Ancient Roman women - theatre

[sanfran]

Were women allowed to act in ancient Rome? If not, could they be part of the audience - I know they could for sporting events but cant find info on the theatre.

[cassimer]

It is widely said that women were not allowed to act in the theatre, but this is not strictly true. (Bit of a minefield and there is much debate)

Although they would not normally act in tragedy, comedy or drama, there is evidence that they were involved in mimes, another style of Roman theatre, which often concluded in a procession of naked women. Female dancing was also popular.
However mimes were generally considered a lesser art form, and the women involved might have been slaves.
Actors in Roman times, as opposed to Greek, were seen as very low down the social order, and citizens could not take part. Often much of the cast were slaves.

Normally the female roles were played by men or boys. It is important to remember that actors were generally masked (white for women) and so it might not seem so unreal.

[cassimer]

In the late Roman Empire, the wife of the Emperor Justinian (6th century AD), Theodora, was an actress forced to renounce her profession with marriage - perhaps things had moved on over the centuries.

As to the audience...
Theatre is an integral part of religious festivals, which at times occured every few days. Some festivals were female only and as such the audience might reflect the festival nature. Women could certainly go to the theatre, but many comedies were written for men suggesting that much of the audience were men. Again there is a lot of debate.

Also v.imp to remember rules for rich women married to citizens and slaves or tradesmen were very different. Slavegirls were everywhere, and prostitutes were an important part of a trip to the theatre or games.

[Octavius]

sanfran - the attached page is a good insight to the society of women in Roman times, although does not specifically answer your question.  It is unlikely that any women of the 'nobility' or married women would have acted, but it is very likely that prostitutes or slaves would have.

 http://www.roman-empire.net/society/society.html#women

[Octavius]

After posting I found this ...

"People went to one of the big theatres in Rome to watch plays. Because the audience would not stay quiet the actors had to wear costumes. The actors wore masks - brown for men, white for women, smiling or sad depending on the type of play. The costumes showed the audience who the person was - a purple gown for a rich man, a striped toga for a boy, a short cloak for a soldier, a red toga for a poor man, a short tunic for a slave etc. Women were not allowed act, so their parts were normally played by a man or young boys wearing a white mask. The actors spoke the lines, but a second actor mimed the gestures to fit the lines, such as feeling a pulse to show a sick person, making the shape of a lyre with fingers to show music. The plays were often violent and could result in the death of an actor by mistake."

[cassimer]

Some women did act - you were right first time. As an Ancient History and Archaeology student, the pitfalls of web pages are clear. Octavius was correct first time - rich women certainly would not (unless part of a particular cult ritual...) but slaves and poorer women would.