THE’ATER, a place for public representations, chiefly of a dramatic or musical description. Theaters are of very ancient origin. They were found in every Greek city, both at home and in the colonies, and many very interesting specimens of the Greek theaters still exist in very good preservation. These were not built like modem theaters, with tiers of galleries rising one over the other, but were constructed with concentric rows of seats rising in regular succession one behind and above the other like the steps of stairs. These seats were frequently cut in the solid rock; and a place where the natural curve and slope of the ground rendered such excavation easy, was generally chosen. The seats, or audience department, were arranged in a semicircular form. In the center, at the lowest point, stood the orchestra; and the proscenium, or place for the dramatic representation, formed the chord of the semicircular auditorium. Behind this was the scena, closing in the building with a solid wall, generally ornamented with pillars, cornices, &;c. There was no roof, but the audience was probably protected from the sun’s rays by a curtain stretching across the theater. This form of theater was also that adopted by the Romans, who built or excavated large theaters in many of their important towns. The theaters of the Romans differed from their Amphitheaters (q. v.), the former being semicircular, the latter oval, and with seats all round. Of the theaters still remaining, that of Orange, in the south of Prance, is one of the finest. tli6 auditorium being 340 feet in diameter. The illustration (fig. 1) shows the general form of these ancient theaters; and in this case the scena is more elaborate than usual. During the middle ages, theaters were unnecessary, and were never built. The few dramatic performances then in use, which were chiefly of the nature of holy mysteries, were represented in the cathedrals. From the remains still existing, however, there would seem to have been large open-air theaters at an early age in this country. Of these, Piran Round in Cornwall is the best example. It is circular, with raised platforms all round for spectators, after the manner of the Greek theaters.
With the revival of classical literature in the 16th c., the classical drama was also reproduced, and naturally along with it the classical form of theater. The first specimens of what may be called modern theaters (although founded on the old Greek model, according to Vitruvius’s description) were the Theatre Olympico, erected by Palladio in Vicenza; a similar one in Venice, also by Palladio ; and another in Vicenza, by Serlio. In Italy and Spain, open courtyards, with galleries round them, were at first the scenes of dramatic performances. In France and England, where the climate did not so readily admit of open-air representations, the first plays performed were exhibited in tennis or racket courts, in which there were usually galleries at one end; and as this accommodation was found too limited, these were afterwards carried along the sides also. But dramatic literature soon became so important that buildings had to be designed for the express purpose of its representation. Accordingly, in Paris, the theater of the Hotel de Bourgogne was erected in the beginning of the 17th century. It was rebuilt 1645, with tiers of boxes on a square plan. In 1639. the theater of the Palais Royal was erected by Richelieu, and was long considered the best model. The present circular plan of the galleries, with pit sloping backwards, seems to have been first introduced in Venice in 1639; and the horse-shoe form of the boxes was first carried out by Fontana in the Tordinoni Theater at Rome, in 1675. The modern form of the auditorium was thus invented, and gradually improved and perfected, till in about a century similar theaters were erected all over Europe; the Scala Theater at Milan, the largest in Italy, and the great theater at Bordeaux, being built, the former in 1774, and the latter in 1777.
The annexed plan of the Scala Theater at Milan (fig. 2), will show the general disposition of all the parts of the modern theater on the largest scale. Modern theaters are all very similar in their general distribution. They are divided into two distinct departments—viz., the auditorium or audience department, and the stage or scenic department. In the former, the seats are invariably arranged on a sloping ground-floor or ‘ pit;’ and on several tiers of galleries, extending in a semicircular or horse-shoe form round the house. On the ground-floor, the front rows of seats are generally set apart as ‘ dress stalls,’ and the back part only is then called the ‘ pit.’ In opera-houses, the stalls generally occupy the greater portion of the space, and the ‘ pit’ is reduced to a minimum. In dramatic theaters, the tiers of galleries have the floors arranged in stages, rising above one another in such a manner as to enable the spectators all to see over those before them to the front of the stage. In theaters for operatic representation, the galleries have the floors laid level, and are divided all round into private boxes. The top tier is, however, sometimes left partially open, and has the seats on stages. In the larger opera-houses, there are usually retiring-rooms connected with each of the private boxes. There is also a ‘ crush-room,’ or large saloon, in which the audience may promenade between the acts.
