They could also last for as short as a few hours and as long as several days. The author of cycle plays normally preferred anonymity. The morality play was a special type of religious play. In the latter centuries, secular plays emerged in schools and universities to great fanfare.
They mostly comprised of Latin comedies and tragedies. In France, a secular play called the farce became widely popular. Farcical stories were usually about gods and heroes and political discussions were incorporated into these plays once in a while. Actors from noble houses were the only ones privileged enough to act in secular plays.
Actors on stage in a Medieval Theatre. The Medieval church became less active in theatre affairs towards the end of the 14th century. It started to loosen up its grip on play productions but still screened scripts and play contents every now and then. Towns and individuals began to take charge of arranging productions. The church, however, maintained its power to approve or disapprove a play. Dramas were mostly chanted in Latin. Since theatre productions were considered prestigious events, they required the presence of several actors, extensive special effects and large funding.
As a result, directors were appointed to handle all these troubling matters. At times, stage productions were taken care of by a committee of overseers who, among others, were tasked to ensure the stage was well-constructed, its setting designed properly and that there were enough seats for the audience.
Different plays had different actor requirements. The number of actors varied depending on the size of the production. Cycle plays, given the fact that they could last for several days, requires as many as a hundred or so actors in some cases. Directors would hold auditions in the locality so aspiring actors could apply whenever they wished. The patriarchal nature of Medieval society did not encourage the participation of females, although in France women joined stage plays from time to time.
In other countries, actors were almost always males. Actors handled several roles in a play. Usually these stages would have three different parts and would represent earth, heaven, and hell, usually with earth in the middle of the others.
With the staging moved off catholic property the guildsman were able to get away with more. During the Italian Renaissance there was a new idea that revolutionized theatre. At this time artists were creating new fantastic ideas about painting and the view of art.
These new ideas created an interesting new take on the possibilities for theatre. This idea allowed for the illusion of space and distance, basically creating a three-dimensional aspect to a painting on a flat surface. With this revolutionary idea other artists began to create scenery which created a new understanding for acting. In this new model the front of the stage would be in direct contact with the floor while slowly inclining backwards towards the rear of the stage.
These wings, although for the visual effects, also provided for covering the surrounding walls, rafters, the pulleys and ropes, and the back wall of the theatre. With this box design Serlio created a stage which not only provided the illusion of depth but created a realist view of a street and the area surrounding it.
Serlio provided, in the book, detailed instructions on how to create each stage to fit the type of theatre in which the play was to portray. He wrote in detail on how to create a set for tragic, comedic, and satiric plays, each one with its own design and surroundings. His comic set consisted of a group of buildings and galleries in which windows were created to look similar to those in regular private dwellings surrounding a center road.
Lastly his satiric set consisted of a more pastoral look, it was covered in trees, caves, hills and other things often seen in nature, and this stage also had a centered road. Serilo Tragic Scene design. Under Elizabeth I, the drama was a unified expression as far as social class, the Court watched the same plays the regular citizens saw in the public playhouses.
Staging: There were two main areas for the performances to take place: Mansions -- small scenic structures for indicating location for instance, a throne might equal the palace of Pilate. In more complex plays, there were many mansions. The church structure usually served as the mansions the choir loft, for instance, could serve as heaven; the altar might be the tomb of Christ. Machinery was also used: to fly Christ up to heaven, have angels come down, etc.
Costumes were probably ordinary church vestments. By , some of these plays were being performed outdoors. By , plays were in the vernacular, rather than Latin. The stories began to range even further than when they were part of the liturgical services.
The church seemed to support these dramas. Why did they begin to move outdoors? Probably because of the expanding needs of the plays. Often very intricate need 17 people to operate Hell machinery in Belgium in Flying was a major technique. Platforms covered with cotton the " glories" held angels. The mansion and platea were borrowed from the church services. Simultaneous display of several locations also borrowed from liturgical drama- Simultaneous staging was a distinctive characteristic of medieval theatre.
Heaven and Hell were at opposite ends, if possible. The term "pageant" is used to refer to the stage, the play itself, and the spectacle.
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