Every day brings a new story. And each day contributes to story telling -- in prose and in poetry, in art and in music, on the stage, on the screen, and, of course, in books
Today is the story of Nov. 23rd
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It is the 327th day of the year, leaving 38 days remaining in 2022.
He told the story of another author, taking a character's name and words, and had a dialogue with the traditional Greek chorus. It was the first time anybody did this.
Much of what he did, and when he did it, is chalked up to Aristotle and other ancient Greeks. But he is widely credited as being the first actor, and thus with inventing the art of tragedy. Thus, stage actors are, to this day, called thespians.
Many of the details -- the exact date, the play, and the character he spoke for -- are lost to history. But he was said to have played multiple speaking roles, using masks to distinguish between characters.
Before Thespis performed, the stories on stage were told by a chorus, singing about the heroes' deeds and failure. Characters may have danced during the performance, but neither the hero nor anyone else spoke for themselves.
Thespis is said to have changed that,
Indeed, his idea became so popular that he became his own traveling troupe, visiting cities throughout Greece, performing various roles, carrying his costumes and masks in a horse-drawn wagon. It is also said that during a City Dionysia competition -- sort of a showcase of playwrights and their plays -- in Athens during the Sixth Century BCE, he was awarded first place for acting.
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