*INFO source:
Naif Haddad, Talal Akasheh. VITRUVIUS AND ANCIENT THEATRES
http://www.cultech.org/Vetruvius.pdf

"2.3 The Theatre Acoustic and the Vitruvian Resonating Vessels
One reason for the success of the ancient Greek and Roman theatres was that
disturbing environmental noise was generally quiet when they were in use. However,
it is reported that the unoccupied seats and the heads of the audience also scattered
sound to adjacent area. [7].
The acoustics of open-air theatres was mentioned by Vitruvius, but he did not mention
anything about the acoustics of roofed theatres. This earliest documentary discussion
by Vitruvius shows, interestingly, that his overriding concern is for acoustics, rather
than vision, and this even extends to the rules he gives for seating design. Vitruvius
presents us with an elegant theory for the manner in which theatre sites can be
unsuitable, namely if they exhibit acoustic dissonance, circumsonance, or resonance,
in which the voice is supported from below, increases as it goes up and reaches the
ears in words which are distinct and clear in tone. Hence, there has to be careful
attention in the selection of the site to be perfectly suited to the purposes of a theatre.
However, there are some suggestions about the acoustic qualities of the theatres
raised by Vitruvius as to the advantages of placing bronze vases round the auditorium
of theatres. ".... let bronze vessels be made, proportionate to the size of the theatre,
and let them be so fashioned that, when touched, they may produce with one another
the notes of the fourth, the fifth, and so on up to the double octave. [6]"

Theatre Rocked in Pompeii!

This is the first purely Roman theatre, built in Pompeii, circa 75 BCE. This 1500 seat theatre was built equipped with a roof, and segregated seating for ambassadores and special guests.

LINKS_John Wilson is a AMAZING!!!

Ok, as of now, these links are only links, and this post is just a place to park them. Lot's of reading to do!

8-), --HAPPY!!!

Adam*

(Go to page 48 in this book. Paul Kuritz, The Making of Theatre History.)
http://books.google.com/books?id=cS6JV4Z27DoC&pg=PA48&lpg=PA48&dq=vitruvius+theatre&source=bl&ots=f2vu-f7jC7&sig=7ntB7GXWotFJty3zMCQwK09eXmk&hl=en&ei=XCK1TJLNHInSsAOJj9nLCA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CBUQ6AEwADgK#v=onepage&q=vitruvius%20theatre&f=false

(Below link to Vitruvius Book V. Scroll down to Ch. 4, "Harmonics," and Ch. 5 "The Sounding Vessels.)
http://www.bostonleadershipbuilders.com/vitruvius/book05.htm

(The link below looks very interesting.)
http://www.philophony.com/pages/cr1470s.pdf

http://www.cultech.org/Vetruvius.pdf

http://www.wayneturney.20m.com/vitruvius.htm

(go to page 188 in the book on this link. Vitruvius, Ten Books on Architecture)
http://books.google.com/books?id=y6hNuDhhQVgC&pg=PA194&lpg=PA194&dq=vitruvius+theatre&source=bl&ots=2-QXqePpjO&sig=kRst9g0bPEd6VAxHtqdmKtDZJzc&hl=en&ei=2SC1TLS5FYbQsAOazYibAQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=8&ved=0CD0Q6AEwBw#v=onepage&q=vitruvius%20theatre&f=false

(Scroll down for the entry on the Greeks.)
http://soundcraftpiano.com/html/sound_design.html

http://www.sea-acustica.es/Sevilla02/rba01007.pdf

http://videos.howstuffworks.com/science-channel/29985-what-the-ancients-knew-greek-theatre-design-video.htm

http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/528722/

http://www.livescience.com/history/070405_greeks_acoustics.html

http://www.sea-acustica.es/WEB_ICA_07/fchrs/papers/rba-02-003.pdf

"As the performances were held during the day, no artificial lighting was necessary, although there were various sound effects used, such as metallic containers full of water to increase the volume of the speeches, and pebbles were shaken around in bronze jars to sound like thunder. The technicians who wielded these vessels would either stand behind the scenery or along the sides of the platform, in the side-wings."
http://ezinearticles.com/?Ancient-Greek-Theatre-Architecture&id=948001

Text Suggested by John Wilson

This is obviously not the proper annotation, just a recording

Title Art and thought in the Hellenistic Age : the Greek world view, 350-50 BC /
Published London : Thames and Hudson, c1979.
Call Number: Main Book Stacks N 5633 O6

SOURCES!....Meterial of Interest

Hi guys! I picked up a few texts today that seem to suffice as tangible material my project titled Epoch Changes in Theatre Technology. This post is mostly for myself to keep track of sources for further recollection. But if you have read this far, you are either my wonderful teacher Chris, an astute classmate, or you are a rather bored individual. Of course, I'd like to think maybe someone would read all this because they really like me, I mean "liiiiike" me. But if not, that's ok, too, because reading is good for the soul.
*All texts were recently checked out from Cornish library, nothing yet to report.

Annotations are as follows:

Baugh, Christopher. Theatre, Performance and Technology: The Developement of Scenography in the Twentieth Century. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2005. Print.

Collison, David. The Sound of Theatre: From the Ancient Greeks to the Modern Digital Age. Great Britain: PLASA Limited Redout House, 2008. Print.

Brocket, Oscar. Mitchell, Margaret. Hardberger, Linda. Making the Scene: A History of Stage Design and Technology in Europe and the United States. San Antonio, TX: University of Texas Press, 2010. Print.

As I stated in my Seminar Prep Sheet for this week (in a different set of words), I shall read at least two chapters of history-based information of sound production. So, I'm off. See most of you on Tuesday.

A*10

(Belated) Prep Sheet_10-07-10

This week, I accomplished:
~meeting with a mentor about resources for historical context
+ he who suggested other texts, one in Cornish library, to pick through :-)
~gained another possible resource; ACT Theatre's Head of Sound

The source I consulted this week is:
~David Collison's History of Sound Design

By next week, I want to have accomplished:
~A successful presentation of where I'm at
+ tangible material to present
~Having read at least two chapters of text on sound design history

What obstacles stand in the way of progress?
~Current flu condition

What steps can I take to move forward?
~Finish timeline
~Plenty research over the weekend
~Read, read, read!!!

In this weeks seminar, I'd like to discuss:
N/A