Theatre 101: a Play's Exposition, the Core Element, Professional Dramatic Criticism - Flashcards

question

The English word for person comes from the Latin word for humor. appearance. mask. outfit.

answer

Mask

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The word "theatre" comes from the Greek theatron, which means acting place. seeing place. singing place. listening place.

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Seeing place

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Historically, theatres have developed in close relationship to eating places. medicinal baths. sports activities. political events.

answer

Sports activities

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How does a theatrical performance differ from a filmed performance? The theatrical performance has a script whereas filmed performances are most often impromptu. Regional dialect is more effectively used in film than in theatre. Symbolism is far more important in theatrical performances than in film. The theatrical performance is live, with the audience and performers, who are aware of each other and mutually interact in their shared presence.

answer

The theatrical performance is live

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In the ancient Greek theatre, what physical and symbolic element separated the actors from the audience? The actors spoke in verse. The actors wore masks. The actors' names were printed in the program. The actors danced in special costumes.

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The actors wore masks

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One term for a long-standing, collective group of theatre practitioners who have worked together is corporation. collection. troupe. posse.

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Troupe

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While both theatre and sport are public spectacles, theatre differs from sports activities because sports activities have more players. theatre has a pre-ordained ending. theatre has a central protagonist. only sports involves conflict.

answer

Theatre has a pre-ordained ending

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Which of the following is NOT a possible meaning of "theatre"? the building where the play is performed the company of players a major downtown ticket center the occupation of acting, directing, designing, building, crewing, managing, producing, and playwriting

answer

A major downtown ticket center

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The responsibilities for admitting, seating, and providing for the general comfort of the audience fall to the house manager. assistant stage manager director. designer.

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House manager

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Theatre is an art because it is not always enjoyable. is always restricted by form. combines emotions, intellect, and aesthetics. provides an escape from life.

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combines emotions intellect and aesthetics

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1. Theatrical performance differs from other kinds of performance because the audience is charged an admission fee. theatre is live, scripted, and rehearsed. theatre employs dialect and scenery. theatre uses actors.

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Theatre is live

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Which mode of performance acknowledges the audience—as in the case of the nightclub performer who sings, dances, jokes, and responds overtly to applause? The soliciting mode. The entertaining mode. The presentational mode. The symbolic mode.

answer

The presentational

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The minimal requirement for a theatre "building" is a platform and an orchestra pit. a curtain and bleachers. a director and actors. a place to act and a place to watch.

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a place to act and a place to watch

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The distinctive feature of theatre, which separates it from other arts, is that theatre employs impersonation. verse. lots of separate tools. symbolism.

answer

impersonation

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1. The mode of performance in which the audience watches interactions that are staged as if no audience were present at all is called the presentational mode. the representational mode. the feigned mode. the treacherous mode.

answer

The representational

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Since the development of motion pictures, theatre has suffered declining attendance, revenues, and numbers of theatres in America. True False

answer

false

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Theatre creates a communal effect on the audience. True False

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true

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Theatre performances can elicit the audience's participation by arousing in the audience the feeling of empathy. True False

answer

true

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1. Although films are recorded, we perceive them as having a greater immediacy than theatre due to the fact that plays are rehearsed and repeated. True False

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false

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1. Adult plays and children's games share the ability to help develop means of coping with life's challenges and uncertainties. True False

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true

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1. In Greek tragedy, the central character undergoes a change that leads to his or her demise due to a tragic flaw in their character. never interacts with the lesser characters. always descends from the gods. always has the option of avoiding conflicts.

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Undergoes a change that leads to

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1. A play's final scene, action, or lines that indicate the end of conflicts, and possibly even bring about resolution, is called the pathos. theme. anagnorisis. denouement.

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denouement

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1. The word "drama" comes from the Greek dran, which means to make. to play. to do. to dance.

