Theodoros is a well-known tragedy actor from the fourth century BC, the peak time of classical Greek theatre. Among the ancient Greeks, this performer is especially loved for his amazing vocal talents. His name literally means 'God's gift' and he can relate to that. Kennislink will discuss acting in Classical Antiquity with Theodoros, in which tragedy is the most important among the performing arts.
How did you get into acting? “It's a family matter. Tragedy actors and tragedy writers often come from the same families. We learn the tricks of the trade from father to son, but the art remains a secret, so as not to flood the market. We are trained and prepared for this beautiful profession from an early age.”
In the 5th century, the tragedy writer was also an actor, but in your time there has been more distinction between the two. What do you think of this? “It is a very good development that tragedy writers are increasingly leaving acting to the professionals. Take Aeschylos (525 BC — 456 BC), the oldest of the three best-known tragedians.”
“A good tragedy writer, and his piece Persians is particularly fascinating because as a warlord he himself witnessed the battle of Marathon and the naval battle of Salamis against the Persians. But that doesn't make you an actor! While Aeschylos himself played the two main roles:that of the Persian queen and her son Xerxes. These important characters are better portrayed by a professional like me.”
“The other two well-known tragedians, Sophocles (496 BC – 406 BC) and especially Euripides (c. 480 BC – 406 BC), have focused more on writing than acting. Nowadays even pieces by Euripides are specially adapted for me to show my singing qualities extra well.”
“The philosopher Aristotle (384 BC – 322 BC) is well behind with this. He's not into stars, you know. According to him, the plot is more important than the characters that we, the actors, portray. Pfff, luckily he is still one of the few with this old-fashioned vision…”
Wouldn't you like to play a lighter role? "Absolutely not! Comedy actors are taken a lot less seriously. For example, they cannot win a prize in the drama competition during the Dionysia festivities. Only the protagonists of the tragedies can compete for this Oscar of Classical Antiquity. Winners write history, don't they, and that's what you do it for."
“In addition, comedy actors walk around like idiots. They wear a kind of flesh-colored pants with a large phallus attached to them, to create the effect of nudity. Very funny but I take myself a little more seriously. I also wouldn't want to walk around with stuffed up buttocks, stomach and breasts, supposedly for the comic effect. Well, hilarious.”
But you do wear a mask. Don't you find that annoying? “No, that's something completely different! We wear the masks to give extra expression to our character and to make them visible to the public, a little further away. In addition to the protagonist, two other actors participate in the modern tragedy. But there are more than three characters in the play, so the actors have to play multiple roles. However, there can never be more than three actors on stage at the same time.”
Why that? “Because the masks hide our facial expressions. If you don't see the mouths moving, a conversation of more than three figures can no longer be followed. In addition to the actors, the 12 to 15 choir members, the backing singers and dancers, also wear masks. The choir reacts with different emotions to what happens between us actors.”
“They even pray to the gods when the situation gets really dire. You can actually see their contribution as film music. It is a supporting role but without the film music a film is nothing at all. Then as a spectator you don't feel the tension, or the emotion. Then there is only a deep void.”
About the choir:Members must possess citizenship. Isn't that discriminatory? “No, that has nothing to do with discrimination, positive or negative. For example, it makes no difference to the actors whether or not they are citizens of the city where they perform. For the choir it's a different story:it consists of boys who pay tribute to the god Dionysus in the name of their city and that is difficult if you are not part of that city.”
In various images, such as a relief with the comedy writer Menander (342-290 BC), we see women standing. What are they doing backstage?
“Uhm, well, actually that's not so neat haha. As you may know, acting is a man's business. The female roles are also portrayed by males. In particular, men who have a good high singing voice are suitable for performing dramatic female roles such as those in Sophocles' Electra."
Or roles like those of the somewhat effeminate King Menelaus in Euripides' Helena. The lovely ladies in the relief are therefore not actors. Officially they are our dressers but unofficially they have a different name. Nowadays you call that groupies if I'm not mistaken…”
What do you find most difficult about acting?
“Maybe it's because of the word 'play', but especially in the past, acting was sometimes underestimated. Fortunately, we tragedy actors can now win awards for our acting skills, which shows appreciation for our profession. We should not only play different roles within the tragedy.”
