Classical Theater and Christian School: the Theater of the German Humanists in the 15-16th Centuries

• Main Author: Zinaida Lurie
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hypothekai 2018-06-01
• Series: Hypothekai
• Subjects: ancient theatre
• Online Access: http://www.hypothekai.ru/images/Nomera/2/-Hypothekai_1-282-174-183.pdf

The article considers the place and significance of the theater in the thinking of German humanists and writers of the humanistic circle before and after the Reformation, mainly on the basis of the analysis of printed dramaturgy, commentaries drama and pedagogical essays. The author shows that the fascination of humanists with classical dramaturgy (Terence, Plautus, etc.) was invariably associated with the practice of the play. “School Theater” pursued certain tasks related to the education of students and the enlightenment of the audience. At the heart of the humanistic conception of the theater was the idea of learning through the game (German “Spiel”), which is clearly seen in the example of the theatrical pedagogy of Sixt Birk. In this case, it is both the training of “actors” and spectators. The school theater, as shown in the article, was widespread in humanistic circles and schools, although the practice of productions was almost not reflected in the school orders. This problem is also considered by the author. The second interesting aspect of humanistic thought about the theater turned out to be the public claims of humanists who view the play as an instrument of dialogue with the city, first of all, of course, with the city “top”. Here the humanists’ vision of “the theater of the Roman forum” with its key role in formation of public opinion is of great importance. Conrad Celtius called for the recreation of the public didactic theater. Proceeding from the knowledge of the ancient theater, the humanists critically assessed and corrected the contemporary theater. In fact, during the confessional processes, humanists became the main creators of the public theater, while from the point of view of its mechanisms, the theater remained “school”, with theatrical school life being not reduced to urban productions.