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to do

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1. Ultimately, the practice of dividing plays into genre is not helpful to an audience member in deciding which play to go see. is of no interest to the production team of actors, designers and producers. always subjective because each play is unique. only observed for high scholarly writings to be analyzed.

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always subjective because each play is unique

question

Why do comedies typically go out-of-date more quickly than tragedies? Comedies were historically written on parchment, whereas tragedies were inscribed on stone. Comedies used the common slang of the time, whereas tragedies are written in more refined language Comedies are more topical and deal with ordinary life at the time they are written. Comedies utilize more stagecraft and precise timing than tragedies.

answer

Comedies are more topical and deal with ordinary life at the time they are written.

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1. Which of the following offers a way that the playwright can present a play's exposition? director's notes a spoken prologue that directly provides information right before the main action a talk show during which the actor relays information to the viewing audience post show gossip

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a spoken prologue that directly

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1. The visual aspect of the play, including the scenery, costumes, lighting, make-up, and the over-all look of the stage are included in the element known as allusion. intermezzo. cortina magica. spectacle.

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spectacle

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1. The unspoken agreements between the audience and the actor, which includes a whole set of traditional understandings surrounding the theatrical event is called music. convention. theme. denouement

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convention

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1. The purging or cleansing of the audience's pity and terror at the climax of a tragedy is called hamartia. exposition containment catharsis.

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Catharsis

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1. The play, The Laramie Project can be classified as a documentary drama. a melodrama. a history play. a musical.

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melodrama

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1. Background information, presented within the play, that the audience must possess in order to understand the action of the play is called recognition. exposition. denouement. paraphrase.

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exposition

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1. Which element describes the play's use of rhythm and sounds, either by way of instrumental composition or the orchestration of such noises as muffled drumbeats, gunshots, special effects, and vocal tones? sound notes syllabic counterpoint Music Orchestra

answer

Music

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1. Which dramatic genre purports to be serious but, in fact, deals with human issues on only the most superficial level, embellished with spectacular staging, flamboyant dialogue, and highly suspenseful and contrived plotting? documentary drama Tragicomedy Melodrama Farce

answer

Melodrama

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1. Which dramatic genre offers a wild, hilarious treatment of a trivial theme, usually based on a stock component like identical twins, switched identities, lovers in closets, and might include full-stage chases, misheard instructions, various disrobings, discoveries, and disappearances? dark comedy melodrama farce tragicomedy

answer

farce

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1. Aristotle's list of 6 components of a tragedy is not really respected or used today. True False

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false

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1. Genre means category or kind. True False

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true

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1. The audience is not a part of the definition of conventions of the theatre. True False

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false

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1. The central character in any type of drama is always called the tragic hero. True False

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false

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1. The six components of a play which Aristotle lists, in order of importance, are script, stage, actor, playwright, choral leader, and government support. plot, character, theme, diction, music, and spectacle. irony, pastoral, idyll, satire, drama, and humor. reversal, tragic flaw, recognition, catharsis, inciting incident and subplots.

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plot, character, theme, diction, music, and spectable

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1. According to Aristotle, it is impossible to break down the elements that make tragedy effective. True False

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false

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1. "Blocking" refers to stage movements. dialogues. loudness of voice. gestures.

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stage movement

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1. The actor's instrument is his or her inner thoughts. movements. body and voice, the complete self. wardrobe.

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body and voice, the complete self

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1. Konstantin Stanislavsky, founder of the Moscow Art Theatre (1898), said "You must live the life of your character on stage." Which style of acting does this statement describe most closely? the external mode of acting the internal mode of acting the physical mode of acting the mental mode of acting

answer

the internal mode of acting

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1. What is "The Method"? an American style of training voice using tapes, constant feedback from a voice coach, and tape-recording the actor's own voice a realistic American acting style derived from the Russian actor-director Konstantin Stanislavsky's self-proclaimed system and made popular by Lee Strasberg in New York the style of physical training devised and codified by Vsevolod Meyerhold to enable the actor to gain physical control through the isolation and exercise of discrete muscle units a collection of vocal exercises, based on principles of yoga, used to control breathing

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a realistic american acting style

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1. What are the two fundamental notions/approaches of acting? spoken and declaimed physical prowess and strength of voice internal and external indirect and feigned

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internal and external

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1. Directed stage actions that are precisely scripted physical behaviors worked out in blocking are called platforming. stage business. mimetic motion. performance technique.

