Greek actors in classical antiquity almost always wore a mask. Because of those masks, their theater was a very different experience than ours. Moreover, the masks reflected the cruel arbitrariness that, according to the ancient Greeks, governed their society.
Facial expressions are one of the most important ways of conveying emotions in modern theater performances. In a theater that is not too big, they can even be recognized from a distance. In films or theater plays on TV, emotions from facial expressions are even magnified by means of close-up shots. Trembling lips, fear and sadness in the eyes or a single, cautious tear makes us sympathize with the actors.
Reconstruction
Theater in classical Greece had to do without this kind of emotional expression. The actors wore masks that had only one facial expression. Because those masks couldn't be too heavy, they were made from wood, linen, and other organic materials. They have therefore not been preserved. But historians know from ancient texts and images that actors in Greek theater almost always wore masks. Drama in ancient Greece was almost by definition masked.
To investigate the effect the masks had on the drama, historians led by Gregory McCart of Southern Queensland University in Australia made reconstructions of the masks. They had actors perform classical plays both with and without masks in a Greek theater. Because of the masks, actors had to express the emotions associated with the play through gestures, body language and especially with their voice.
Acting with a mask caused difficulties, the actors noticed. The large masks – the characters also had to be recognizable to spectators in the highest rows in the theater – muffled the sound of the voice and caused disorientation in the actors who were not used to it. Although the masks often had a large, wide-open mouth, this was not always sufficient to compensate for the attenuation.
To be able to play his part well, an actor had to have a big throat. Actors invested just as much in their vocal abilities as they did in their acting. A good voice was synonymous with a good actor in ancient Greece. That alone made acting in ancient times much more strenuous than it is today.
Running tadpoles
The Greeks invested in the acoustics of their theaters to compensate for the muffled voice caused by the masks as much as possible. The theater of Epidaurus near Athens is known for its excellent acoustics. It was also gigantic, so the spectators furthest from the actors couldn't always see much. With the large masks on, the actors looked a bit like walking tadpoles:the mask was much too large in relation to the body.
Because the audience from a distance could not even see the facial expressions of the masks well, the actors used exuberant gestures. The philosopher Aristotle advises in his Poetics (1455, 1462a) playwrights to practice gestures themselves while writing. In this way the writer feels better the emotions associated with his piece, according to the philosopher.
Later Roman playwrights, who also used masks, even developed a kind of standard "sign language" for the theater. Julius Pollux, a Greek writer in Roman service, noted an overview in his major work Onomasticon (second century AD). It is not known whether the Greeks also had such a standardized system.
Because of the great physical effort required by the voice and the vehement gestures, good actors were rare. And the discerning Greek audience only wanted to see the best act. Masks thus had a great practical advantage. Because of the masks, a play with eight characters could be played by only three actors. By switching masks behind the scenes, each actor could credibly play multiple roles. For example, an actor could play a murderer in one scene, and the victim in the next.
Unpredictable gods
The course of the characters on stage was therefore structured in the script in such a way that a maximum of three characters are always on stage at the same time. This was investigated for the piece Oedipus at Colonus, by the great dramatist Sophocles.
In addition to the protagonists, there were often a number of actors on stage who had a 'silent role'; they wore a mask but had no text. They were silent spectators on stage, sometimes even children. They mourned when someone died or cheered when something beautiful happened.
Masks offered a solution to the problem of a shortage of good actors. But the face covering also reflects how the ancient Greeks saw their world. Ancient Greece was a violent society. The Greeks did not see whether someone was a murderer or was murdered as a result of free will. It was the unpredictable gods who had it at their disposal. Also in everyday life it was the gods who put on a mask. That mask determined what your fate was at that moment:Perpetrator one day, victim the next.