Intro to Theatre - Flashcards

Q: Which of the following can affect the theatre experience?

The audience\'s makeup and relationships to one another

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Wilson states that theatre has a "special nature" that helps it survive in today's world of film and television. While there are many factors that contribute to theatre's survival, the most important is, perhaps, the fact that theatre is...

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Live

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While in the theatre, the audience is always in the presence of the performers. Film allows the audience to be in the presence of...

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An Image

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Which of the following does Wilson state is at the "heart of the theatre experience?"

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The performer-audience relationship

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Which of the following can affect the theatre experience?

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The audience's makeup and relationships to one another

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Which of the following art forms provides group experiences?

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Theatre

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The term for the separation between an audience and a work of art is...

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Aesthetic distance

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Theatre in which the audience is simply a spectator participating empathetically on the action of the play is known as...

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Observed Theatre

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Theatre in which the audience gets involved directly is known as...

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Participatory theatre

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One of the most important tools that audience members bring to a theatrical experience is their...

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Imagination

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Which of the following best defines the theatrical device known as a flashback?

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A scene in which there are abrupt movements from the present to the past and back again

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The device that involves placing a character or event outside of the proper time sequence is known as...

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Anachronism

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According to the text, what are two important tools of the imagination?

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Symbol and metaphor

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A realistic element of theatre is best described as...

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One that resembles observable reality

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A nonrealistic element of theatre is best described as...

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Everything that does not conform to observations of surface reality

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The nonrealistic device in which a character speaks to the audience, expressing in words a hidden thought, is known as...

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Soliloquy

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Pantomime in theatre is best described as...

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Performers pretending to use objects that are not actually present

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Which of the following is NOT a nonrealistic element or technique of theatre?

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Recognizable human beings

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Which of the following is NOT a realistic element or technique of theatre?

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Pantomime

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True or false? In order to be complete, the performing arts—theatre, ballet, symphony, opera, etc.—require an audience.

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True

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Theatre is unique among the arts in that it focuses on...

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Human beings

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Of the following types of theatre, which does NOT fall into the category of multiethnic, multicultural, and gender theatres?

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None of these answers is correct; all belong in this category.

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True or false? Theatre is transitory, a quality it shares with literature and the visual arts but not with the other performing arts.

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False

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According to your text, which of the following is NOT an important factor that shapes the theatrical experience for the audience?

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The length of the play being performed

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Art of one age that has so defined the characteristics of human beings that it can speak eloquently to another age is called...

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Universal art

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Which of the following was NOT a convention of ancient Greek theatre?

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Violence and bloodshed took place onstage

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Which of the following was NOT a convention of Elizabethan theatre?

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The use of women actors

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Which of the following events had an important influence on the development of the modern theatre?

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The discoveries of Charles Darwin, the revolutionary ideas of Karl Marx, and the theories of Albert Einstein

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Which of the following playwrights wanted to provoke his audiences by interrupting the story onstage?

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Bertolt Brecht

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The theatre that is performed in large theatres in the district near Times Square in New York City is known as...

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Broadway

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A show that is a copy of the Broadway production and that travels from city to city is known as a...

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Touring production

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Which definition best describes an off-Broadway theatre?

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One of the smaller theatres in NYC neighborhoods that provides less expensive alternatives for theatre professionals

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Of the following, which is NOT an appropriate space for an off-off-Broadway production?

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All are appropriate spaces for such productions

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The type of theatre that not only presents plays but also educates its performers, designers, and directors to become professionals is known as...

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College and university theatre

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Children's theatre, or theatre for youth, provides a theatrical experience for young people by...

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Both giving young people experience in creating and presenting theatre, and offering children opportunities to see plays dealing with subjects of interest to them

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Of the following, which best describes a theatre critic?

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Someone who observes theatre and then analyzes and comments on it

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Which of the following items should a good theatre critic possess?

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Full knowledge of theatre history, knowledge of acting, directing, and design, and familiarity with plays of various styles and modes

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Which of the following is NOT one of Wilson's criteria for assessing a play's quality?

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Will you get your money's worth?

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In reading the commentary of critics, it is important to distinguish between...

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Fact and opinion

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Of the following, which best describes a reviewer?

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Someone who usually works for a newspaper or for a radio or TV program, has limited theatre knowledge, and describes whether or not a production is worth seeing

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Of the following, which best describes a critic?

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Someone who usually works for a magazine or journal and attempts to give detailed descriptions and analyses of theatre productions based on an extensive knowledge of theatre

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Even though a critic makes an unequivocal judgment about a production, the audience may not agree. Wilson describes this phenomenon as the...

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Audience's independent judgment

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What production by the Performance Group in New York, described by Wilson, controlled the audience's introduction to the play by making them wait in line outside the theatre before the performance?

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Dionysus in 69

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Which of the following is NOT a type of theatre space?

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Epic stage

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The theatre space, also known as a picture-frame stage, in which the audience is separated from the stage by a framing arch is known as a(n)...

