Thespis
For the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta, see Thespis (operetta).Thespis of Icaria (
6th century BCE) is claimed to be the first person ever to appear on stage as an
actor in a
play although the reality is undoubtedly more complex. In other sources, he is said to have introduced the first actor in addition to the chorus ¹.
According to
Aristotle, writing two hundred years later, Thespis was a singer of
dithyrambs (songs about stories from mythology with choric
refrains). Thespis supposedly introduced a new style in which one singer or actor performed the words of individual characters in the stories, distinguishing between the characters with the aid of different masks.
This new style was called
tragedy, and Thespis was the most popular exponent of it. Eventually, in
534 BCE, competitions to find the best tragedy were instituted at the
City Dionysia in
Athens, and Thespis won the first competition.
It is sometimes implied that Thespis invented
acting in the
Western world, and that prior to his performances, no one had ever assumed the resemblance of another person for the purpose of storytelling. In fact, it is highly likely that acting had existed for thousands of years, as is indicated by
cave paintings such as '
The Sorcerer'. Thespis is, however, the first known actor in
written plays, as opposed to
improvised or orally transmitted plays. He may thus have had a substantial role in changing the way stories were told and inventing
theatre as we know it today. In reverence to Thespis, actors throughout western history have been referred to as
thespians.
It must be stressed, however, that there is very little concrete information about Thespis and the origins of Greek theatre, and all of the above may be more legend than reality.
In theatrical myth (or
superstition), Thespis is said to exist now as a mischievous spirit, and when things go wrong in performances it is often blamed on his ghostly intervention. Like many superstitions, this belief ranges in different cases from being considered a humorous legend to being taken very seriously, with various charms and rituals being employed to either invite his approval or defend against him.
In theatre and acting craft, there is a minor school of thought known as "anti-thespian," which posits that it is inappropriate or artistically flawed to assume a character other than yourself. It is not a moral objection, but more a suggestion that actors should not make any effort to disguise or distract from who they are (in theory, because stories themselves are what matter, not the distraction of creating false depictions of people).
Thespis was the title of an episode of the TV series
Sports Night, in which it was mentioned that he became the first actor on November 23, and also that he became a mischievous spirit, as noted above.
*
Aeschylus*
Sophocles*
Euripides*
Aristophanes*
Aristotle*
Dionysia*¹ Theatre of the Greeks by Philip Wentworth Buckham (1827)
