Even in the times of the ancient Greek theater there was a division into certain types of characters.So there is a role the actor - the distribution of roles in accordance with external data, resulting in up to the last century lifelong mummers were forced to implement only one way.
In ancient Greece, dramatic works were divided into two main types: tragedy and comedy.Accordingly, stood, and two types of actors - tragedians and comedians.Contact with any group determined largely style of play, and external data actor.Tragedians were people, is characterized by high growth, well-built figure, with a low tone of voice.Their opposite - low and full of actors who speak in a high voice.They could perform only comic roles.
Medieval Italian commedia dell'arte expanded antique images and created a new role.This servant, gentlemen, and hero-lover.A distinctive feature of the commedia dell'arte - leather mask, a mandatory attribute of the character.At the beginning of every theatrical career actor choosing a mask, and then almost all his life he played only one role.Theatre historians there are more than one hundred different masks, but most of them belonged to the same characters that differ from each other only by name and a detailed description.Women as actors performed without the use of masks.
In the XVII century, in the era of the classical French theater continued establishment of basic sustainable manner and secured in dramatic roles for specific actors psychophysical data.At this time, there was the concept of role - a term descended from the French word «emploi», which is translated as "role", "position", "use".
In order to get the role, the actor must meet a certain set of requirements, including, as in ancient times, the figure height, build, voice, facial type.But the role - it's not only the appearance of the character, but declamatory and plastic characteristics, behavioral line.The transition from one role to another does not approve, however, as in medieval theater, the actors throughout his theatrical career played the role of monotonous, improving their skills and trying to add character to a certain zest.The only exception is the role of age, which translated the management of the theater the aged actors.
The French theater in the XVIII century the role of the actress such as ingénue - sincere, but naive and simple-minded girl.Heroes like boys temperament called simpletons.Soubrette (male version servant) different fun, enthusiasm and lively temper, often this character has their own masters invaluable help in love affairs.Appears concept transvestite - indicating that women played by actor male, and vice versa.
So playing an actor all his life the same role, if in the last century Konstantin Stanislavski and Michael Chekhov made a statement that the theatrical role - it dies, which hamper the development of the actor's talent, do not let it be shown in full.This view was met with disbelief, but now, watching the amazing modern reincarnations of the actors, we see that the great directors were right.
