Greek theatre.

Dionysus and the beginnings of theatre.

Dionysus was the god of wine and fertility in the times of ancient Greece.

The Greek community established theatres at first, as a way to worship Dionysus. However as time moved on more and more performances where performed to worship other gods. Theatre became a form of culture and entertainment, and even the wealthiest would come to see a performance.

Theatres would have a chorus (what we now call an ensemble). The purpose of the chorus was to help the actors connect to the audience and to help portray a scene. Furthermore, plays where often sung, therefore the ensemble would sing and act out the actions in unison.

What would a theatre look like?

Early theatres would be built into a hill. They would have 180degrees of stone stairs, used for seats, and and a big area at the bottom which was used as a stage.