Classical Greek Theatre: New Views of an Old Subject (Studies Theatre Hist & Culture)

209 Pages·1998·5.06 MB·English

by  Clifford Ashby

CLASSICAL GREEKTHEATRE
STUDIES IN THEATRE
HISTORY &' CULTURE
Edited by Thomas Postlewait
CLIFFORD ASHBY
Classical Greek Theatre
NEW VIEWS OF AN OLD SUBJECT
v
UNIVERSITY OF IOWA PRESS IOWAC ITY
University of Iowa Press, Iowa Cit5y2 242
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Ashby, Clifford.
Classical Greek theatre: new views of an old sub/ jbeyc t
Clifford Ashby.
-
p. cm. (Studies in theatre history and culture)
Includes bibliographical referencaesn d index.
ISBN 0-8745-641-0
1. Theater-Greece-Production and direction-History.
2. Theaters-Greece-History. 3. Theater-Greece-History.
I. Title. 11. Series.
PA3201.A79 1998
792'.0938--dc21 98-38376
99 00 01 02 03 c 5 3 4 z 1
FOR SYLVIA
Companion, navigator, critic, editor, and wi!e
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I should not have to warn you that so much dependso n stage
business. Everyone knowtsh at plays are written onlyt o be acted,
and I wish that this play would be read only by those who thhaev e
vision to see in their readingal l the elements of performance.
M.OLIBRE, preface to L’Amour mkdecin
[Writing of Hannibal] On these pointsI can speak with some
. . .
confidence as I have personally inspectedt he country and made
the passage oft he Alps to learn form yself and see.
P o LY B 1u S , Histories, 3.48.12
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CONTENTS
Acknowledgments xi
Preface xiii
1 The Limits of Evidence I: The Writings 1 .
2 The Limits of Evidence 11: Physical Remains 15
3 The Shape of the Orchestra: A History and Critique 24
4 Where Was the Altar? 42
5 The Scene House: The Dithyramb, Found Space,
and the “Royal” Door 62
6 Stage Machinery 81
7 The Orientation of Greek Theatres 97
8 Dawn Performances: Three Days in a Row? 118
g Ramifications of the Three-Actor Rule 128
10 Validation by Authority: Margarete Bieber’sC omparisons
of Hellenistic and Roman Theatres 139
11 Validation by Repetition: The MenanderR eliefs 147
12 Validation (and Discovery) by Experiment:
Producing a Three-Actor Ion 165
Bibliography 181
Index 187