Journey theatre students realize Greek/ Roman’s influence on Western Theatre

MADISON – Students enrolled in beginning theatre at Journey Middle School envisioned ancient stages of Europe to learn about the origins of Western Theatre.

Students explored Greek and Roman traditions that molded the foundations of Western Theatre. During this unit, they researched mythology and stories from “The Odyssey” and then created character brochures to better understand the personalities and motivations of mythological figures.

Theatre teacher Terrena Mann always starts the unit by asking middle- schoolers to name any books or movies that portray mythological characters or any facts about “The Odyssey.” “The biggest topic they always like to talk about is ‘Percy Jackson and the Olympians,’ a popular middle-school-friendly fantasy series that follows a demigod, Percy Jackson, as he battles monsters and gods,” Mann said.

The series led to a Broadway musical, “The Lightning Thief.” “Students quickly launched into discussions with each other about how the book (took) ancient stories and set them in a modern world,” Mann said. “Many middle-school students come into class already with a love of mythology and big stories about heroes, monsters and gods.”

Mann even presents a “one-woman show” to retell the story of Thespis, the first actor. “Thespis suggested the chorus members portray characters and not just recite stories in unison. It’s always a great icebreaker,” she said. “My hope is that students will see that Greek and Roman theatre gives them a way to connect those stories to performance and understand many storytelling ideas we still use today (heroes, villains, dramatic conflicts) actually started thousands of years ago,” Mann said. “It becomes less about ancient history and more about discovering where theatre began,” she said.

One major difference between Greek/Roman theatre and contemporary traditions is use of masks and exaggerated physical acting. “In ancient Greek and Roman theatre, performers wore large masks that helped the audience immediately recognize the character type: hero, villain, god or comic character,” Mann said. “Because the actors’ facial expressions were hidden, they had to rely heavily on big physical movements and vocal projection to communicate emotion.”

Today’s theatre focuses more on facial expression and subtle acting, especially in smaller theatre spaces or on film, Mann said. “Studying ancient theatre helps students understand how acting styles evolved and why performers historically had to adapt to very large outdoor audiences.”

That concept became apparent when Journey students performed scenes outdoors at Home Place Park amphitheater in downtown Madison.

During their research, students enjoyed understanding the contrast between Zeus and Hades, two powerful brothers in Greek mythology who rule diverse parts of the world, Mann said. Zeus, king of the gods and ruler of the sky, had a personality that was bold, commanding and sometimes impulsive.

Zeus’ main motivation is maintaining order and authority among both the gods and humans. Because Zeus holds Mount Olympus’ highest position, many myths show his decisions affecting the entire world, Mann said.

“Hades, on the other hand, rules the Underworld. Students were often surprised that Hades isn’t necessarily evil. His personality is more serious and reserved. His role is to maintain balance in the afterlife by ensuring souls remain in the Underworld. His motivation is more about responsibility and order — rather than power or glory,” Mann said.

Studying these two characters helps students see that mythology often explores different kinds of leadership and responsibility, even among gods, she said.

The young actors wore traditional- style togas. Students designed and created their own theatrical mask inspired by Greek and Roman traditions. They researched their mythological characters first and then designed masks that matched the character’s personality. . . whether heroic, mysterious or monstrous.

Using papier mache as the main material, students embellished masks with art supplies, yarn, plastic jewels, foil, gold leaves and cardboard. Some even applied eyelashes.

“They used the materials to create specific features and make expressions more dramatic — just like actors would have needed in ancient amphitheaters,” Mann said. “Some masks did end up looking a little intense or dramatic, which is actually very authentic to ancient theatre.”

A few students jokingly said the masks looked “creepy.” However, that opened meaningful dialogues about masks’ purpose to make emotions larger than life so audiences could clearly understand the story.

“When students realize they’re performing using techniques that actors used over 2,000 years ago, theatre history suddenly becomes very real,” Mann said. “From Greek to modern, theatre shows students that storytelling has always been a powerful way for people to understand the world around them.”