ACTOR, in the Drama, one who represents some person, or character, on the stage. Among the Greeks, with whom theatrical entertainments seem to have ori ginated, the drama at first consisted of a simple chorus, who sung hymns, probably in alternate stanzas, in ho nour of Bacchus. To relieve the audience from the fa tiguing sameness of these musical exhibitions, Thespis, a native of Attica, introduced a declaimer, whose busi ness it was to recite the adventures of some of the Gre cian heroes. ..T.schylus still further diversified the en tertainment, by changing these declamations into dia logues between two persons ; and adopting a loftiet style, and dressing his actors in a more splendid man ner, gave the first lineaments of a regular tragedy. Sophocles rendered it more perfect, by introducing a third person ; and the Greeks, following him as their model, never brought more than three persons at once upon the stage. Among the Romans, Loo, who, in all matters of taste, were directed by the practice of the Greeks, it was adopted as a rule, that no fourth person should be allowed to take part in the dialogue : The restriction, however, only extended to tragedy ; for in comedy, the number of actors might be varied at pleasure. Such arbitrary restrictions are extremely in judicious. By introducing a too precise uniformity into dramatic compositions, they are apt to render them stiff, tedious, and uninteresting ; and it is none of the least im provements in the modern drama, that, by introducing a greater number of characters on the stage, the bustle and distress of the scene is heightened, and a diversity is occasioned, which never fails to excite interest.
The ancient actors were at great pains to qualify themselves for the different characters in which they wished to excel. Some contended with the wrestlers in the palestrx, in order to acquire greater vigour and sup pleness of body ; while others subjected themselves to a strict regimen, to render their voices more ductile and sonorous. The principal actors would never allow ano ther to speak before them, lest he should prepossess the audience ; and the inferior performers were obliged to lower their voices, though clear and sonorous, that they might not be louder than their superiors. The size of
the theatres obliged them to speak very loud, and to line the mouth of their masks with brass, in order to give clearness and strength to their voice. A musician play ed a prelude on the flute to give them the proper tone ; and accompanied them while they declaimed, to prevent their voices from sinking too low. Their dress always corresponded to the character in which they appeared ; and every expedient was employed to delude the audi ence into a momentary belief of the reality of the scenes represented before them. It is said of Palm, a celebra ted Athenian performer, that when he was to personate Electra, in one of the tragedies of Sophocles, he caused the urn which contained the ashes ofa son whom he had recently lost, to be conveyed to the theatre ; and when the princess is represented as clasping the supposed urn of her brother Orestes, the actor seized that of his son with a trembling- hand, and uttered such piercing ac cents of grief, as forced torrents of tears from the sym pathizing audience. A first rate performer never ap peared in any odious or contemptible character, whate ver scope it might give to his professional talents ; for which reason the part of a tyrant, so much detested in Greece, was always abandoned to the subordinate actors. In Greece the profession of a player was lucrative and respectable. Poles sometimes gained a talent (225 /. ster ling) in two days, They enjoyed all the privileges of citiz;.ns, and often rose to the most honourable employ ments. A t Rome, actors were reckoned infamous ; de graded from their rank as citizens ; expelled their tribe, and dept ivied of the right of suffrage by censors. In France, they ate as much despised as they were formerly at lZonle. I it England, they enjoy almost as high a degree • 1 respectability a., they did among the Greeks. (k)