Compare and contrast Asian Theatre to Greek and Roman Theatre. What elements are the same and what elements are different? Be sure to include not only the script/plot but sets, costumes, stages and the physical theatre structures.

Asian theater, like Greek theater, was an elite form of art and considered cultured and reserved for upper-class society. Over time, it became more popular and accessible to citizens with less purchasing power. Unlike Greek theater, Asian theater mixed the plots of the plays with dances and music that were extremely important for the show. The stages were created so that it was possible to add a shade game that participated in the staging and the costumes and makeup were also elements that were part of the story told. The Asian tetro also featured sculptures and dolls on smaller, more accessible stages.

The Greek theater, in turn, featured the actors wearing masks, which was the most important element of the costume and allowed the same actor to play more than one character. Most of the plots of his plays were telling the story of origin or some feat of some Greek entity, so we can say that it had a religious bias. The masks also allowed the actors to represent female characters, since women were not allowed to act (unlike Asian theater), since only citizens could be actors and women were not considered citizens. The plays were performed in arena theaters, which were large half-moon structures and open.