Roman Theatre is a very unique and appreciated art form that is still used today. Their thoughts and ideas paved the way for theatre and literature as we know it. "The Romans introduced "ludi scaenici", which was a form of dramatic entertainment in theatres." "The Romans created four types of dramatic performances: comedies, tragedies, farces, and pantomimes." However, comedies and tragedies were more popular than the other two. .
This gave the people of Rome a diverse look at life by showing its high points and its low points. Theatre was also a great way to spend your time in Ancient Rome. The average Roman would attend 2-3 plays per week. The plays were normally during the day, due to the fact that electricity hadn't been discovered yet and there wouldn't be appropriate lighting to perform at night. Plays could range from 30 minutes to around 2 hours depending on the play. Although there were a great number of plays performed, there weren't that many actors. Each play would consist of as few actors as possible. This meant that most actors would have to take on a few different roles. Ironically, the actors performed very well under the pressure of remembering a lot of lines. The Romans used a few different techniques to distinguish the actors. Any actor wearing a gray wig represented an old man, black wigs represented young men, and red wigs represented slaves. Masks were also used during some plays, but it was hard to tell who was supposed to be who, that's where the wigs came into play.
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Roman Gladiators.
The Gladiatorial shows which occurred in Rome were the most popular forms of entertainment that Rome has ever seen. People would come from miles away to see men fight to the death. "Rich men would have their slaves fight to the death to entertain guests." When word spread of this activity its popularity grew very fast. Something about the bloodshed attracted people from all over.