Shakespeare's Tragedies and an Acting Lesson: Crash Course Theater #15

Summary

Crash Course Theater explores Shakespearean tragedy, contrasting it with Greek drama by highlighting on-stage violence. The script delves into Elizabethan staging, actor specialization, and the unique blend of prose and verse in Shakespeare's plays. It emphasizes the Bard's innovation in character depth, intertwining humor with tragedy and examining the Christian moral context of sin and redemption. 'King Lear' serves as a case study, illustrating the complexity of human failure, suffering, and the struggle between illusion and harsh reality.

Takeaways

• 🎭 Shakespearean tragedy involves on-stage violence like poisoning, stabbing, and strangling, unlike Greek tragedies that kept violence offstage.
• 👑 Elizabethan drama involved actors organized into companies named after royal patrons, performing at playhouses or touring during plague closures.
• 👨‍🎤 Actors specialized in roles like kings, queens, and fools, with boys playing women's roles, and had to memorize multiple plays and parts.
• 🗣️ Shakespearean actors had to project their voices and use sumptuous costumes and props to make performances visually interesting in bare stages.
• 📜 Tragedy in Shakespeare's time was a flexible term, with some plays like 'Richard III' and 'King Lear' being ambiguously categorized.
• 😢 Shakespearean tragedies end unhappily, mix prose and verse, and often include action-packed scenes with prophecies, ghosts, and moral conflicts.
• 😃 Shakespearean tragedies also include comedic elements, with fools providing humor even in sad plays.
• 🙏 These plays inhabit a Christian moral landscape, with characters worrying about earthly consequences and potential damnation in the afterlife.
• 🧠 Shakespeare's tragic heroes are complex, grappling with internal conflicts and maintaining emotional engagement with the audience.
• 🌪️ 'King Lear' exemplifies Shakespearean tragedy, with a plot involving betrayal, madness, and a series of tragic reversals and deaths.

Q & A

What is the main focus of the Crash Course Theater episode presented by Mike Rugnetta?

The main focus of the episode is Shakespearean tragedy, discussing its characteristics, staging conventions of Elizabethan drama, and the specific example of 'King Lear'.

How did changes in vagrancy laws affect actors during the Elizabethan era?

Changes in vagrancy laws led actors to organize themselves into companies named after royal patrons and perform at purpose-built playhouses or tour the country when the playhouses were closed, such as during the bubonic plague.

What were the typical components of an Elizabethan acting company?

An Elizabethan acting company typically consisted of 8–12 shareholders, 3–4 boys, a few hired players, some musicians, and a couple of stagehands.

Why did actors in Shakespeare's time have to specialize in certain roles?

Actors specialized in roles like king, queen, lover, and different types of fools to meet the demands of various plays and the limited number of actors in a company.

What were the unique challenges faced by actors in Elizabethan playhouses?

Actors had to project their voices to be heard above the audience, perform without modern sound equipment, and manage multiple roles in different plays running in repertory.

Why did Shakespeare write comedic elements into his tragedies?

Shakespeare included comedic elements to engage the audience and provide an 'interchange of seriousness and merriment,' softening and exhilarating the mind at different times.