In all French theaters and opera-houses, these saloons, or foyers, are very large, and elegantly fitted up. They are almost always over the entrance-hall. In some of the modern French theaters, there are two foyers, one over the other, for the different classes who occupy the dress circle and the upper galleries. The question has often been raised as to the best form for a theater, both for hearing and seeing. It is a most difficult question to decide theoretically as regards hearing, but it is quite clear that the old semicircular plan of the Greeks is as nearly as possible the test for seeing, as it places the seats all round at an equal distance from the center of the proscenium; and therefore we find, in cases where seeing well is all-important, as, for instance, in a lecture theater, this old form is usually adopted. In an oblong-house, on the other hand, the seats at the center of the galleries ire much further removed than those at the sides from the center of the stage, and are thus at a disadvantage as regards hearing; while the side boxes are badly placed for commanding a view of the stage. The entrances and staircases of theaters are not generally so well arranged or so spacious as they should be. In French theaters, this is especially the case. In these, there is often only one narrow wooden stair on each side of the house, leading to all the galleries. Recent accidents by fire, and the risk the audience runs in case of want of proper exits, have drawn attention to this subject, and the legislature will probably determine that there must be a separate, wide, and easy stair to gallery—as, indeed, there usually now is in theaters recently built in this country. For large galleries, these stairs should be least six feet wide; and a strong iron hand-rail down each side the stair would be found useful in case of a panic, to prevent a fatal crush. Besides the main passages for the use of the public, there ought to be private passages and doors leading to every part of the house, so that the manager may pass with ease to any point in the audience where his presence may be required.
The orchestra occupies the space immediately in front of the proscenium, and this space is arranged so as to be capable of being enlarged or contracted as occasion may require. The proscenium is a small portion of the stage which projects a few feet in front of the curtain, so as to enable the actors to stand well forward, that they may be distinctly heard by the audience. The part of the house on either side of the proscenium is that on which there is usually the greatest amount of ornament. The sides and ceiling of the proscenium form, as it were, the frame through which the picture represented on the stage is seen; and as on it every eye must rest, it is made more ornate than the rest of the auditorium. The ceiling, presenting as it does a large broad surface, and being well seen from many parts of the house, also a place well adapted for ornament, and is generally made as handsome as possible. The same remark applies to the fronts of the dress circle and galleries. The stage extends backwards from the proscenium, and ought to be of considerable depth, so as to admit of the scenic effects, dissolving scenes, &c., now so much run upon. The great length of the stage from front to back is one of the most striking differences between the modern and the ancient theater, and arises entirely from the introduction and development of movable scenery—an invention of the architect Baldassare Peruzzi, and first used in Rome before Leo X., in 1508. The floor of the stage is not laid level like the floor of a room, but is sloped upwards from front to back, so as to elevate the performers and scenes at the back, and render them more easily seen. The inclination of the stage is generally about half an inch to every foot. The stage department of a theater not only requires to be very long, but also very lofty above, and deep below the stage, so as to allow the large frames on which the scenes are stretched to be raised or lowered in one piece.
The stage itself is a most complicated piece of mechanism, a considerable part of it being made moveable either in the form of traps, for raising or lowering actors, furniture, &c., or in long-pieces, which slide off to each side from the center, to allow the scenes to rise or descend. There are also bridges, or platforms constructed for raising and lowering through similar openings, some of them the full width of the stage. The traps and bridges are almost all worked by means of balance-weights, and the slides by ropes and windlasses. Besides the large frames above described as containing pictures occupying the full opening of the stage, there are other scenes which are pushed from the sides to the center, each being only one half the width of the opening. These are called flats, and usually slide in grooves above and below. The grooves are arranged in clusters at intervals, having" clear spaces between, called the entrances, through which the actors pass on and off the stage. But in modern French theaters and in the opera-houses—such, for instance, as Covent Garden Theater—these grooves are regarded as an encumbrance to the stage, and are entirely done away with. Their place is occupied by narrow openings or slits in the stage, below which are blocks running on wheels, and containing sockets, into which poles are dropped from above, and to these the flats are attached. Another advantage of this system is, that the gas-wings and ladders may be made movable, and slip backwards and forwards in the same manner as the flats. When occasion requires, the whole stage can thus be entirely cleared.
