If I choose to write a comedy, I need to present the synopsis of one play or I could on the other hand write three tragic poems and one satyr poem. I would then have to present them to eponymous archon. He will then pick out of the plays that have been presented to him.
If he picks my poem I will have to complete writing the play as quickly as possible so that my cast can rehearse it. As I will only have three actors they will play the roles of more than one person so they will require adequate time to memorise their lines. I will have to wait for the archon to choose the leader actor and the choregos. The choregos was the supervisor and financial backer who would help input and manage the plays. His input will be vital to success. He has to pay for many expenses including costumes, props, masks, special effects, the wages of the chorus and provide them with food, a place to train and even accommodations. If he believes that I’m not skilled enough to train the chorus, he will have to hire a professional trainer.
If I win for the best play he might choose to pay for a victory monument to honour his victory and it would be inscribed with everyone’s name.During the proagon, my play will be announced and I will have to give a synopsis of my plays. I will then have to introduce my choregos, musicians and actors and they will all be wearing garlands. I think I might get the actor to read a short passage from the play to get the audience interested.The evening before the festival begins the torchlight procession will take place and this was a symbol of Dionysus’ first arrival in Athens.
The military cadets would escort the statue to the theatre and a sacrifice would take place. The statue would remain here for the remainder of the the festival.On the first day the grand procession will take place from outside of the city to the temple of Dionysus.
A sacred bull would be sacrificed.My plays would take place on either day 2,3 or 4. The day will begin with the three tragedies followed by the satyr play and the day would end with someone else’s comedy.
The action would begin early in the morning and then there would be a break after the satyr play for lunch. If it happened on the second day, there would be a grand opening of the theatre and the priest would sacrifice a piglet and generals would pour libations to the gods. This was then followed by the parade of tributes, proclamation of honours and then parade of orphans.The judging system was very democratic and it left little room for bribes and unfair influence.
The judges would then vote on their winning tragic and comedic plays. There was also a prize for the protagonist or leading actor and it was judged the same way. The judges were picked before the festival began.
The names of each people from the ten tribes was sealed in an urn for each tribe. There was then one name picked from each urn by the archon and these ten citizens are then the judges. They had to swear an oath of impartiality. After they had watched all the plays they would pick their favourite and wrote it down on a tablet. The ten tablets were then sealed together and then the archon would pick 5 out and the most common one would win. The archon would announce the winners name and crown him with a garland of victory. After the judging everyone would go to a party held by the choregoi.
