#rock on
Dance Gavin Dance, Heathers: The Musical, and Panic! at the Disco all in the last hour. Dang! Dang! Diggety- dang-a-dang!
Declercq, Nico F., and Cindy S. A. Dekeyser. “Acoustic Diffraction Effects at the Hellenistic Amphitheater of Epidaurus: Seat Rows Responsible for the Marvelous Acoustics.” The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America J. Acoust. Soc. Am., 2007, 2011.
This article covers the important topics of Hellenistic architecture, theater, and science. It explains the acoustical phenomenon of the amphitheater of Epidaurus. The massive construction is home to acoustics so good that those sitting at the very back of the amphitheater could hear the actors on stage even when they were speaking softly. In the theatrical world, this allowed for more freedom amongst the actors to use volume levels to add emotion to a scene, as they did not have to worry about being too quiet for the audience to hear them. The article argues that Hellenistic Greeks understood, to a degree, the existence and science of sound waves, giving them the ability to build structures that properly amplified them. An important element of the theater’s acoustics is the material of which the seats were made, according to the article. Limestone, the material used in the making of the amphitheater, is a density that is perfect for a balance of absorption and reflection, allowing sounds to travel far around the amphitheater without becoming to distorted by reverberation. Also important in the construction of this theater, according to the article, was the semi-circular shape and rectangular shaped benches, allowing the sound waves to take on an effective cylindrical shape. Another important detail about this amphitheater specifically was the fact that it is technically a two-piece theater as it has 60 rows of seats rather than 55.