1603+King's+Men

media type="custom" key="2710345" =THE KINGS MEN=  by: ALLY, KALI, and CHRISTINA The King’s Men was a company of actors in which William Shakespeare participated in throughout most of his career. Formerly known as The Lord Chamberlain’s Men during the reign of Queen Elizabeth, it soon became The King's Men in 1603 when King James took the throne and became the company's leader. It was first created in London, it had become, by 1603, one of the two leading companies in the city.

Within the first winter season, between December 1603 and February 1604, the King’s Men performed eight times. In their second, from November 1604 through February 1605, they performed eleven times, including seven plays by Shakespeare, and two by Ben Jonson. The increase of popularity of The King's Men greatly appreciated since the reign of Queen elizabeth, which put in a demand for more Men. In 1604 the number of participants was increased from eight to twelve. The King’s Men split the profit and debts between themselves, no matter how important each person was to the group.

The company gave ten performances in the winter of 1605–1606 and, three Court performances in the summer of 1606,which was a big deal during a state visit by the King of Denmark. Each Court performance earned them £10. They also toured that summer, and were in Oxford at the end of July, among other stops. Nine performances at Court marked the winter of 1606–7, including a December 26 performance of King Lear; the following winter, 1607–8, saw thirteen Court appearances.

From July through December 1608 the theatre were closed due to plague. The King's Men toured the countryside; they were in Coventry in late October. The acting company also performed at the Middle Temple Hall, Gray's Inn Hall, the Globe Theatre and Blackfriars Theatre.



__Fun facts!__


 * Shakespeare may have been an original member of the company.


 * The King’s Men ceased to exist when the theaters were closed at the outbreak of the English Civil Wars in 1642.


 * In 1609, Burbage and the King's Men took over the 'private' theatre at Blackfriars, a enclosed hall measuring only 66 feet by 44.


 * Traveling actors like the King’s men were perceived as a threat - many of the actors were considered to be good for nothings and vagabonds! They were free to put on any play and some of these could have contained content which spoke against the state or expressed rebellious or freethinking ideas


 * Their rivals were the Admiral's Men under the patronage of Lord Howard, England's Lord High Admiral.


 * Shakespeare was thought to have preformed in several acting companies; The Queens Men, Pembroke’s Men, and the Lord Stranges Men.


 * Venus and Adonis was Shakespeare’s most popular play up to the 1640’s.
 * Southampton, know too many as the young man of sonnets, supposedly paid Shakespeare 1,000 pounds for his poetic labors.

STUDY GUIDE QUESTIONS
Q1: What Year did The King's Men Become popular?

Q2:What were The King's Men called before King James became the Leader?/Users/122780/Desktop/images-4.jpeg

Q3:How many of Shakespeare's plays were performed by The King's men in their second winter?

Q4:Did their workload increase or decrease from the rule of Queen Elizabeth the First to King James?

Q5: What genre of plays became more popular during The King's Men time?

Q6: In what year was there an increase in people involved in The King's men?

Q7:Why were the theaters closed in 1608 and how did that force the company to tour the country sides?

Q8: About how much did each court performance earn The King's men?

Q9: What famous play-write was thought to be one of the original members of The king's men**?**

Q10: Name one of the theaters that The King's men performed at.

Work Cited:

http://shakespeare.palmar.edu/timeline/chamberlain.htm#topofpage http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King's_Men_(playing_company) http://internetshakespeare.uvic.ca/Library/SLT/stage/chamberlainsmen.html http://www.luminarium.org/encyclopedia/chamberlainsmen.htm