Evolution of man, theater comparable
From Greek ritual plays to Kansas University Theatre drama and comedy developed into notable art form
Bu JACKI CAMPBELL
(Editor's note: The theater is not a body easily dissected. There were no prepared plans or unalterable methods by which the first idea of dramatic entertainment was transformed into today's theater.
The transformation created, however, something uniquely interesting. The theater became a work of art.
ART MAY ASSUME MANY shapes or forms. It may be a masked figure performing heart surgery or another bombing North Viet Nam. It may entertain or serve, guard or create, but in one respect all forms of art are alike. They are products of some kind of genius.
The theater is, in the words of author Oscar G. Brockett, "a product of genius whose methods cannot be reduced to any known rules or principles."
The theater can, however, be brought into a layman's understanding by observation and inquiry. This series is an interpretation of my observations and inquiries, and is presented in the
Figurative art display will open
An exhibition of figurative graphics by the contemporary artist, James McGarrell, opens tomorrow at the KU Museum of Art. It will continue until Jan. 21.
McGarrell, born in Indianapolis, Indiana in 1930, is director of Graduate Painting and associate professor of Fine Arts at Indiana University.
THE GRAPHIC DISPLAY includes 40 etchings, woodcuts, and lithographs done since 1953.
"McGarrell is primarily a painter who likes to draw," Bret Wailer, Associate Director of the KU Museum of Art said.
"He has a unique personal style that doesn't fit neatly into any pigeonhole, although there is a hint of surrealism in his work. Most of his works are figurative, rather than abstract," he continued.
"Much of McGarrell's printmaking in all media stems from his continuous drawing and his study of the figure," Allan Frumkin of the Frumkin Gallery in Chicago writes.
"McGARRELL'S expressive mode is the visual metaphor. He seems always to be concerned with finding new meaning in the relation of man to objects and to his environment and to all the complexities of human interaction." Frumkin continues.
One of his lithographs, entitled "Head," printed from a zinc plate in black on buff Arches paper, gives only a suggestion of facial detail but its structure has strange volume and reality; the face seems to look out with a questioning attentiveness—a nameless character emerging like a familiar spirit.
ANOTHER lithograph shows simply the torso of Venus printed on an entirely black background.
McGarrell's work has appeared at the Art Institute of Chicago; National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; the Museum of Modern Art, New York, and at museums throughout the country.
hopes of removing the veil of incomprehension most people peer through when watching a play. How much more people would enjoy—if only they would understand! To know what ingredients went into the theater's making is to appreciate its final products all the more.)
A lot has gone into the development of today's theater, and the productions of our own university theaters are part of an art having a most interesting history.
The evolution of drama is comparable to the evolution of mankind in that both mark miraculous advancements.
THE LESS-CONTROVERSIAL evolution of drama, however, is the safest to dwell upon. Drama had its accepted beginnings in Greece. No exact date can be celebrated as the time the first ham raised his voice in dialogue or presented the first dramatic entertainment, but it was more than 20 centuries ago. (That's even before the birth of "As the World Turns.")
Probably the first forms of drama were ancient rituals honoring the gods. In the 13th Century, B. C., for example, Greeks gathered to pay homage to Dionysus, the god of wine and fertility, on their religious festival days.
Dithyrambs, or Greek hymns, were at first sung in a simple outdoor theater. There were no stages with fancy trimmings in those days; the actors merely converged in the middle of a group and performed to those on surrounding hillsides. The performer had no sets, lighting devices or props to use. He depended solely on his capabilities as an actor.
GRADUALLY, HOWEVER, the theater became more organized until the performances were housed in semicircled stone establishments, conveniently independent of the weather.
In the early days of the theater, only one actor performed. He would play all the roles, using masks to emphasize character changes. An orchestra would perform while he changed costumes to hold the attention of the audience.
Not until the Fifth Century was the "second actor" introduced, allowing climatic conflict for the first time. The role of the
chorus was greatly reduced, but plots became somewhat more realistic. Not realistic, mind you, but more realistic. "Deaths," for example, still occurred offstage so as not to shock the audience with vulgar scenes. Acting was restricted to men and the scenery was at a bare minimum.
AFTER THE GREEKS came the Romans in the evolutionary contributions to today's theater.
The first regular drama of the Roman theater was actually the work of a Greek, Livius Andronicus. In fact, most Roman dramas resembled those of Greece almost to the point of suspicion.
"ADMISSION WAS FREE to everyone" in the Roman theaters, Brockett said. "Seats were not reserved and audiences were unruly."
The theater quickly became an accepted part of Roman life, and tragedy and comedy became just as important as religious ceremonies. The entertainment world was growing.
The Roman Theater was almost entirely state supported. Renovations during this period included the creation of a rooftop stage averaging 120 feet in length and 20 feet in depth. A curtain was introduced and background scenery increased. Standardized costume and wig colors were used to indicate the occupations of the plaus' characters.
Roman comedies resembled today's musicals, and women were finally allowed to participate in the dramatic arts.
ROMAN TRAGEDIES featured "horrifying plots, totally good or totally depraved characters, melodramatic effects and bobmastic speeches," Brockett said.
When Constantine recognized Christianity, the Roman theater began to tumble. Actors were sometimes excommunicated and theaters closed.
The year 533 A.D. marked the last recorded theatrical performance in ancient Rome.
MEDIEVAL THEATER performances were sometimes held in churches or mansions. Scripts of this period were based on three locales; the earth, heaven or hell. Two kinds of time, temporal and eternal, were used and mystery was emphasized.
There were no casual relationships in plots yet, because people of this period felt every event a product of God's will. The the-
departures, adding to the play's authenticity.
ELIZABETHAN THEATERS
Continued on page 19
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The theater took a step up when it entered the Elizabethan Era when a stage was raised four to six feet. Exits hidden by curtains, secret trap doors and doors at the back of the stage allowed logical
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6
Daily Kansan Friday, January 6, 1967
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