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stage business

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1. An actor is expected to take care of his body and as such is expected to be on a special diet. take regular trips to the gym - required of many acting schools. make small gestures and movements on stage. not worry too much about strength or stamina.

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take regular trips to the gym

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1. Actors who studies human behaviors from a broad range of historical periods, countries, and social classes, so as to apply them when creating characters from a variety Actors who mimic or imagine how his or her character should walk, talk, and behave, using their imagination are said to demonstrate a technique of the ____ mode of acting. inspirational virtuosic self-reflective external

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inspirational

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1. The term "subtext" refers to the preface or initial stage directions to a script. the script that exits prior to the final script. a character's unspoken and undescribed goals. a part of an individual's unconscious.

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a character's unspoken and undescribed goals.

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1. The type of performing that asks the actor to experience the life of the character being played is external mimesis. internally. self-reflection. objective meditation.

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internally

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1. The three main elements of the actor's approach are goals, tactics, and solutions to the problems imposed by the tactics. the incorporation of both into the physicality of the character. personal history that can be transmitted into theatrical technique. researching the style of the play and mode of performance.

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researching the of the play and mode of performance

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1. The current demand for more external form of acting reflects Audience's expectations to be entertained. the postmodern world of social media, big data, endless stream of information and sensation. Actors have lost interest in internal acting. Directors want more creative control.

answer

the postmodern world of social media

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1. In his first published work, Stanislavsky states that the "prime task" of the actors is to "create the inner life of the character." detailed world of the play." precise vocal inflections of the role." environment in which genius can occur."

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inner life of the character

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1. Most professional auditions consist of performing one- or two-minute contrasting monologues from plays. a five-minute extended declamation, usually a soliloquy taken from the work of a major author. a song taught on the spot to show the actor's vocal range and intelligence. an improvisation with a prop or piece of furniture.

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one or two minute contrasting

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1. A perfect example of the actor's nemesis is star status. confidence. mimicry. stage fright.

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stage fright

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1. The three stages of the actor's routine are audition, rehearsal and performance. True False

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true

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1. The actor's "magic" has nothing to do with the divine or stage presence. True False

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false

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1. Great, superior acting must transcend mere technique or training and elevate itself into something much higher. True False

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true

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1. An actor who has been brilliant in rehearsals will always be brilliant in the final performances. True False

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true

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1. Acting can be a highly stressful occupation, often with an unsteady income, fraught with uncertainties, and beset by demands for sacrifice from every direction and yet, can lead to incredibly satisfying and exhilarating experience by being artistically fulfilled. True False

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true

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1. A linear plot proceeds by the point-to-point storytelling of events linked in chronological, cause-effect continuity. one episode jumping to another. one character's passing a symbol or token to another. one image fading into another related image.

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the point to point storytelling

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1. Which playwright has successfully branched out to TV, writing episodes of Law & Order and Smash? Theresa Rebeck Suzan Lori-Parks Tony Kushner Neil LaBute

answer

theresa rebeck

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1. Which New York-born, Louisiana-raised, playwright (b. 1956) wrote a masterpiece of modern drama, Angels in America, that deals with the AIDS crisis, sexuality, gender, and politics? George C. Wolfe Stephen Sondheim David Henry Hwang Tony Kushner

answer

Tony Kushner

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1. What aspects of the play do not need to be written at all? a character's improvisational behavior a character's irony a character's attitude a character's relationship to others

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a character's improvisational behavior

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1. The term "playwright" refers to a person who has the "right" to write a play. a person whose knowledge of dramaturgy is so skilled that he or she is always right. a person who constructs and composes a play as a wheelwright makes a wheel. a person whose sense of dialogue is so adept that it verges on a musical talent.

