who called them groundlings (Lace, 77). The next higher were low galleries that cost another penny, and prices go up the higher you go (Lace, 77). The highest gallery were private rooms, but not the most expensive (Lace, 77). The most expensive were on the stage itself. These people often disturbed the performance by talking, playing cards, or showing off new clothing (Lace, 77). The theaters were built much like the court yards the actors were used to (Lace, 76). The building was circular and the stage extended out so that the audience almost surrounded it (Lace, 76). Scenery was limited but special effects were now possible (Lace, 76). Actors could pop up through trap doors or be lowered from above from a room known as “heaven” (Lace, 76). At the rear of the stage there were two doors used for both scenery and actors (Lace, 76). Backstage were rooms for storage, “tiring rooms” (where actors got attired, dressed) and the green room where actors waited for their cues to go onstage (Lace, 76). “The Theatre” was an immediate success with both upper and middle classes (Lace, 77). Middle-class merchants, mostly puritans, disliked plays but apprentices often snuck away from work to watch them (Lace, 77). The audience was mostly male. Going to a public play, even if escorted, was considered not respectable for women (Lace, 77). Only lowest class women and the greatest nobles enjoyed plays by themse...