Indian history has been characterized as a succession of immigrations into the indian subcontinent. Early traces of civilization there go back to 3000 B.C.E. The Aryans, who came into southern India 1,000 years later, left behind works in Sanskrit that constitute the basis of the great Indian literary traditions. Scholars believe that by 1000 B.C.E., certain fundamental aspects of Indian civili, ion overs already established; one of these is the caste system under which people are clas sifted by heredity: A person must remain in the caste to which he or she is born. and people are forbidden to change occupations. Around 400 B.C.E., Buddhism, which had its origins in India, reached a peak of development, and soon it became a major force throughout eastern and central Asia. Based on the ideas of Gautama Buddha (c. 563-483 B.C.E.). Buddhism teaches that suffering is inherent in life but that human beings can be liberated from suffering by mental and moral self-purification. King Asoka, who ruled in India about 240 B.C.B., managed to unite the whole nation under Buddhist rule, but a period of disorder and confusion followed until the Gupta dynasty began to unite the nation again around 320 c.E. It was at this time that another important thread in Indian history, Hindu culture, entered a golden age, and it was during the following centuries that the great Sanskrit dramas were written and performed. Hinduism stresses the belief that soul or spirit is the essence of life; that the goal of all people is to achieve oneness with the supreme world-soul, known as Brahman; and that the things of this life do not exist in the same way as Brahman, which is eternal, infinite, and indescribable. Sanskrit Drama Sanskrit or aron the tradition of the luda sold to do perrogroup of play, What remains tron, he languago of the noble hisse that can detormed in various court direles. had the greatest of them are among the finest works of clasned Indian literature. dig ineratureen provided a great insicht inholates ca Tr instian theatre by g Ten tIe be so cement caled the Nasasasra translated 16 Bra Stud of Theatre 9 remarkable docum: The Nasarasra has been ausib. it barata Muni bu 0 The Be of Timeone disc, possibly by several people. Written sometime during To toly ear periods between 200 B.C.P. and 200 c-ta it describes the mythologie 40 year heatre in India and also presents important material about the nature al origin drama; it even includes a description of the theatre space in which perfor mances took place. noes took rae Of this complex treatise, the author defines a quality called rasa, or flavor, which permits spectators to surrender themscives to a dramatie situation corresponding to some powerful fecling that they themscives possess. Theatre can thus serve as a means toward enlightenment; art becomes a way to move toward metaphysics and the divine. *The Narasastra also serves as a kind of encyclopedia of theatrical practice. In an abstract way, every element of the complex ancient theatre is treated, from gesture and posture to music, dance, voice, and so forth. Types of characters and categories of plays are discussed, and all this specific information is related in turn to a series of metaphysical principles, which, although perhaps difficult for the modern reader to grasp, are nevertheless challenging, even humbling, to read. From comments in a book entitled Mahabhasya (Great Commentary), some scholars believe that the main elements of Sanskrit drama, as described in the Naryasastra, were in place by 140 B.C.E. However, this is speculative and has not yet been proved. The earliest plays that survive, from the first and second centuries C.E., were written by Asvaghosa. As we have noted, these plays were written in Sanskrit, the classical language of the nobility, though some of the lover characters in the later plays speak a hybrid of Sanskrit and local dialect. Thus, the plays had little following among the general public, who could not understand them. The plays usually drew on themes from Indian epic literature. From what we know, the most productive playwright of classical India was Bhasa, who may have lived around the second or third century C.E. Thirteen surviv. ing plays have been attributed to him, but it is not certain they are all his. Among the best-known plays of this general era is The Little Clay Cart, attributed to King Sudraka, although his identity and dates have not been clearly established. He is thought by many (though there is much disagreement) to have lived as late as the fifth century C.E. The Little Clay Cart concerns the love between a ruined merchant and a courtesan; its style is enlivened and enriched by politics and humor. The most famous Sanskrit play, however, comes from the fourth or fifth century. This is Shakuntala, which is usually considered the finest classical Indian drama and whose author, Kalidasa, is the greatest of the playwrights from the classic period. Kalidasa Though Shakuntala is an acknowledged masterpiece of Indian drama, almost nothing is known about its author, Kalidasa. Many scholars have Sanskrit Drama Sanskrit or aron the tradition of the luda sold to do perrogroup of play, What remains tron, he languago of the noble hisse that can detormed in various court direles. had the greatest of them are among the finest works of this culture. *The Narasastra also serves as a kind of encyclopedia of theatrical practice. In an abstract way, every element of the complex ancient theatre is treated, from gesture and posture to music, dance, voice, and so forth. Types of characters and categories of plays are discussed, and all this specific information is related in turn to a