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a person who constructs and composes a play as a wheelwright makes a wheel

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1. The playwright works with two fundamental tools: the psychology of the characters and the viewpoint of the author. the impact of the social environment and the audience's sense of values. the actors and the set designer. dialogue and physical action.

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dialogue and physical action

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1. The core element of every play is character. action. language. theme.

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action

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1. Step 1 of a fundamental playwriting exercise is writing down imagined conversations between groups of people. excerpts from his/her personal diary. memorable dialogue from famous playwrights. overheard conversations.

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overheard conversations

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1. One difference between the playwright in Shakespeare's time and the contemporary playwright is that the playwright no longer functions as a director but is now considered an independent artist. the playwright no longer functions as an individual artist but is now considered part of a national troupe. the playwright has always been an individual artist, but today only groups of actors publish original work. the playwright has to answer to the actors' needs.

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the playwright no longer functions as a director

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1. A play in which events are connected to each other in strict, chronological, cause-effect continuity, and in which dramatic experience attempts to convey a lifelike progression of experience through time, is classified as discontinuous in structure and linear in chronology. continuous in structure and nonlinear in chronology. not being an imaginative piece of art. continuous in structure and linear in chronology.

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continuous in structure and linear in chronology

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1. Which playwright invents new worlds altogether and its own internal logic? Theresa Rebeck Tony Kushner Suzan Lori-Parks David Henry Hwang

answer

Suzan Lori-Parks

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1. This playwright speaks of "two selves, the public and private self, the worlds that people juggle a lot of time just from being out there in the world," and whose works, such as Wrecks, reflect this statement. Tony Kushner Neil LaBute David Henry Hwang Sarah Ruhl

answer

Neil Labute

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1. The playwright's skill at condensing a story that may pans many days or years of chronological time into a theatrical time frame is called compression. elaboration. intensity. gravity.

answer

Compression

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1. Scenes of forced conflict are important because they make the dialogue dramatic and are highly actable. these scenes display the playwright's virtuosity and highlights the director's finesse. such scenes bracket theatrical pauses or breaks which can accommodate commercials should the script go to film. no conflict ever comes naturally.

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they make the dialogue dramatic and are highly actable

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1. One of theatre's most powerful attributes that conveys to the audience an ineradicable feeling that a moment is unique and its revelations are profound is called believability. credibility. intensity. intrigue.

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intensity

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1. Concerns that a play is both speakable and stageable are not contingent upon limitations of the actors and directors. True False

answer

false

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1. A playwright can only probe at the heart of a profound subject with long, complicated scenes of dialogue. True False

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false

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1. A play that relates in some fashion to the current personal concerns of the audience is said to possess relevance. True False

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true

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1. The theatre does not need new playwrights that present new drama. True False

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false

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1. Tony Kushner's 2-part play, Angels in America, is thought to be the finest American play in years by several critics. True False

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true

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The word "theatre" comes from the Greek theatric, which means

answer

seeing place

question

The distinctive feature of theatre, which separates it from other arts, is that theatre employs

answer

impersonation

question

The English word for person comes from the Latin word for

answer

mask

question

While both theatre and sport are public spectacles, theatre differs from sports activities because

answer

Theatre has a pre-ordained ending; it is calculated

question

Denis Diderot's idea of the paradox of the actor states that onstage

answer

when the actor has mastered his craft, it is the simulated character that comes alive

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Theatre is an art because it

answer

combines emotions, intellect, and aesthetics

question

Which of the following is a possible meaning of "theatre"?

answer

the building where the play is performed, the company of players, the occupation of acting, directing, designing, building, crewing, managing, producing, and playwriting

question

One term for a long-standing, collective group of theatre practitioners who have worked together is a

answer

troupe

question

Historically, theatres have developed in close relationships to

answer

sports activities

question

Why did the playwright-director Bertolt Brecht use songs, signs, chalk talks, arguments, and slide projections in his productions?

