The changes that Roman comic writers made in a play of their predecessors included…

The elimination of the chorus

The addition of musical accompaniment to much of the dialogue

An emphasis on eavesdropping, which led to frequent misunderstandings and complications

The setting of the action, which takes place on a street 

Because of his status as the best comic, more than a hundred plays were thought to be written by him however only about 45 turned out to be actually written by him. About 20 or so fragments of his plays survived and have been used by Shakespeare, Ben-Johnson and Moliere.

Terence wrote 6 plays all of which survived…

Andria (The Girl from Andros)

Hecyra (The mother-in-Law)

Heauton Timorumenous (The Self Tormentor)

Phormio

Eunchus

Adelphone

Whereas Plautus’s plays were robust and broadly entertaining, Terence stressed characterization, subtlety of expression, and elegant language. Like Plautus, Terence based most of his work on Greek models. He was accused for plagiarizing materials from Greek  comedies and Terence did not deny it. He even said that “meant to do it again.” Reworking Greek plays was a common practice among Roman authors. So It is likely that this criticism of Terence was motivated by other reasons.  

His plots are more carefully contrasted than those of Plautus; and he often used a double plot, placing two characters in similar romantic situations and examining their different reactions. Though his plays were admired by his friends peers, the populace preferred more lively entertainments. Terence  had to present his play The Mother-in-Law three times before the audience to sit through  the whole performance.

Because the emperor at the time like literary work and liked Quintus’s work, he was bestowed a farm as such he didn’t have to worry about money troubles and could focus most of his attention towards writing. His work made him the leading poet in Rome until death. 

2 – Stories should have 5 acts

3 – only 3 speaking characters should appear on stage

4 – Gods should not show up unless as an absolute necessity

5 – Chorus should push the story onwards, lift the spirits, and to give good advice to the characters

6 – (more of his opinion, less a rule) drama should be to please and educate a crowd – an opinion not retained by Aristotle but Renaissance critics agreed it should be a rule.

Decorum – one of the last rules or concerns of Quintus; Keep all language and actions befitting to any character being portrayed i.e. a Child doesn’t curse, a woman does not fight, a King does not ask twice.

Actors were called Historiones and Roman troupes had about 6 actors per group, ignoring the Greek’s 3-actor rule of which even Quintus was a fan of. Due to the sheer size of a theatrical stage actors were used to performing much bigger physcial actions on stage and delivered so that the whole house could clearly hear each line. However due to this, no one would deliver a delicate line quietly or perhaps didn’t even know what that meant, nor did they have use for facial expressions since masks covered their whole head.

Opposite of today, Romans loved stock characters, that is actors who only played a single type of role which is sort of frowned upon in today’s theatrical and film world. 

Not unlike today some actors (mainly movie stars in today’s world) in Roman times were quite wealthy despite most actors most likely being slaves or bought into the troupe or simply commoners. Presumably the Dominus was likely not a slave and also the only one who was allowed to retain any money the troupe made. By the time of his death Claudius Aesop’s worth was equivalent to $1,000,000, which was divided among those who knew him including Quintus and when he died his worth was well over $1,000,000.

Roman theatres had the same three units found in Greek buildings: the cavea, the Orchestra, and the Scaena. The Roman structures however, were different from those of classical Greece. The Romans had developed the arch and other engineering techniques that allowed flexibility in construction, and they put this knowledge to good use in building theatres. Roman theatres were usually not built into hillsides but were free standing structures with a tiered audience section connected to the scene house. The Cavea, the audience seating area, was often larger than the Greek theatron; some Roman theaters could hold up to 25,000 spectators. 

Performances not theatre related but are still viewed as such: Juggling, Acrobatics, Trained Animals

Medieval period in Europe – Organized theatre disappeared, traveling circus or troupe featuring juggling, dancing and mime kept the notion of performance in front of an audience alive.

In the elizabethan era, theatre was a popular form of entertainment but so was bull and bear baiting – the act of setting attack dogs loose on bears and bulls, which often took place in the same theatrical space.

Atellan farce – a Roman theatrical comedy show around 300 BCE, more popular around the 3rd century was Mime, like Greek mime, it included juggling, acrobatics, song and dance. Mimes performed courtyard around town or in the town square.

Even though Mime troupes were a big hit, they didn’t last long and were looked down upon for this and for allowing women to perform as well.

Many forms of the modern circus connect to what the Romans did such as chariot racing (taking place in the Circus Maximus a building specially constructed for racing), hand-to-hand combat, gymnastics and horse-back riding – around 7th century BCE

And underground arena – where Christians were sacrificed to hungry lions

Gladiators combated each other during festivals – close to 2nd century BCE, some like wrestling we make-believe or scripted fights and other times they were battles to the death.

 With the rise of Christianity the church was opposed to theatre. Early Christians saw a connection between theatre and Pagan religions, and the church fathers argued that by the sexual content of Roman entertainments and by their frequent satirical attacks on Christianity. As a result, the church issued various edicts condemning theatre and its participants. 

Another important reason was the disintegration of Roman civilization. The invaders from the North plundered the cities of the Roman empire, and after a time no large centers of cultures remained. Through time, the plays of the Greek and Roman dramatist were lost or forgotten.