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Proscenium stage

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The theatre space, also known as a circle stage, in which the audience completely surrounds the stage on all four sides is known as a(n)...

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Arena stage

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The theatre space in which the audience sits on three sides of the stage is known as a(n)...

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Arena stage

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The type of theatre space that is adaptable and could be in any type of environment, such as a barn, warehouse, or basement, is known as a(n)...

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Created or found stage

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Which of the following stages was made most popular by Broadway theatres?

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Proscenium stage

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Which of the following stages is most effective for big budget musicals?

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Proscenium stage

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Which of the following stages helps to create an intimate, unconscious communion between the audience and performers?

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Arena stage

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Which of the following stages is the most widely used of all the stage spaces?

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Thrust stage

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Which of the following stages were influenced by the ideas of Jerzy Grotowski and Antonin Artaud?

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Created or found stage

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Which of the following types of performances were NOT always performed in an arena theatre arrangement?

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Productions designed by Giacomo Torelli to easily move scenery on and off stage

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Shakespeare's Globe Theatre is an example of what kind of theatre space?

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Arena

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Guerrilla theatre is usually performed in what kind of theatre space?

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Street

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The practice of using the space to fit the play rather than making the play fit the space is indicative of what type of theatrical space?

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Adapted

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Which of the following does a multifocus theatre have?

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Both more than one playing area and something going on in several playing areas at the same time

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A black box theatre is most commonly referred to as what type of theatre space?

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All-purpose

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Wilson describes the notion of "human scale" as...

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The idea that the performer is the scale by which everything is measured in theatre

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True or false? The feeling is different when one enters a formal setting complete with chandeliers and ornate carvings, versus when one enters a warehouse or a church basement.

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True

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Which of the following is not an example of a popular performance space...

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A Broadway theatre

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Who revolutionized the process of realistic acting as well as the training of actors?

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Konstantin Stanislavsky

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In the Stanislavsky system, what is referred to as the extent or range of an actor's concentration?

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The circle of attention

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In the Stanislavsky system, what is referred to as the internal or subjective world of characters?

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The inner truth

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In the Stanislavsky system, what is referred to as the way in which a performer can transform her thoughts and imagine herself in virtually any situation?

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The magic "if"

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In the Stanislavsky system, what is referred to as the situation in which a character exists?

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The given circumstances

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Which of the following best describes the "superobjective"?

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What the character wants above all else in the play

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The playing together of all of the performers onstage is called...

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Ensemble

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Of the following, which is NOT an important name in actor training in the United States?

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Charles Marowitz

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To be heard in a large theatre, a performer must learn what voice technique?

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Projection

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The way of bringing everything together and allowing the performer to eliminate any blocks that impede the body or voice is known as...

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Centering

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Which of the following disciplines have modern acting teachers used to help train actors?

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Acrobatics, tai chi, and meditation

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According to Wilson, what is the overall goal of internal and external actor training?

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The overall goal is to create an instrument that is flexible, resourceful, and disciplined

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When an actor gets a part, what is the first task in the acting process?

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To read and analyze the script

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Which of the following is another term for the synthesis of the outer and inner aspects of a character?

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Integration

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According to Wilson, who or what serves as the direct, immediate contact that the audience has with the theatre?

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The performers

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What are two common forms of acting in daily life?

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Imitation and role playing

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According to Wilson, children are particularly effective at which type of daily life acting?

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Imitation

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What are the two categories of roles used in role playing?

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Social and personal

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What play does Wilson use to illustrate role playing in drama?

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Death of a Salesman

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Of the following, which is an important aspect of acting on the stage that is different from acting in everyday life?

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Playing roles one does not play in real life

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In which of the following periods of theatre history were women prohibited from performing onstage?

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Both ancient Greece and Elizabethan England

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During which historical theatrical period were actors not considered as socially unacceptable?

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Ancient Greece

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These puppets are often made of leather and highlighted on a screen that is lit from behind.

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Shadow puppets

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Roughly two-thirds life-size, this puppet requires three performers to operate it.

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Bunraku

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Which of the following best describes the role of the theatre director?

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A person who works most closely with the actors, collaborates with designers, and serves to unify a production

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The first person to be officially called a director in 1874 was...

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George II, duke of Saxe-Meiningen

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Which of the following filled the role of the modern director in England from the seventeenth to the nineteenth century?

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Actor-managers

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Which of the following is NOT an aspect of a director's preparation?

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Raising money

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Which of the following best defines the idea of the "director's concept"?

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The controlling or central vision that unifies a production

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A director who significantly alters and transforms the scripted material in order to shape every aspect of a production and who believes that the text should serve his or her purposes is known as a(n)...

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Auteur director

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Which of the following is considered an auteur director?

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Julie Taymor, Robert Wilson, and Anne Bogart

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The term "casting" refers to which of the following?

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The choosing of actors

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When the director deliberately puts someone who does not appear to be right for the part in a role, it is known as...

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Casting against type

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Of the following, which best defines the term "blocking"?

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The director's vision of where the actors will move

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As it relates to directing, what is "visual composition"?