answer

He wanted to discourage stage "magic" in order to appeal to the audience directly about social issues

question

Which of the following is true of the relationship between the play script and the performance?

answer

The script is a silhouette or outline of the play itself, which fully exists in performance only

question

The rigid distinction between the acting space and the audience space came to be formalized when acting became and unsavory, often illegal, profession. t/f

answer

False

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Performance is an action or series of actions taken for the ultimate benefit of the performers. t/f

answer

False

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Theatre performances can elicit the audience's participation by arousing in the audience the feeling of empathy. t/f

answer

True

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Viewers of television drama and movie-house films assume an essentially one-to-one relationship with what is being viewed and do not communicate with other viewers; theatre viewers do not. t/f

answer

True

question

Adult plays and children's games share the ability to help develop means of coping with life's challenges and uncertainties. t/f

answer

True

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The disadvantages of live performance include its two-way communication between the audience and actors unification of group responses, and live immediacy which makes every show novel and different. t/f

answer

False

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________ is a theatrical craft that is usually executed away from the theatre building and its associated shops.

answer

Playwriting

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"Child's play" and theatre both involve

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acting out different roles.

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•Theatre is different than other kinds of performance because theatre is

answer

live, scripted, and rehearsed

question

•The responsibilities for admitting, seating, and providing for the general comfort of the audience fall to the

answer

house manager.

question

The person who controls and develops the artist product and provides it with a unified version is

answer

the director.

question

The task of securing all necessary personnel, space, and financing, supervising all production and promotion efforts; fielding all legal matters; and distributing the proceeds derived from receipts fall to

answer

the director.

question

•The minimal requirement for a theatre "building" is a place to ___ and a place to _____.

answer

act; watch

question

______________ acknowledges the audience-as in the case of the nightclub performer who sings, dances, jokes, and responds overtly to the audience.

answer

Presentational mode

question

What is a play?

answer

an action focused around a particular conflict, which gives the action significance

question

In Western drama, a full-length play has historically been designated as one that

answer

lasts two to three hours, typically.

question

In Greek tragedy, the central character

answer

undergoes a change that leads to his or her demise.

question

The purging or cleansing of the audience's pity and terror at the climax of a tragedy is called

answer

catharsis.

question

Which of the following is true about the differences between tragedy and comedy?

answer

Tragedy typically deals with great people, whereas comedy deals with ordinary people.

question

Tragic suffering differs from pathetic or maudlin feelings in that

answer

the tragic hero takes on a bold and heroic dimension b/c he or she faces huge odds.

question

Why do comedies typically go out-of-date more quickly than tragedies?

answer

Comedies are more topical and deal with ordinary life at the time they are written.

question

Comedies that use a more bleak humor in dealing with serious themes are known as

answer

dark comedies.

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Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman is different that its classically tragic ancestors b/c it

answer

does not contain Gods, but rather contemporary forces.

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The Greek term for the "carrier of the action" in a tragedy is

answer

protagonist

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A play that dramatizes the key events in the life of a king or head of state, such as Shakespeare's Henry IV, is called

answer

a history play.

question

Ultimately, the practice of dividing plays into genre is

answer

always subjective b/c each play is unique.

question

Which dramatic genre purports to be serious but, in fact, deals with human issues on only the most superficial level, embellished with spectacular staging, flamboyant dialogue, and highly suspenseful and contrived plotting?

answer

melodrama

question

Which dramatic genre offers a wild, hilarious treatment of trivial theme, usually based on stock component like identical twins, switched identities, lovers in closets, and might include full stage chases, misheard instructions, various disrobings, discoveries, and disappearances?

answer

farce

question

Which one of the following is part of the horizontal axis of dramaturgy?

answer

pre-play

question

The six components of a play which Aristotle lists, in order of importance, are

answer

plot, character, theme, diction, music and spectacle.

question

What is the difference between plot and story?

answer

Plot refers to the structure of events; story refers to a narrative of what happens in a play.

