Thesis: The Globe Theater is an amazing theater that is affordable to all, beautiful, and had an interesting cast.

The Theater

Theater Needs

Quote: " It has been said that all you need for a theater is "two planks and a passion." Since Shakespeare's time "the planks" (the stage) have undergone various changes." (Anderson).

Commentary: What you need to have a theater is a passion for theater and a stage. This is saying that you can do a play anywhere that it is possible.

Quote: "In 1613, during a performance of Henry VIII, wadding from a stage cannon ignited the thatched roof and the theater burned to the ground ‘all in less than two hours, the people having enough to do to save themselves’. The theater was quickly rebuilt, this time with a tiled roof. Shakespeare may have acted in the second Globe, but he probably never wrote for it."(Trust).

Commentary: During a performance of Henry VIII a cannon from the stage went off and ignited a fire to the roof of the Globe Theater. Shakespeare might of had to tried to rebuild the theater but it was never accomplished probably because of expenses.

The Theater Looks Like

The Heavens and hell

Quote: " A half roof projected over the upper stage and the back part of the main stage. Atop the roof was a hut that contained machinery to produce sound effects and various special effects, such as the lowering of an actor playing a god. The underside of the hut was sometimes called the heavens. Two pillars supported the structure. The underside of the heavens was richly painted, and the interior of the theater undoubtedly had a number of other decorative features." (Lander).

Commentary: The roof was open to the sky, above the stage and the audience. That was because of natural lighting, and they said it led to the heavens. They used the roof the lower characters on to the stage. The underside of the roof was all painted beautifully.

Quote: "Actors entered and left the stage through two or more doorways at the back of the stage. Behind the doorways were tiring (dressing) rooms. At the rear of the stage, there was a curtained discovery space. Scholars disagree about the details of this feature. But the space could be used to “discover”—that is, reveal—one or two characters by opening the curtains. " (Lander).

Commentary: The stage is set up so that the Actors entered and left the stage through doorways in the back of the stage. Behind the stage was small dressing rooms. At the back end of the stage was a curtained discovery space.

Quote: "The plays were performed in the afternoon. Since the stage was open to the sky, there was no need for stage lighting."(Anderson).

Commentary: Because of the stage roof being ob=pen to the outside they performed the plays when it was light out. So they usually performed in the afternoon just because it was cheaper and just a better lighting.

In The Theater

The Seating Arrangements

Quote: "For a penny more, they could sit more comfortably on a cushion. To get into the upper galleries, which were covered and had seats, cost would start at 6 pence."(Bruce).

Commentary: For the people who could afford one penny more they would sit in a more comfortably on a cushion. These seats would be covered, but they would be located in the upper galleries where it was a little harder to hear.

Quote: ¨Playgoers in Shakespeare's day paid a penny to stand in the uncovered yard of a playhouse, or two pennies for a balcony seat. (It’s hard to find exact comparisons to what a penny then is worth now, but a day’s worth of food and drink for a grown man would have cost about four pence.) Indoor theaters like the Black friars accommodated fewer people and cost more, with basic tickets starting at sixpence. Fashionable men about town could get a seat on the side of the stage for two shillings (24 pence).¨ (Folger).

Commentary: The people that came to watch the play that stood at the foot of the stage where called the Groundings. They only had to pay one penny to get in to those seats.

Quote: "In one interesting aspect the theater in Shakespeare's day was very different from the theater we know today. Plays were originally performed by the all-male medieval trade guilds, so all women's parts were played b boys."(Anderson)

Commentary: The casting was very different then then now in the theaters. In the theaters only males where the characters so all female roles were played by men or young boys.

Quote: "Shakespeare wrote most of his plays for audiences with a broad social background. To the Globe Theater came a cross section of London society, ranging from apprentices skipping work to members of the nobility passing the time. But most of the Globe’s audience consisted of prosperous citizens, such as merchants, craft workers, and their wives, and members of the upper class. The theaters of London were an attraction, and visitors to the city were often part of the audience.

Commentary: Shakespeare rote most of his plays to fit in with what the audience likes. So if the audience is mostly middle class then he would do the play in the eyes of someone in the middle class.

Quote: "The more intimate space also allowed the inclusion of more musical interludes, both during the plays and during intermissions. Although the Black friars had an important impact on these later plays, what follows will focus chiefly on the design and structure of public theaters."

Commentary: Shakespeare Theater had enclosed spaces to watch the play. People liked these because it aloud a more intimate space to watch it.

Works Cited

Anderson, Robert. Shakespeare and His Theater. Holt Literature Language Arts, doi:0-03-056494-8. Accessed 7 Dec. 2016.

---. “Shakespeare and His Theater: A Perfect Mach.” Holt Literature & Language Arts: Mastering the California Standards: Reading, Writing, Listening, Speaking, by G. Kylene Beers et al., Austin, Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 2003, pp. 778-80.

Burce, Michelle. “Audiences in Shakespeare’s Day.” Who were these people? Audiences in Shakespeare’s Day. Seattle Shakespeare, www.seattleshakespeare.org/who-were-these-people/. Accessed 7 Dec. 2016.

Folger, editor. “Shakespeare Theater.” Folger Shakespeare Library, Folger, www.folger.edu/shakespeares-theater. Accessed 7 Dec. 2016.

Lander, Jesse M. “Shakespeare, William.” World Book Advanced. World Book, 2016. Web. 30 Nov. 2016.

“The Shakespeare Globe Trust.” The Shakespeare Globe Trust, London 2016. Shakespeare’s Globe, www.shakespearesglobe.com/about-us/history-of-the-globe/original-globe. Accessed 7 Dec. 2016.