“We also have to make different moves for each character and, even more difficult, set up a different voice. This is to make the differences between the characters believable to the audience. Just changing your mask and costume will not convince you as an actor. This voice distortion is quite spicy and therefore acting is certainly not for everyone!"
How come your beautiful voice reaches all the way to the top of the theater?
“Now of course I have a phenomenal reach, but I also get a little help. Both the choir members and we, the actors, wear the aforementioned masks to represent our different roles.”
“These masks are made of glued together patches and cover the entire head. The mask is, as it were, a sound box through which the sound, which comes through the opened mouth, reaches extra far. In addition, the acoustics of the Greek theaters are phenomenal. They are often built in a valley so that the sound is automatically carried up to the upper stands.”
Your singing skills are widely praised, but which colleague do you admire?
“Oh, that's Timotheos of Zakynthos, no doubt. This actor performs quite brilliantly the role of the warlike Ajax in the tragedy of the same name by Sophocles. And especially the scene in which this hero commits suicide. The way in which Timotheos, as Ajax, takes his own life by throwing himself into his sword is not only physically very heavy but he also plays it very convincingly. He is nicknamed The Slaughter for a reason got!
“In the future, the actor Apollologenes (3rd century BC) will be much admired for his imposing physique. This man will very aptly play tragic heroes such as Herakles and Achilleus. But hey, what do you want, he will even win a boxing match in Alexandria. It's no surprise that this powerhouse of antiquity will have a preference for pieces in which he can flex his muscles.”
And finally:do you already know what you want to do after your stage career?
“Famous actors like me are showered with praise, honor and the award winners among us receive a high salary. Kings and other high statesmen like to be seen with us and shower us with protection and help in all kinds of areas. And that's what I'm aiming for my future arrows. The actor Thettalus, who goes on diplomatic missions before the court of Alexander the Great, is my example. Sounds like a political job to me. And besides that, even more privileges and status can never hurt, of course. It's not for nothing that actors are called vain…”:
The oldest tragedy dates back to the 6th century BC and owes its origin to the Dionysia, celebrations in honor of the important god Dionysos. In 534 the tragedy first gets a place on the program.
The theater is no longer purely religious but now contains storylines about demigods and heroes. The tragedy poet is the most important. He not only writes the tragedy but also portrays his songs as an actor and leads the choir of 12 to 15 singers and dancers.
The three famous tragedy poets The writer Aeschylos (525 BC — 456 BC) breaks with that tradition and presents a second actor. He wants to write a dialogue between two characters. And although the songs are still important, this puts the choir in the background. In this period also arises the difference between the lighter comedy and the tragedy, with conflicts between man and gods. The next change, introduced by the second tragedy poet Sophocles (496 BC – 406 BC), is the third actor.
He – because actors are always men – causes the intrigue between the other two characters. The choir now really takes on a supporting function in the background. When Sopohocles stops acting around 460, a complete separation arises between the playwright and the actors. The third tragedy poet Euripides (c. 480 BC – 406 BC) goes one step further in style.
As the first tragedy poet, he writes dialogues that sound like a spontaneous speaking style instead of the inimitable verses in ritual context from the classical pieces. Although the audience of his own time did not appreciate this modern style, after his death Euripides became the darling of the Athenian theater.
The actors From 449 onwards, the Greek state selects three protagonists for the drama competitions and associates them with three writers. The protagonist, the protagonist, then hires the supporting actors:the second actor (deuteragonist) and the third actor (tritagonist). The members of the choir are not professional actors, but citizens appointed by the city. The protagonists can also compete for their own prizes in special actor competitions independently of the award-winning tragedies.
The acting peaks in the 4th century BC. The interest in the individual, a characteristic of this period, is expressed in the idolatry of the actors:they are now more important than the playwright. The famous guys have pieces by classic writers adapted to their personal qualities to make the roles even more impressive.
In the same period, the theater world started to organize itself in guilds:these included the actors from comedy to tragedy , playwrights, choir members, dancers, musicians, dressers and so on.
Actors are exempt from tax and military service. In fact, they become so popular that they enjoy the admiration and patronage of monarchs and the elite. These offer them important political and diplomatic positions and some actors also write history outside the stage.