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Which element of drama refers not only to the pronunciation of spoken dialogue but also to the literary nature of the play's text, including its tone, imagery, articulation, and use of such literary forms as verse, rhyme, metaphor, jest, apostrophe, and epigram?

answer

diction

question

Which element describes the play's use of rhythm and sounds, either by of instrumental composition or the orchestration of such noises as muffled drumbeats, gunshots, special effects and vocal tones?

answer

music

question

The visual aspect of the play, including the scenery, costumes, lighting, make-up, and the over-all look of the stage are included in the element known as

answer

spectacle

question

The agreement between the audience and the actor, which includes a whole set of tacit understandings that form the context of play watching, is called

answer

convention

question

Background information, presented within the play, which the audience must possess in order to understand the action of the play, is called

answer

exposition

question

Which of the following offers a way that the playwright can present a play's exposition?

answer

a spoken prologue that directly provides information

question

In play construction, the single action that initiates the major conflict of the play is called the

answer

inciting incident

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The final scene, action, or lines in a play devoted to bringing the play to a new level of harmony or understanding, perhaps even resolution, after the climax is called the

answer

denouement

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Genre means category or kind.

answer

True

question

The central character in any type of drama is called the tragic hero.

answer

False

question

The modern play that challenges Aristotle's definition of tragedy b/c the lead character is a "low man" is Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman.

answer

True

question

Aristotle's term for the play's abstracted intellectual content is "thesis"

answer

False

question

In a Greek play, the lead character that moves the action forward is opposed by a figure called the antagonist.

answer

True

question

According to Aristotle, it is impossible to break down the elements that make tragedy effective.

answer

False

question

When an actor turns to speak directly to the audience, unheard by the other characters, it is known as "side-speak"

answer

False

question

Some playwrights criticize the primacy Aristotle gives to plot as a recipe that leads to mechanical plays.

answer

True

question

Processions and the Ancient Greek proton are two examples of ways in which theatre artists publicized their plays in ages past.

answer

True

question

The audience is not a part of the definition of conventions of the theatre.

answer

False

question

The word "theatre" comes from the Greek theatron, which means

answer

seeing place

question

The word "drama" comes from the Greek dran, which means

answer

To do

question

Which of the following is a possible meaning of "theatre"?

answer

the building where the play is performed, the company of players, the occupation of acting, directing, designing, building, crewing, managing, producing, and playwriting

question

The minimal requirement for a theatre "building" is

answer

a place to act and a place to watch

question

Which theatrical craft fits the following description? Technicians execute in proper sequence, and with carefully rehearsed timing, the light and sound cues, the shifting of scenery, the placement and return of properties, and the assignment, laundering, repair, and change of costumes.

answer

Crewing

question

The task of securing all necessary personnel, space, and financing; supervising all production and promotion efforts; fielding all legal matters; and distributing the proceeds derived from receipts falls to who

answer

producer

question

The task of securing all necessary personnel, space, and financing; supervising all production and promotion efforts; fielding all legal matters; and distributing the proceeds derived from receipts falls to who

answer

house manager

question

The person who controls and develops the artistic product and provides it with a unified vision is the

answer

director

question

Which of the following theatrical crafts is usually executed away from the theatre building and its associated shops?