series of metaphysical principles, which, although perhaps difficult for the modern reader to grasp, are nevertheless challenging, even humbling, to read. From comments in a book entitled Mahabhasya (Great Commentary), some scholars believe that the main elements of Sanskrit drama, as described in the Naryasastra, were in place by 140 B.C.E. However, this is speculative and has not yet been proved. The earliest plays that survive, from the first and second centuries C.E., were written by Asvaghosa. As we have noted, these plays were written in Sanskrit, the classical language of the nobility, though some of the lover characters in the later plays speak a hybrid of Sanskrit and local dialect. Thus, the plays had little following among the general public, who could not understand them. The plays usually drew on themes from Indian epic literature. From what we know, the most productive playwright of classical India was Bhasa, who may have lived around the second or third century C.E. Thirteen surviv. ing plays have been attributed to him, but it is not certain they are all his. Among the best-known plays of this general era is The Little Clay Cart, attributed to King Sudraka, although his identity and dates have not been clearly established. He is thought by many (though there is much disagreement) to have lived as late as the fifth century C.E. The Little Clay Cart concerns the love between a ruined merchant and a courtesan; its style is enlivened and enriched by politics and humor. The most famous Sanskrit play, however, comes from the fourth or fifth century. This is Shakuntala, which is usually considered the finest classical Indian drama and whose author, Kalidasa, is the greatest of the playwrights from the classic period. Kalidasa Though Shakuntala is an acknowledged masterpiece of Indian drama, almost nothing is known about its author, Kalidasa. Many scholars have attempted to establish his date of birth and to learn some details of his life, but aly have had little success. Recent studies have placed his writings between but lie fourth and mid-fifth century. There is no doubt, however, that Shaken tie isa masterwork of Sanskrit drama. In seven acts, the play recounts the ronniace " King Dushyanta and Shakuntala, the foster daughter of a hermit, who secretly harry and are then subjected to a long separation brought about by the curse o an irate sage. After many trials, the lovers are reunited and the king finally meets his son and heir. Shakuntala, which is subtitled The Recovered Ring, has story elements such as a secret marriage, forgetfulness caused by a curse, and a magic ring. It also has ideas from Indian philosophy, religion, aesthetics, and psychology. Like all Sanskrit drama, it has both serious and comic elements and includes a large number of locations and characters. It also includes supernatural elements. In addition, Shakuntala has a recognition scene in which the lovers confirm their identity through signs; this recognition through signs bears some resemblance to scenes in classic Greek tragedy. While Shakuntala follows traditional patterns of Sanskrit drama, it is set apart by Kalidasa's delicate lyricism. Kalidasa wrote several poems that mingle love, nature imagery, and religion. He also wrote two other plays: Malavike and Agnimitra, a courtly comedy about a king's love for one of the palace serving women. and Vikrama and Urvashi, a heroic mythological drama focusing on the love of a king and a nymph. Later Indian Drama Sanskrit drama-both the plays themselves and dramatic criticism-had faded by the end of the ninth century. By the twelfth century, the Arabs had begun to invade India, and in 1206 they established the sultanate of Delhi. With this series of inva-sions, the Hindu Sanskrit tradition disappeared. Under Islamic rule, theatrical activities were not encouraged and the old ways of performing were no longer maintained among educated people. However. folk dramas in the many vernacular languages of India had always been popular, and the continued performances of such works, while they may not have achieved a very high artistic level, helped to keep certain traditions alive. Many of these folk plays have continued to the present day. They used the same traditional epic materials as Sanskrit dramas, but most of them were created by dramatists whose names are now unknown, and the scripts-assuming that these dramas were written down-have not been preserved. Folk plays were extremely eclectic and emphasized spectacle rather than metaphysical profundity. Also popular with the public were dance dramas that took up aspects of Indian myths. In the performance of such dramas, movement, rather than the spoken word, was strongly emphasized. These and other developments in later Indian theatre, including a well-known dance-drama form called kathakali, will be discussed in detail later.

write me answer from above essays

1. The date and location (city/town, country, name of the theatre if available) of the production

2. The title of the play being produced, and the names of the playwright, leading actors, director, and designers as applicable

3. A description of the physical space of the theatre. How big? What shape? How many audience members? Seated or standing? What kind of stage?

4. Comments about your fellow audience members. What's the make-up of the audience (class, race, gender, etc)? How do they behave? What is the accepted theatre etiquette?

5. A description of the production. What's the style and genre of the play being performed? What's the general subject matter? What is the acting style? What is the overall design like?

Include a list of references at the end of the paper.