In Ancient Rome, plays were presented at the time of the games on contemporary
wooden stages. The first such permanent Roman theater was ordered to be built by
Pompey in 55 BC, eventually erected on the Campus Martius at Rome. Built of stone,
it had a seating capacity of 27,000. Essentially patterned after the Greek theater,
it differed in the respect that it was built on level ground.
Excavated out of the sides of hills, the circular space located in front of the stage in a Greek theater was called the orchestra, where choruses and actors performed. Since Roman plays usually lacked a true chorus, the area in front of the stage which might have been an orchestra simply became a semicircular area.
All actors in Roman plays were male slaves. Men played the parts of women. The typical stock characters included the rich man, the king, the soldier, the slave, the young man, and the young woman. If necessary, an actor would play two or more roles in a single performance.
The most notable part of an actor's regalia was probably his mask. While different masks and wigs were used for comedies than tragedies, certain characteristics remained constant. All masks had both cheek supports and special chambers which acted as amplifiers. Gray wigs represented old men, black for young men, and red for slaves. Young men donned brightly colored clothing, while old men wore white. In this manner the characters could be easily identified by the audience.
Admission to the Roman plays was free for
citizens. Originally, women were barred from viewing comedies and were only admitted
to tragedies, but later, no such restrictions were imposed.
Pantomimes, popular during the 1st century BC, involved miming roles to accompaniment of singers, dancers, and musicians, in addition to visual effects, similar to a ballet. In mimes of antiquity actors spoke.
Women were allowed in mimes and pantomimes, which were more popular than typical plays but eventually degenerated into vulgar and disgusting tastelessness.