According to the old plan of fixed grooves, only the center of the stage can ever be cleared without unscrewing all the grooves, and the gas-wings must always remain in the same relative position. Besides the flats, there are also smaller scenes which move in the grooves. These are called wings, and are used to screen the entrance. Corresponding to the wings are similar narrow scenes dropped from above : these are called borders, and are used to hide the gas-battens. These and the scenes which are drawn up, the gas-battens, &c., are all worked by means of ropes from the flies, or galleries running along the sides of the stage at a high level. The ropes from these passing up into the barrel-loft (a, space in the roof filled with large drums and barrels on which the ropes are coiled) and down again to the flies, form a complication which seems to the uninitiated observer an inextricable mass of confusion. While such is the usual arrangement connected with movable scenery, it is to be noted that latterly a very great change has been introduced into the higher class of theaters. This change consists in the dismissal of wings or sliding side portions of scenes with intervening gaps, and substituting for them large pieces of scenery resembling the sides and further end of a room—an arrangement every way more natural. In cases of this improved kind, the actors enter on the stage and depart by doors. In connection with the stage, it is usual to have a large space set apart for containing scenery, called the scene-dock.
This is frequently placed at the back of the stage, and may, on occasion, be cleared out, to give extra depth to the scene. There are also numerous apartments required in connection with the stage for the working of the theater—such as manager’s room; dressing-rooms for the actors and actresses; the ‘green-room,’ in which they assemble when dressed, and wait till they are called; ‘ star-rooms,’ or dressing-rooms for the stars; the wardrobe, in which the costumes are kept; furniture stores, scene stores; ‘ property’-maker’s room; and workshops for the carpenter, gas-man, &c. There must also be a good painting-room, which must necessarily be a large apartment, from the size of the pictures which have to be painted—each being the full size of the opening of the stage. The canvas for these scenes are stretched on frames, which move up and down by means of a winch with balance-weights; and thus the painter stands comfortably on the floor, and moves his picture up or down, so as to get to any part he wishes. An interesting point on the stage is the prompt corner, from which the prompter has command of all the lights of the house, and bells to warn every man of his duty at the proper moment. He has a large brass plate, in which a number of handles are fixed, with an index to each, marking the high, low, &c., of the lights; and as each system of lights has a separate main pipe from the prompt corner, each can be managed independently. The side of the house on which the prompter is seated is called the ‘ prompt side,’ and the other side is called the ‘ O. P.’ or opposite side.
The house, or auditorium department, is generally lighted by means of a large lustre or sun-light in the center of the ceiling, and much of the effect of the building depends on how this is managed. There are also usually smaller lights round one tier of the boxes at least. The proscenium is lighted by a large lustre on each side, and by the foot-lights, which run along the whole of the front of the stage. These are sometimes provided with glasses of different colors, called mediums, which are used for throwing a red, green, or white light on the stage, as may be required. The stage is lighted by rows of gas-burners up each side and across the top at every entrance. The side-lights are called gas-wings, or ladders; and the top ones, gas-battens. Each of these has a main from the prompt corner. They can be pushed in and out, or up and down, like the scenery. There is also provision at each entrance for fixing flexible hose and temporary lights, so as to produce a bright effect wherever required. The mediums for producing colored light in this case are blinds of colored cloth. Another means of producing brilliant effects of light is the lime-light, by which, together with lenses of colored glass, bright lights of any color can be thrown on the stage or scenery when required.
Theaters are usually either very cold or insufferably hot. This arises from want of proper means of heating, and insufficient ventilation. The center lustre is the great cause of ventilation, the draught caused by its heat drawing off the foul air at the ceiling. The suction caused by this withdrawal of air is naturally supplied from the great body of air in the stage. The stage ought, therefore, to be moderately heated by means of hot-water pipes or otherwise, so as to prevent cold draughts. The passages and lobbies round the house should also be heated in the same way, so that any air drawn in to the house may be properly tempered.
