The stagecraft and performance of Roman comedy / C.W. Marshall.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Marshall, C. W., 1968- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Latin drama (Comedy)--History and criticism.

Latin drama (Comedy).

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xiii, 320 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Edition:

1st ed.

Other Title:

The Stagecraft & Performance of Roman Comedy

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2006.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

A comprehensive survey of Roman theatrical production, this book examines all aspects of Roman performance practice, and provides fresh insights on the comedies of Plautus and Terence. Following an introductory chapter on the experience of Roman comedy from the perspective of Roman actors and the Roman audience, addressing among other things the economic concerns of putting on a play in the Roman republic, subsequent chapters provide detailed studies of troupe size and the implications for role assignment, masks, stage action, music, and improvisation in the plays of Plautus and Terence. Marshall argues that Roman comedy was raw comedy, much more rough-and-ready than its Hellenistic precursors, but still fully conscious of its literary past. The consequences of this lead to fresh conclusions concerning the dramatic structure of Roman comedy, and a clearer understanding of the relationship between the plays-as-text and the role of improvisation during performance.

Contents:

The experience of Roman comedy

Actors and roles

Masks

Stage action

Music and metre

Improvisation

Conspectus metrorum plautinorum.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 05 Oct 2015).

Includes bibliographical references (p. 285-300) and indexes.

ISBN:

1-107-16821-X

1-281-08563-4

9786611085636

1-139-13183-4

0-511-35045-7

0-511-34865-7

0-511-34768-5

0-511-48620-0

0-511-34957-2

OCLC:

667099813