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Medieval Theatre

The Middle Ages

- Drama developed along many different lines through ____________

- It’s impossible to positively track this development because few

__________________ ______________ exist

Liturgical Drama

- The earliest evidence of drama in the _______________________

o Partial Manuscript from a Western European ________________

Drama

o Dates to the _______________________

- The ________________ Drama of this time was influential in the

development of Drama as a whole

o Did not direct the course of further _________________ plays

- However, prohibitions were set in place

o By the _______________ _____________ __________

§ Against Secular ______________

§ It suggests the presence of other ___________ forms

• Such as mimes, dancers and _______________

- The Liturgical Drama came into existence through ________________

o They were a _______________ and ______________ song

o Performed by Monks on ___________________

o These plays were ___________ in Latin

- Performers included __________ and Choir Boys

o Eventually _____________ joined in

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- After the popularity of the Easter drama, ___________________ soon

followed

- Due to popularity, they were translated from ______________

o Translated to the __________________ of the region

- Members of the church _______________________ were invited to

________________ in the plays

Saint Plays and Mystery Plays

- ___________ and _____________ plays became a popular form of

_________________ drama

- ________________ Plays are based on Legends of ________________

- ________________ Plays are based on __________________ History

- “_________________________________” is a very popular liturgical

______________

o Performed for the _____________________ Services

- The earliest Saint and Mystery plays were staged in the church on

___________________

o These Platforms were called __________________

o These represented locations such as ___________, Hell, and the Sea

of _________________

o As popularity grew:

§ They were moved from the _____________

§ They were moved to the ____________ square

- Placed in _____________ _______________

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o Some were permanent __________________

§ There is evidence to suggest these shows __________________

around town

The Mystery Play of Elche – Questions to Answer

1. What is this play?

2. Who authorizes it to be performed?

3. When is it performed?

4. What is the date the manuscript was written?

5. How many levels is the stage? (2)

6. How many volunteers take part in the show each year?

The Craft Guilds

- By the late ____________________

o ______________________ took over the presentation of plays in

____________

- Most were performed during the _______________________________

o Instituted in ____________ AD

- The guilds were ____________

o Guild Members belonged to the ________________

- Each __________________ would present a different part of the story

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o I.E. The ship wrights presented the story of

_____________________________

Pageant Wagons

- The Craft Guilds would tour the country with their shows on

______________________________

- Pageant Wagons were ________________ on wheels

- Divided into ______________ levels

o ________________________ was a platform stage

o ________________________ were dressing rooms

- Each ____________ would decorate their wagon

o __________________ based on which __________________

they were presenting

- The guilds moved through _________________ as they presented their

plays

Label the correct areas of the Pageant Wagon.

Use arrows to point to them.

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Folk Dramas

- While the __________________________ were developing, so were the

__________________ Dramas

o Secular Dramas were also called _____________________

- The 1st record of a folk drama comes from _______________________

o The Play of the ________________________ by Adam Del La Halle

Out of the Folk Drama Genre arose the famous

“___________________________________________”

o Began around ________________- AD

o These plays told the story of the ________________ stealing from the

______________ and giving to the ________________

Morality Plays

- Since the popularity of drama began to grow around the

_____________________,

- The ___________________ began to present plays not only for specific

__________________

- These plays were _________________ in nature

o They taught right from wrong in the context of the ______________

and _______________ battling for _______________

- These plays took the form of allegories dramatized by _________________

characters who represented ________________ human qualities

- A prime example of this was the play _____________________

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Everyman

- ______________ author

- In the play, the title character represents all of ____________________ kind

- The play is the allegorical accounting of the ______________ of Everyman. In the

course of the action, Everyman tries to _______________ other characters to

accompany him in the hope of improving his account with ____________.

- The premise is that the ____________ and _____________ deeds of one's life will

be tallied by God after ______________, as in a ledger ____________

- Other characters include:

____________________

____________________

____________________

____________________

____________________

____________________

____________________

____________________