Short answers, pulled from the story.
Theatrical culture flourished in ancient Greece from around 700 BC. The earliest recorded actor, Thespis, won the first theatrical contest in Athens around 532 BC. The City Dionysia festival, which formalised theatrical competition, was organised roughly around 508 BC.
The three genres were tragedy, comedy, and the satyr play. Tragedy emerged late in the 500s BC, comedy from 490 BC. The satyr play treated mythological subjects in a comic, burlesque manner and was distinct from both tragedy and comedy.
Thespis was the earliest recorded actor in ancient Greek theatre, winning the first theatrical contest held in Athens around 532 BC. He led the dithyrambs performed in and around Attica and is often called the "Inventor of Tragedy," though his exact contribution is disputed. His name survives in the English word "thespian," meaning a performer.
When Phrynichus produced The Fall of Miletus in 493-2 BC, the entire theatre wept. According to Herodotus, the Athenians fined Phrynichus a thousand drachmas for bringing to mind a calamity that affected them personally and banned the play from ever being performed again.
Greek theatrical masks were made from lightweight organic materials including stiffened linen, leather, wood, or cork, with wigs of human or animal hair. No physical masks have survived because they were dedicated at the altar of Dionysus after performances rather than preserved.
In ancient Greek theatre, actors in tragic roles wore elevated boots called cothurnus (buskin), while actors in comedic roles wore a thin-soled shoe called a soccus (sock). The contrast between these two types of footwear gave rise to the expression "sock and buskin" as a term for dramatic art generally.