Theatre Design & Technology - May 1966 - 17

In the theatre ("a seeing place") there has always
been a strong predi lection for visual effects. An
actor is more likely to be cast for his appearance-size, coloring, movement, gesture, facial expression, or even the ability to wear the costumes required for the part--than for his voice,except perhaps
for the musical play or opera. Although some directors try to resist the strength of the visual appeal
by listening to auditions or rehearsals with their
eyes closed, most of them recognize that Mrs.
Fiske's waving handkerchief countered any of her
fellow-actors'
readings, however eloquent the
speech; and any actor can testify that it is impossible to hold a stage shared with an animal or a baby.
Action really does speak louder than words.
Dramatists are rarely happy to find their beautiful
words subordinated to pantomime; much less to
additions to or deletions from the lines ("let those
who play your clowns . . . "); and even less to the
extravagan za of costumes, scenery, Iighting, and
mechanics (see Ben Jonson vs. Inigo Jones). Some
playwrights deplore the obvious necessity of formal
movement, if not of dance, in any effective production. We can hardly blame them, when we recogn ize the comparati ve strength s of eye and ear and
the variety of appeals to the former compared to the
latter. Indeed, many a writer for the stage has considered that the force of instrumental music or
sound effects has prevented his words from reaching
the audience.
Assuming that the ancient Greek dramatists were
writing with an audience in mind, let us look at the
theatres built to house their offerings. We know that
the earliest performances gradually evolved from a
choral circle around an altar near a temple. In time
a convenient slope was chosen on which to seat
the auditors (and spectators). In the Theatre of
Dionysus at Athens, this slope was situated on the
south slope of the Acropolis. Similarly, at Syracuse
and Taormina in Sici Iy and at Delphi, the spectators
were faced into the sun. On the other hand, the
magnificent theatre at Epidaurus placed the audience with their backs to the sun, as did theatres at
Corinth, Megalopolis, Kos, and Segesta. A recent
study by Gerhauser 1 indicates that sixteen ancient
Greek theatres faced the audience away from the

May

1966

sun, forty toward the sun. These theatre s were bu i It
over a period of several centuries, ·with plenty of
time for their architects to learn what locations or
orientations were most helpful to an audience's
ability to see. Since they fail to follow anyone
pattern, it wou Id seem that someth ing other than
seeing may have been a determinant in their locations. Many hills and some cities (such as Athens)
offer slopes facing in various directions, and many
of these theatres either are not closely connected to
a temple or preceded the building of the temple to
which they are related; they might have been situated in other orientations than those in which we
find them.
Could it have been possible that the rational Greeks,
who had made a considerable study of the winds,
may have placed their audiences. on slopes toward
which the prevailing wind would blow during the
period when they meant to hold their dramatic festivals? Or might the date for the festival at ony
particular location have been determined by the
alteration in the direction of the wind from month to
month? In either instance, the placing of the theatre
in relation to the wind would have been helpful to
its acoustics, and we know that ancient architects
were students of this science. To be sure, the basic
work which has come down to us--that by Yitruvius-was written in the first century B.C. after many of
the Greek theatres were built; but his concern with
increasing the strength of the voice by use of resonating jars indicates that the problem of audibility
had been an important one as theatres proliferated,
both for the Greeks and Romans. In the Roman theatre the high stage house backing the acting area
reduced the effectiveness of the wind as a carrier of
voices; but it seems that consideration was given to
wind direction in a majority of the Roman theatres,
as well, wherever they were builL r In the Greek
theatre s, the comparati ve Iy
low stage hou se s
allowed the wind to operate most effectively; and if
the earlier auditoriums were oriented with the audience facing the wind, the Romans may very well
have followed th is procedure.
To investigate the theory that such a practice was
followed, three considerations must be looked into:
the orientation of each theatre, the prevailing winds

* See Appendix

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Theatre Design & Technology - May 1966