An attempt has been made in Paris, of late years, to obviate the great heat and draught caused by the center lustre, by doing away with the lustre, and making the ceiling partly of glass, with powerful lights and reflectors behind the glass in the roof. This mode of lighting is, however, of rather a subdued character for a theater, although very appropriate to such chambers as the House of Commons, where it acts admirably. In Paris, they have also tried to supply fresh air from the gardens outside by means of a large tube, from which numerous small tubes branch. The theater built at Baireuth in 1876 for Wagner, and designed to carry out his views as to dramatic representation, has various devices for heightening the dramatic illusion; the orchestra, for example, being beneath the level of the stage, and wholly invisible to the spectators.
There is a class of theaters in Germany which have a double auditory, one at each end of the stage. One of these auditories is arranged and lighted in the usual manner, and is called the Winter Theater. The other auditory is called the Summer Theater, and is so arranged that performances maybe represented in daylight during the summer season. It is lighted by large windows in the outer wall, which corresponds in form to the interior curves of the galleries, and also by windows in the roof.
The new Grand Opera of Paris, opened in 1875, is admittedly the finest theater in the world; it was built by government at a cost of upwards of 36,000,000 of francs. Its auditorium is, however, seated only for 2200 persons.
The art of dramatic representation has undergone great changes. In ancient Greece, partly from the character of the subjects selected, and partly from the origin of the drama itself, costume and acting were conventional, artificial, and stereotyped. On this point, we quote the words of Witzschel, who has written a Handbook for Students on the Athenian Stage (Eng. transl. by Paul; ed. by T. K. Arnold, Loud. 1850): ‘ There can be no doubt,’ says he, ‘ that the somewhat fantastic costume which was handed down without any change from one generation of actors to another was closely connected with the religious character of their tragic performances. The peculiar fashion and brilliant colors of the tragic wardrobe belonged rather to the Dionysian solemnities than to the stage. That Æschylus, by whom the greater part of it was invented, kept steadily in view the original intention of tragedy, is evident from the notices which we find in ancient writers of his theatrical dresses having been worn in other religious ceremonies and processions. It is only reasonable to suppose that he would have given to the tragic stage a wardrobe of a very different description, had he not been influenced by the conviction, that theatrical performances were in some sort a religious ceremonial. Another proof of the feeling generally entertained on this subject may be found in the ridicule with which Aristophanes overwhelms Euripides for introducing his heroes, not only in pitiable situations, but in dirty, ragged, and beggarly weeds, to the great disgust of all true-hearted Athenians, and the utter annihilation of tragic ideality. In the Acharnenses, the whole of the tragic poet’s squalid wardrobe is held up to public derision.
‘ The tragic costume for male characters of the highest rank consisted of an embroidered tunic with sleeves, which, in the older personages, reached to the feet (chiton poderes), and in the younger to the knees. Over this was thrown a green pall, or long mantle (Gr. surma, Lat. palla), which also reached to the feet, and was richly ornamented with a purple and gold border. Persons of high but not royal rank wore a shorter red mantle, embroidered with gold, which was partially covered by a richly-embroidered, high-fitting scarf. Soothsayers wore over the tunica kind of network, composed of woollen threads. A sort of waistcoat (kolpoma) was also worn over the tunic. This was the costume of powerful and warlike sovereigns, such as Atreus, Agamemnon, &c. Dionysus (Bacchus) appeared in a purple tunic, which hung negligently from an embroidered shoulder-knot, and a thin, transparent, saffron-colored upper robe, with a thyrsus in his hand. Even Hercules himself was not the athletic hero of the old mythology, with a lion’s skin thrown loosely round his muscular limbs, but a solemn, theatrical personage, enveloped in a long mantle. The costume of a queen was a flowing purple robe, with a white scarf; and for mourning, a black robe, and blue or dark yellow shawl. Persons in distress, especially exiles, wore dirty-white, dark-gray, dingy-yellow, or bluish garments. …. To increase their height, the tragic performers wore the cothurnus, a sort of buskin, with high soles and still higher heels, which compelled them to walk with a measured and sounding tread, and a top-knot of hair, or toupet (Gr. ongkos), suitable to the age and condition of the character represented. A corresponding breadth of figure was produced by means of padding and by a sort of glove. Thus equipped, the tragic hero seemed a giant as compared with ordinary mortals. Lastly, they had the mask, a part of the ancient theatrical costume, which seems to us so strange and unnatural. For its meaning and origin, we must go back to the Dionysian festival, at which the excited crowd were wont, in honor of the jolly god, to smear their faces with lees of wine; and at a later period, when, dramatic interludes were attempted, with vermilion, or to cover their cheeks with rude masks of bark.
