Theater: The Globe Theatre

During the first years of Elizabeth’s reign, the English playing companies used inns, inn yards, college halls and private houses for their performances. Then in 1597, a most glorious theatre was built, holding several thousand people that would attend the plays. Beyond its magnificent setting and size, the Globe Theatre introduced several acting techniques, and productions that changed the whole game of English Playing. The acting, controversy, and unique productions all contributed to why the Globe Theatre is one of the most revered and influential theatres of its time.

The Globe Theatre was different from every other playhouse of the Elizabethan era because of the design and memorable productions. As the trumpet sounds, at around 3 o’clock,

people take their seat because that means the play is starting (“Shakespeare's Globe Theatre”). The theatre is bustling with people and the excitement of witnessing something unique. The seating was circular around the stage and for the first time productions used life size props like cannons, fireworks and smoke. In addition, there were also false floors and flying entrances that amazed and engaged the audience ("The Old Globe"). The Old Globe revolutionized theatre and became the quintessence of Elizabethan entertainment. No other venue had full size props and flying entrances, which is why it is no surprise that the theatre filled up so quickly. Everyone wanted to see the play that was being shown. The plays were major events. Merchants and vendors filled the streets outside the Theatre. The plays attracted immense crowds and competition was intense among the playhouses. So intense was this competition that without copyright protections, contending theatres and playhouses would send their actors to steal plots and line from other plays. These were known as “Quarto Texts” ("The History of”). Going to the theatre was a staple part of Elizabethan life. Competition between theatres was fierce and many fake copies of Shakespeare's plays were produced. So commonplace was this competition that Shakespeare himself participated in this plagiarism.
The plays were not the only factor that attracted audiences. "The first thing that astonishes us is the blue sky over our heads. The building has no roof except a narrow strip around the edge and a covering at the rear over the back part of the stage. The front of the stage and the whole center of the theatre is open to the air" (Thurber). The circular design was unique and mimicked the gathering of people around actors in the open marketplace, where most of the actors received their training. The plan was like no other, it was huge with no roof. It was especially amazing because before the Globe Theatre, plays were shown in houses or inns. Little to nobody went to plays before because of lack of space to watch. Constructed out of timber, the globe theatre was a "hexagonal structure... about 55 feet across...[and] three-stories high." Behind the stages was a "tiring house" which was a 3 floor house complete with dressing rooms and backstage areas where the actors would prepare before they went on at their respective levels depending on what kind of entrance or purpose they proved (Mabillard). On the 2nd floor, there was a row of galleries which housed the “Lord's Rooms”, often allocated for the highest of society willing to pay the price for being seated closest, albeit behind, the actors. The “centre gallery,” or balcony, might also be used for plays requiring such a structure. The third level was home to the musicians and choir (Globe Theatre Tiring). The building was as unique for actors as it was for the customers. More than simply a small backstage area, the Globe’s facilities provided actor and musicians an all encompassing house-like environment. The Globe theatre was also one of the first production theatre owned by and operated by the actors themselves. Shakespeare owned about 12% of the theatre and collectively the actor owners enjoyed both a share of profits from the plays and also the ownership of the building itself (Gurr).
Between safety concerns and the need to act in multiple plays, acting was a difficult job.

The actors that chose to work at the Globe Theatre had to be able to perform “eleven performances of ten different plays.” This was required to continually attract new audiences and compete with their opponents. With so much to learn, actors developed the method of "cue acting" which, similar to the idea of "cue cards" during a presentation, a production assistant would whisper the lines to the actors just as he would repeat them verbatim. Since actors had no time to rehearse, this method was termed "cue scripting" in which the actor was not even told the excursus of the play and only given his specific lines. For all of this work, actor were paid 1-3 shillings per day according to how prominent of an actor they were ("Globe Theatre Actors").They developed new acting techniques that allowed them to perform daily plays, which contributed to the success of the Globe Theatre. While at its height, the Globe and it’s actors helped shaped culture. Actors mirrored what society itself wanted, and in the Puritan era this raw emotion and passion was to be suppressed. Early Elizabethan actors were considered unrefined and untrustworthy. Actors were products of the streets. Often on the wrong side of the law and arrested for “vagrancy”, they perfected their craft in the open town marketplaces where crowds gathered. Successful actors drew attention and provoked emotions both good and

bad. The open air Globe also Theatre doubled as a brawling house where large crowds could get turbulant and occasionally take revenge on actors ("Globe Theatre Actors”). Even though they were arrested or attacked because of their acting, they were still drawing emotion. Love and hate are both strong emotions that they were able to draw out of their audiences. Being controversial is better than being a nobody.
Religious and Political discrepancies also contributed to why the Globe Theatre was well-known.

The Church was opposed to theatres because there was a rise in crime, including gambling and even "bear baiting", a horrible act of animal cruelty where a bear would be chained to a pole and dogs would attack and fight it. They also did not want the spread of a plague because of the large amount of people attending. In 1644, the puritans, who wanted to reform the Church of England, extirpated the Globe Theatre, and placed draconian laws on stage plays and theatres. Then in 1648 it was ordered "all playhouses to be pulled down ... [and] all players to be seized and whipped, and anyone attending a play to be fined five shillings" (“The Old Globe”). The Church closed it down because it got rowdy, however it eventually reopened. The fact it reopened tells us that without it, Elizabethan times were missing something, the Globe Theatre. If they did not care or if it was not a staple part of life, they would not bother to re-open it. Shakespeare and the Globe Theatre were thought to be part of a conspiracy to create public sympathy for the uprising called the Essex rebellion. Sir Gilly Metric commissioned the performance of Richard II, a play about the overthrowing of a tyrant. The plot to kill Queen Elizabeth failed and Shakespeare was questioned for his part (“Shakespeare's Globe Theatre”). Like all centerpieces of society, the Globe theatre reflected the political and religious

events of the time. Occasionally plays had overtones to implicitly support public uprising, and even gave rise to Shakespeare's alleged involvement in a plot to provoke an assassination attempt of the Queen. The Globe Theatre was part of a major plot against the queen. The play they showed brought in public animosity toward the queen. The plot did not work but it could have.
The acting, controversy and unique productions all contributed to why the Globe Theatre is one of the most revered and influential theatres of its time. It was the first actor owned playhouse and it’s open air setting, circular design closely integrated both actors and theatre goers into an entertainment experience. Elaborate props, fireworks, false, and flying doors kept audiences engaged. Led the by popularity of the Globe, theatre became the focus of early 17th century England society. The theatre spawned a creative explosion with actors working to deliver multiple performances of multiple plays daily. The Globe and its actors reflected English society. The design of the theatre brought crowds close to the performance. The Globe theatre captured the imagination of audiences from the platform seating in the Lord's House seating area to third row gallery seats exposed to the summer rain. The Globe’s elaborate Tiring House housed all actor, musician, and stage prop functions seamlessly. While at its height, the Globe and it’s actors helped shaped culture, at it’s end, the Globe fell victim of the rise of the Puritan movement. Actors mirrored what society itself wanted, and in the Puritan era this raw emotion and passion was to be suppressed. It was only fifty years from construction to destruction, but those fifty years were the greatest explosion of theatrical expression and creativity that society has ever seen.