ClipArt ETC
"A boot. Its essential distinction was its height; it rose above the middle of the leg, so as to surround the calf, and sometimes it reached as high as the knees. It was worn principally by horsemen, by hunters, and by men of rank and authority. The sole of the cothurnus was commonly of the ordinary thickness; but it was sometimes made much thicker than usual, probably by the insertion of slices of cork. The object was, to add to the apparent stature of the wearer; and this was done in the case of the actors in Athenian tragedy, who had the soles made unusually thick as one of the methods adopted in order to magnify their whole appearance. Hence tragedy in general was called cothurnus. As the cothurnus was commonly worn in hunting, it is represented as part of the costume of Diana. The preceding cut shows two cothurni, both taken from statues of Diana." — Smith, 1873

Cothurnus

"A boot. Its essential distinction was its height; it rose above the middle of the leg, so as to surround…

"A mask. Masks were worn by Greek and Roman actors in nearly all dramatic representations. This custom arose undoubtedly from the practice of smearing the face with certain juices and colours, and of appearing in disguise, at the festivals of Bacchus. Now as the Greek drama arose out of these festivals, it is highly probable that some mode of disguising the face was as old as the drama itself. Choerilus of Samos, however, is said to have been the first who introduced regular masks. Other writers attribute the invention of masks to Thesuis or Aeschylus, though the latter had probably only the merit of perfecting and completing the whole theatrical apparatus and costume. Some masks covered, like the masks of modern times, only the face, but they appear more generally to have covered the whole head down to the shoulders, for we always find the hair belonging to a mask described as being a part of it; and this must have been the case in tragedy more especially, as it was necessary to make the head correspond to the stature of an actor, which was heightened by the cothurnus. The annexed cut represents the grotesque mask of a Satyr, together with a tragic mask, which are contined in the British Museum. some of the oldest manuscripts of Terence contain representations of Roman masks, and from these manuscripts they have been copied in several modern editions of that poet. The cut annexed contains representations of four of these masks prefixed to the Andria." — Smith, 1873

Persona

"A mask. Masks were worn by Greek and Roman actors in nearly all dramatic representations. This custom…

"A mask. Masks were worn by Greek and Roman actors in nearly all dramatic representations. This custom arose undoubtedly from the practice of smearing the face with certain juices and colours, and of appearing in disguise, at the festivals of Bacchus. Now as the Greek drama arose out of these festivals, it is highly probable that some mode of disguising the face was as old as the drama itself. Choerilus of Samos, however, is said to have been the first who introduced regular masks. Other writers attribute the invention of masks to Thesuis or Aeschylus, though the latter had probably only the merit of perfecting and completing the whole theatrical apparatus and costume. Some masks covered, like the masks of modern times, only the face, but they appear more generally to have covered the whole head down to the shoulders, for we always find the hair belonging to a mask described as being a part of it; and this must have been the case in tragedy more especially, as it was necessary to make the head correspond to the stature of an actor, which was heightened by the cothurnus. The annexed cut represents the grotesque mask of a Satyr, together with a tragic mask, which are contined in the British Museum. some of the oldest manuscripts of Terence contain representations of Roman masks, and from these manuscripts they have been copied in several modern editions of that poet. The cut annexed contains representations of four of these masks prefixed to the Andria." — Smith, 1873

Persona

"A mask. Masks were worn by Greek and Roman actors in nearly all dramatic representations. This custom…

"Soccus was nearly if not altogether equivalent in meaning to Crepida, and denoted a slipper or low shoe, which did not fit closely, and was not fastened by any tie. The Soccus was worn by comic actors and was in this respect opposed to the Cothurnus. The preceding cut represents a buffoon, who is dancing in slippers." — Smith, 1873

Soccus

"Soccus was nearly if not altogether equivalent in meaning to Crepida, and denoted a slipper or low…

A French Jacobin, born in Province, in 1755, of an ancient family; served as second lieutenant in the regiment of Languedoc until 1775. He made, about this time, a voyage to the Isle-de-France, the governor of which was one of his relations, and entered into the garrison of Pondicherry. On his return, he gave himself up to gambling and women, and dissipated his fortune. The Revolution broke out. He immediately showed himself an opponent of the Court, and had a seat in the <em>tiers-etat</em>, while his brother was sitting in that of the nobility. July 14, 1789, he took part in the attack upon the Bastille, and Aug. 10, 1792, upon the Tuileries. In 1792 he was elected a member of the National Convention, and voted for the unconditional death of Louis XVI. He was sent, in 1793, to the South of France, and commanded the left wing of the besieging army under Dugommier, and it was here that he first met Napoleon Bonaparte, then captain of artillery. The patriotic reputation of Barras was so well established that he abd Freron were the only representatives not denounced by the popular societies. Robespierre, however, was friend of his, and often wished to arrest him. Barras, knowing this, became one of the principle actors of the 9th Thermidor, and put himself at the head of the troops which surrounded Robespierre at the Hotel de Ville. In 1794 he was named one of the Committee of Public Safety, and became a great enemy to the members of the members of the "Mountain." In February, 1795, he was elected President of the Convention, and, in that capacity, declared Paris in a state of siege, when the Assembly was attacked by the populace. Afterward, when the Convention was assailed, Bonaparte, by Barras' advice, was appointed to command the artillery; and that general, on the 13th Vendemaire, decisively repressed the royalist movement. For his services, Barras was now named one of the Directory, and took a prominent part in the changes which that body unerwent until Napoleon's <em>coup d'etat</em> on the 18th Brumaire, which effectually overthrew the power of Barrras and his colleagues. His life, from this date, was, generally speaking, one of retirement. He died in Paris, Jan. 29, 1829. His "Memoirs" appeared in 1895.

Comte de Barras

A French Jacobin, born in Province, in 1755, of an ancient family; served as second lieutenant in the…

(1635-1710) A famous English actor.

Thomas Betterton

(1635-1710) A famous English actor.

William Jermyn Conlin (July 26, 1831, Albany, N.Y. – Nov. 19, 1891, PA), better known by his stage name William J. Florence, was a U.S. actor, songwriter, and popular playwright. He was one of the most popular actors of his day. Florence was one of a select number of Americans to win the ribbon of the French Societe Histoire Dramatique. He was also co-founder with Walter M. Fleming of the Shriners, a Masonic Order.

William J. Florence

William Jermyn Conlin (July 26, 1831, Albany, N.Y. – Nov. 19, 1891, PA), better known by his stage…

The theatres were originally built on a very large scale to accommodate the large number of people on stage, as well as the large number of people in the audience, up to fourteen thousand. Mathematics played a large role in the construction of these theatres, as their designers had to able to create acoustics in them such that the actors' voices could be heard throughout the theatre, including the very top row of seats.

Ground Plan of the Theatre at Iassus

The theatres were originally built on a very large scale to accommodate the large number of people on…

One of the more prominent places people see costumes is in theater, film and on television. In combination with other aspects, theatrical costumes can help actors portray characters' age, gender role, profession, social class, personality, and even information about the historical period/era, geographic location and time of day, as well as the season or weather of the theatrical performance. Often, stylized theatrical costumes can exaggerate some aspect of a character; for example Harlequin and Pantaloon in the Commedia dell'Arte.

Theatrical Costume

One of the more prominent places people see costumes is in theater, film and on television. In combination…