Classical Greek Theatre: New Views of an Old Subject

9. Ramifications of the Three-Actor Rule

RAMIFICATIONS OF THE THREE-ACTOR RULE While previous chapters have questioned several of the near-sacred absolutes regarding Greek theatre, this one adheres mainly to the orthodox: the three-actor rule for tragedies and satyr plays is alive, well, and not presently refutable. The following pages apply the rule to the extant scripts in an effort to determine its effect on acting and production practices during the Classic period. Although questioning ofAristotle's historical accuracy has become fashionable of late, no particular doubt has yet been cast upon this assertion in The Poetics: "The number of actors was first increased to two by Aeschylus, who curtailed the business ofthe Chorus, and made the dialogue, or spoken portion, take the leading part in the play. A third actor and scenery were due to Sophocles" (4.1449a.15-19). Assigning very broad dates to Aristotle's statement, the second actor (the deuteragonist) would have been introduced sometime after 500 BeE, and the tritagonist around 468. Why limit the number of actors? The simplest answer is that, in a major contest where the outcome is important, firm rules govern the competition . Although a limit of three actors may have reduced expenses for the sponsoring choregos, cost would have been a minor consideration; an additional actor or two would have passed almost unnoticed among the enormous expenses of these festivals; one wealthy Athenian equates his "public burden [of] fitting a warship [with] providing a chorus." I Aeschylus added a second actor to the original solo performer, Sophocles added a third, and at that point innovations ceased - at least, that is Aristotle's account ofthe matter. The thought of heavy-handed rule-making is still often dismissed by literary scholars, as though such restrictions somehow cheapened the art of the drama. Modern criticism retains some echoes of Julius Richter's 1842 proclamation that the poet/dramatist must have total freedom to create: In general the tragedians did not write their plays for the actors or the available number of actors.... The question of role distribution never influenced the poet in the composition of his plays; role distribution never became an important factor hindering the poet's work.... The poets followed their genius; no external factor could force them to write plays that restricted their genius.2 This reasoning confuses the poet's solitary labor with the collaborative endeavors ofthe playwright, who is necessarily immersed in a producing organization . Allotted only three performers, the playwright structures his plot to fit; much of his labor is concerned with such matters as entrances and exits, suitable roles for particular actors, exposition, picturization, suitability of costumes, and wearability of masks. The practicing playwright is more a creature of the stage than the study.3 Regulations for Greek competitions differ little from those ofhigh school Interscholastic League one-act play contests held today in the state ofTexas. Both contests limit cast sizes; both award prizes to the best actor as well as the winning play. Aristotle's klepsydra may well be an ancestor of the stopwatches used in the Texas contests, where disqualification falls upon any play exceeding the prescribed forty minutes. Aeschylus (523- 456 BCE) became a playwright when only two actors were allowed, but he spans the period when rules were changed to allow a third. The chronology of his plays has been confusing because, as Bernard Knox observes, Aeschylus was an old-fashioned dramatist who wrote essentially two-actor plays long after three were permitted.4 According to the most recent dating, The Persians (472 BCE) falls within the two-actor period; but Seven against Thebes (467 BCE) and The Suppliants (after 468 BCE) are twoactor plays presented during the three-actor period. Prometheus Bound (after 468 BCE) can be performed by two actors if one of them is switched for the mute initially playing Prometheus; using a third actor would eliminate this awkward change. As Knox points out, when Aeschylus structures scenes for three actors, rarely do more than two of them speak. As examples, Cassandra stands mute during her first appearance in Agamemnon, speaking only after the other actors have left the stage; in Elektra, Pylades remains mute in his first RAM I Fie AT ION S OFT H E T H R EE- ACT ORR U L E 129 appearance and then, in a following scene, has only three somewhat awkwardly inserted lines. In the latter instance, either the playwright felt required...