Part one of term paper
The actors in ancient tragedies were hired and paid by the state and assigned to the tragic poets probably by lot. By the middle of the fifth century three actors were required for the performance of a tragedy. In descending order of importance of the roles they assumed they were called protagonist ‘first actor’ (a term also appli ...

Part two of term paper
... (although never more than three speaking actors in the same seen), all three actors played multiple roles. In modern literary criticism, the term protagonist refers to the central character of the play, not the actor. Since women were not allowed to take part in dramatic productions, male actors has to play female roles. The playing of multiple roles, both male and female, was made possible by the use of masks, which prevented the audience from identifying the face of any actor with one specific ...