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The physical arrangement of the performers onstage

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The director needs to make sure which of the following is appropriate when putting on a production?

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Movement, pace, and rhythm

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When all of the design elements and props come together with the actors for the first time, it is known as...

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Technical tehearsal

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When all of the elements of a production come together to simulate an actual performance, it is known as...

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Dress rehearsal

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Of the following, which are responsibilities of the commercial producer?

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Raising money to finance the production, securing script rights, and renting the theatre space

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In a nonprofit theatre, the role of producer is performed by...

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Both the executive and the managing director

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True or false? Allegory is a representation of an abstract theme or subject through symbolic characters, actions, or other elements of a production.

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True

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True or false? Put simply, the term "expressionism" means to give outward expression to inner feelings.

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True

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True or false? Naturalism attempts to put onstage as exact a copy of life as possible.

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True

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A _____ director uses the text for his/her own artistic purposes rather than interpret the work of the playwright.

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Auteur

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The ______ director is interested in the taking apart of the text or what may be called deconstruction.

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Postmodern

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Multicultural casting is a hallmark of this kind of director.

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Postmodern

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What is the primary subject matter of theatre?

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Human beings

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What is the subject and verb of drama?

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People and action

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The final and most significant crisis is referred to as the...

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Climax

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Which two historical periods glorified humanity while exposing the cruelty of life simultaneously, creating the ideal situation for writing tragedy?

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The Greek golden age and the Renaissance

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Of the following, which is NOT part of the playwright's job description?

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Securing a performance space

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Which of the following does Wilson describe as "the arrangement of events or the selection and order of scenes in a play"?

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Plot

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Which of the following does Wilson describe as "a full account of an event, or series of events, usually told in chronological order"?

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Story

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The "crucible of drama" is...

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Conflict

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Which of the following is NOT a convention of theatre?

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Unbalanced forces

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Which of the following is an element of dramatic structure?

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Obstacles and complications

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True or false? One of the things determined by point of view is whether a subject is going to be viewed seriously or with humor.

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True

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True or false? Point of view is important to the arts but in a different way than in advertising and politics. Whereas advertisers and politicians try to disguise the fact that they are trying to influence our point of view, artists are very open and direct about attempting to impose a point of view.

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True

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True or false? There is a close relationship between theatre and society. It is a relationship that is manifest in what point of view artists take toward their subject matter.

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True

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"To present events as heroic" is a...

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Viewpoint

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The word drama is derived from a Greek root, the verb dran, which means...

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To do or to act

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Which of the following structures was used in fifth-century Greece, reemerging in France in the seventeenth century, and then in Norway in the nineteenth century?

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Climactic

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Which of the following structures is best illustrated by the plays of William Shakespeare?

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Episodic

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Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of climactic structure?

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There may be several parallel plots and numerous subplots

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Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of episodic structure?

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Construction is tight

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Which of the following is considered a significant period of episodic structure?

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England, late sixteenth and early seventeenth century

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Which of the following is "a repetition or reenactment of a proceeding or transaction which has acquired special meaning"?

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Ritual

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What does Wilson describe as "a repeated sequence of events containing its own order and logic"?

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Pattern

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Coronations, weddings, and funerals are examples of what sort of structure?

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Ritual

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Which of the following does NOT represent a characteristic of the cumulative effect?

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A single event, or piece of information

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"A static scene onstage featuring performers in costume" is known as a...

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Tableau

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According to Wilson, musical theatre structure involves which two techniques?

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Alternation and juxtaposition

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Of the following character types, which is described as being "larger than life"?

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Extraordinary

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Of the following character types, which is described as "typical or ordinary"?

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Quintessential or representative

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Of the following character types, which is described as exemplifying "one characteristic to the exclusion of virtually everything else"?

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Stock

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Of the following character types, which is described as representing one "humor"?

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Characters with a dominant trait

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Of the following, which best describes the role of minor characters?

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Characters who play a small part in the overall action

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Of the following character types, which is written specifically to speak directly to the audience?

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Narrator

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The main character in a play and his or her chief opponent are known as...

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Protagonist and antagonist

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Playwrights sometimes introduce a secondary character who may serve as a foil or counterpart to the main character. This best describes which of the following character types?

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Contrasting character

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It is from this work that the term "robot" was first used.

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R.U.R

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True or false? Menander was known for creating nonhuman characters in ancient Greek drama.

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False—it was Aristophanes

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True or false? In the Italian form commedia dell'arte, actors were given a scenario for the play, which they performed by improvising or inventing words and actions.

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True

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True or false? Nonhuman characters are not restricted to animals; they can also be ideas.

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True

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True or false? Climactic and episodic structure cannot be combined within a play.

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False

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Developed by radical or avant-garde theatre, which of the following represents a significant departure from traditional practice?

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Emphasis on nonverbal theatre, reliance on improvisation rather than text, interest in ritual and ceremony, and importance of the spatial relationship between the performers to the audience

Intro to Theatre – Flashcards

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