Acting+Companies

=Acting Companies= By: Jordan Freedman

Elizabethan Acting Troupes

 * Popularity of Elizabethan Acting led to formation of Acting Troupes or Companies
 * Before 1576 all Troupes traveled and they required a license from the Bailiff in Guild Hall
 * All Acting companies were supposed to be under control of a nobleman
 * To survive they must constantly perform and have plenty of plays
 * Usually consisted of 12-25 men

Four Main Acting Troupes during Elizabethan Era

 * Lord Strange's Men
 * Chamberlain's Men
 * Kings Men
 * Admiral's Men

Lord Strange's Men

 * Merged with Earl of Leicester after the death of Earl
 * Leicester was first acting company formed in 1572 and granted license to perform by royal patent
 * performed at The Theatre and the Rose Theatre
 * In 1594 Lord Strange died and plays were performed in provinces in england after being preformed in those theaters
 * Some Historians say that they were the first to employ Shakespeare
 * Lord Strange's Men then joined Chamberlain's men.

Chamberlain's Men/ King's Men

 * Shakespeare, Jonson, Dekker, Beaumont, and Fletcher were playwrights for them
 * Company partially owned by Shakespeare
 * Originally Lord Hunsdon's men founded by Henry Carey
 * Renamed Lord Chamberlain's Men in 1590
 * In 1592 the Theaters were closed because of the plague
 * Performed most of their plays at the Globe Theatre. Others performed at the king's court. Later in 1608 plays performed at Blackfriars, in the winter.
 * During monarchy of king James he granted the company a patent as the King's Men.
 * In 1642 the company disbanded after closing of theaters



Admiral's Men

 * Founded by Charles Howard
 * Played at courts, innyards, and then Rose Theatre
 * Employed such playwrights as Marlowe, Green, Dekker, and Chapman
 * Main Actor Edward Alleyn retired in 1597 and in 1600 moved to the Fortune
 * Prince Henry took control of the company and was renamed the Prince's Men
 * Patronage transfered to Frederick V after death of Prince Henry
 * In 1631 the company was disbanded