The differences between Classical and Modern theater - Essay Example

ical vs. Modern Theater Though the drama in the ical times appears similar with those of the modern plays; the classical theater as compared to the modern are quite different. The differences exists right from how they are built, in the classical era, theater was just a temporary structure without even seats. This is because of the political influence on the same; with political figures wanting to stress the idea that theater was a leisure activity hence the justification for the place not having seats.

Later on a classical theater was built using stones and this was in Rome. In classical theaters, they were open air venues where performances could only be conducted at daytime in daylight (Walton 1987 pg 122-6). On the contrary, the modern theaters are permanent buildings with complete seats. The theaters use modern equipment to compliment the natural implements. The theaters are said to be built with padded seats with a complete enclosure. The performances of the modern theaters take place both at night right from the afternoons.

The large part of the design and the presentation is formed by the artificial lights. The classical theaters could evolve to satisfy the ever changing specifications of the events acted (Walton 1987 pg 67-9). It was made in different shapes, sizes and had a variety of functions. While the modern theaters are unnecessarily complex, the classical theaters were just so simple with a great influence on any performance that was conducted on it. In terms of performance, the classical performances sometimes entailed performances that impact on moral negatively as opposed to the modern ones which are endeared towards the theme to the audience (Walton 1987 pg 49).

Works CitedWalton, J. Michael. Living Greek theatre: a handbook of classical performance and modern production. New York: Greenwood Press, 1987. Print.