Elizabethan Theatre

"The English Elizabethan Era is one of the most fascinating periods in the History of England." "The history of the theater is amazing." I'm just going to leave that there for a while.

The Elizabethan theatre was as popular as cinemas and movies in the early 20th century. A lot of money could be made off of it. However, there are many differences between the Elizabethan Theatre and the Modern Theatre.

Elizabethan Theatre

• Acting was not a highly paid or highly respected profession.  Actors were seen as troublemakers who promoted hard living and sin.
• In the 16th century, actors traveled from town to town on a cart, looking for audiences to pay to watch them perform.
• Women were not allowed to act until after 1660, due to acting being not a respected profession. Therefore, teenage boys who hadn't gone through puberty would play the roles of women.
• The most expensive seats in a theater were the in the top row of the theater, farthest from the audience.  The cheap seats were directly in front of the stage. Rich people would want to have the most segregated and exclusive seats in the theater, away from the rowdy, poor people.
• People expected to see a new play everyday in theaters. 

Researching this, I've noticed that this is the TOTAL opposite of theatre/acting today. Let me briefly explain how the theatre works today.

Modern Theatre

• Acting is a very highly paid profession that many people respect and appreciate. (If this doesn't prove how different modern theatre is than Elizabethan theatre , then I don't know what will... But I'll keep going!)
• Theater houses are set up in a permanent location. They often stay open for decades and become part of a community.
• Both men and women are allowed to act on stage or in movies.  Men and women may also play opposite gender roles.
• Going to the theater is considered to be a sophisticated and elegant affair.
•  The most expensive seats in a modern theater are directly in front of the stage. The cheapest seats are in the back of the theater because they have the worst view of the stage.

And that's how much the theatre changed from the Elizabethan era to the Modern era. I think, in my opinion that we've stooped so low. Think about it, in the Elizabethan era, acting was considered not to be a very respectable job. Now, it's one of the most respected occupations and that's how most people become famous. Some people might disagree with me, and say that we've improved and moved on from these times, but to me, I think that the job that wasn't respected and paid very low, became a highly respected, highly paid job. I'll give you a minute.

Since this is a blog all about Shakespeare, then I have to answer this question: How does all this relate to Shakespeare?

The Globe Theatre

The Globe theatre is one of the most famous theatres in the Elizabethan era. It was built in 1599 by Shakespeare's playing company. The Globe was owned by actors who were also shareholders in Lord Chamberlain's men (playing company whom Shakespeare wrote for most of his career). Two of the six Globe shareholders owned 25% each; the other four men, Shakespeare, John Heminges, Augustine Phillips, and Thomas Pope, owned 12.5% each.

Now, let's refer back to what I quoted in the beginning. "The English Elizabethan Era is one of the most fascinating periods in the History of England." "The history of the theater is amazing."

I'm going to be honest here, I thought this topic was going to be really boring, and I would lose interest really quickly, but I've actually learnt a few things, and I found this quite interesting. So, I'm going to have to agree with whoever said these quotes.

If you want to go into more detail, watch this video!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYfM0RFZ5cs

Websites used:

• https://sites.google.com/site/shakespearefunfact/elizabethan-theater
• http://www.elizabethan-era.org.uk/elizabethan-theatre.htm