What would it be like to go to the theater as an actor in shakespeares time?

Question

i ahve looked ever where but i cant find any info

Answer 1

Horrible! Frigging hard work, dude.  The stage was round, a very short piece, of nondescript, backdrop.  No actresses. (played by young boys) No props. The audience used to walk around and chit chat to all their friends. Making  (bad) comments about the actors, director, (who is super boss, by the way) play, weather, (open theater's ) and nobody got paid, because they did it for the love of it.  If the actor was very good, he got offered board & lodgings for a night or so.

Peace.

Answer 2

Tough question.  Just as today, it would depend on talent and luck--being in the right level of society to gain attention being key....there were companies called the "King's Players" and, later, "The Queen's Players" who travelled from court to court throughout Europe performing the latest court dances and "skits" that were based on gossip within the court or on the broader political issues of the times--as long as they supported the present ruling house.  Read the play, "A Cry of Players" to get a bit of what Will Shakespeare's family life might have been like in relation to his involvement with theatre.  There were "rogue" theatre groups, but they were short lived due to the lack of funding for such groups.  Most performers, as artists, were supported, at least partially, by an impresario--what we would term today as a "backer."