‘ In the course of time, these primitive inventions were discarded, and their place supplied by linen masks, characteristically painted. For the sake of retaining this uncouth but distinctive appendage of the Dionysian festival, the Greeks were content to forego the delicate expression of feeling and eloquent play of features which are indispensable to a modern actor; but on the other hand, when we remember the enormous size of their theaters, which scarcely permitted the assembled thousands to hear what was said by the actors, still less to distinguish their features, we are forced to acknowledge that the practice of wearing masks was rather an advantage than an inconvenience.’ The above description is, in the main, applicable to the Roman as well as the Greek theaters. The only additional point which it is necessary to notice is that, among the ancients, the acting of plays was not (as it is now) a regular and daily, but only an occasional affair, at festival seasons and the like. With the fall of the Western Empire, the disappearance of classic paganism and classic tastes, and the triumph of the christianized barbarians of the north and east, theatrical performances ceased. But the liking for such things is not artificial; it is natural and irrepressible; and gradually, as the ancient culture resumed something of its former sway, efforts were made, not, indeed, to re-enact the majestic tragedy of Greece (for its language was scarcely known), or the pungent comedy of Rome, but to throw into dramatic form the ‘ mysteries,’ ‘miracles,’ and ‘moralities’ of the Christian religion. The rudeness of these medieval plays may perhaps suggest to us what Greek performances were before the days of Thespis. In fact, they were introduced as a means of edifying, as much as of amusing the ignorant laity, were customarily the work of monks, and were performed on festive occasions in the churches. It does not, however, appear that they were accompanied by any scenic representations. A raised wooden stage like that which forms the front of a traveling show, was all that the untutored taste of the times demanded. Nor are we to suppose for a moment that the slightest attention was paid to propriety of costume or speech. The personages rather than the actions, the ceremony rather than the dialogue, the moral rather than the matter, were the things looked to, and hence no subtle or artistic representation of life and character was possible.
The development of the Modern Drama (q. v.) ultimately re-stored the art of the actor to its ancient dignity and importance; but it was long before those changes took place that gave theatrical performances their modern character. Good acting—that is to say, skilful impersonation of character and varied elocution—became quite common in England after the Restoration, and was not unknown before it; but appropriate costume and scenery were scarcely thought of until the time of Talma (q. v.), towards the close of last century. Since then, the best theaters have displayed a most creditable desire to reproduce, with something like verisimilitude, the outward ‘form and pressure,’ the garb, deportment, and air of the age represented.
The employment of female actors is of French origin, and dates from the first half of the 17th c.; but they were not permitted (without molestation) to tread the English stage till 1661. Before this innovation, female parts were performed by youths; and though it ill consorts with our ideas of adequate representation to conceive the parts of Desdemona, Ophelia, Cordelia, &c., executed by those of another sex, it would appear that several actors obtained a wonderful success in this line.
The title of ‘ His Majesty’s Servants,’ which English actors once bore, originated in the fact that some of them were really members of the royal household. The king and particular nobles kept troops of actors for their own pleasure, whom they sometimes permitted to go about the country and perform. The first prince we read of that gave his ‘ servants ‘ such permission, was Richard, Duke of Gloucester (afterwards Richard III.). In Queen Elizabeth’s time (1571), the Earl of Leicester’s ’servants ‘ were licensed to open the first licensed theater in England, and it is owing to the circumstances of actors having originally formed part of the household of the king that a license from the Lord Chamberlain is still necessary to the opening of a theater.—For an anecdotical and amusing history of the English stage, see Their Majesties’ Servants, by Dr. Doran (1865); see also Button. Cook’s Book of the Play (1876).
