Play Title: Medea

Author: Euripides

Era: Greek Theatre (431 BCE)

Facts:

1. Plays were performed at festivals for Dionysus.

2. Actors used masks to project emotions and amplify voices.

3. Explored human themes like revenge, passion, and betrayal.

Play/Act: Harlequin and Columbina Comedy Act

Author: Traditional / Anonymous

Era: Commedia dell’arte (16th century Italy)

Facts:

1. Troupes performed improvised comedy with stock characters.

2. Harlequin, Pantalone, and Columbina were audience favorites.

3. Known for slapstick and exaggerated physical comedy.

Performance/Act: The Marx Brothers’ Comedy Routine

Performers: The Marx Brothers

Era: Vaudeville (early 1900s)

Facts:

1. Variety shows mixed comedy, music, and dance.

2. Family-friendly entertainment (unlike burlesque).

3. Helped launch Hollywood stars like Charlie Chaplin & Marx Brothers.

   
   

Play Title: A Doll’s House

Author: Henrik Ibsen

Era: Realism (1879)

Facts:

1. Focused on realistic people and everyday struggles.

2. Challenged gender roles and ideas about marriage.

3. Made theatre a “mirror of society.”