answer

playwriting

question

Historically, theatres have developed in close relationship to

answer

sports activities

question

While both theatre and sport are public spectacles, theatre differs from sports activities because

answer

Theatre has a pre-ordained ending

question

The distinctive feature of theatre, which separates it from other arts, is that theatre employs

answer

impersonation

question

theatre is an art because it

answer

combines emotions, intellect, and aesthetics

question

Denis Diderot's idea of the paradox of the actor states that onstage

answer

while the actor disappears or seems lifeless, the simulated character seems to live

question

The English word for person comes from the Latin word for

answer

a mask

question

In the ancient Greek theatre, what physical and symbolic element separated the actors from the audience

answer

the actors wore masks

question

Which mode of performance makes the drama "dramatic" as opposed to simply theatrical, enabling the audience to concentrate on the events that are being and not on their method of demonstration

answer

representational

question

Which mode of performance acknowledges the audience—as in the case of the nightclub performer who sings, dances, jokes, and responds overtly to applause

answer

The presentational mode

question

The mode of performance in which the audience watches interactions that are staged as if no audience were present at all is called

answer

the representational mode

question

Coleridge's term for the audience participation engendered by way of empathy was

answer

willing suspension of disbelief

question

Theatrical performance differs from other kinds of performance because

answer

theatre is live, scripted, and rehearsed

question

Why did the playwright-director Bertolt Brecht use songs, signs, chalk talks, arguments, and slide projections in his productions

answer

He wanted to discourage stage "magic" in order to appeal to the audience directly about social issues

question

How does a theatrical performance differ from a video or a filmed performance

answer

The theatrical performance is live, with the audience and performers, who are aware of each other and mutually interact in their shared presence

question

Which of the following is true of the relationship between the play script and the performance

answer

The script is a silhouette or outline of the play itself, which fully exists in performance only

question

The rigid distinction between the acting space and the audience space came to be formalized when acting became an unsavory, often illegal profession, t/f

answer

false

question

Theatres built in Elizabethan London to accommodate both plays and bearbaiting provide an example of the shared history of theatre and sport. t/f

answer

true

question

Since the development of motion pictures, theatre has suffered declining attendance, revenues, and numbers of theatres in America, t/f

answer

false

question

The advantages of live performance include its two-way communication between audience and actors, unification of group responses, and live immediacy which makes every show novel and different, t/f

answer

true

question

Although the names and allocations of craft functions such as directing, producing, designing, and stage managing have changed over the course of the theatre's history, the functions themselves have remained fairly constant, t/f

answer

true

question

One term for a long-standing, collective group of theatre practitioners who have worked together is

answer

troupe

question

What is a play?

answer

an action focused around a particular conflict, which gives the action significance

question

In Western drama, a full-length play has historically been designated as one that

answer

lasts two to three hours, typically

question

In Greek tragedy, the central character

answer

undergoes a change that leads to his or her demise

question

Which of the following is true about the differences between tragedy and comedy

answer

Tragedy typically deals with great people, whereas comedy deals with ordinary people

question

Tragic suffering differs from pathetic or maudlin feelings in that

answer

the tragic hero takes on a bold and heroic dimension because he or she faces huge odds

question

Why do comedies typically go out-of-date more quickly than tragedies

answer

Comedies are more topical and deal with ordinary life at the time they are written

question

Comedies that use a more bleak humor in dealing with serious themes are known as

answer

dark comedies

question

Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman is different than its classically tragic ancestors because it

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does not contain Gods, but rather contemporary forces

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The Greek term for the "carrier of the action" in a tragedy is

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protagonist

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A play that dramatizes the key events in the life of a king or head of state, such as Shakespeare's Henry IV, is called

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a history play

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Ultimately, the practice of dividing plays into genre is

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always subjective because each play is unique.

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Which dramatic genre purports to be serious but, in fact, deals with human issues on only the most superficial level, embellished with spectacular staging, flamboyant dialogue, and highly suspenseful and contrived plotting

answer

melodrama

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Which dramatic genre offers a wild, hilarious treatment of a trivial theme, usually based on a stock component like identical twins, switched identities, lovers in closets, and might include full-stage chases, misheard instructions, various disrobings, discoveries, and disappearances

answer

farce

question

Which one of the following is part of the horizontal axis of dramaturg

answer

pre-play

question

The six components of a play which Aristotle lists, in order of importance, are

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plot, character, theme, diction, music, and spectacle.

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What is the difference between plot and story

answer

Plot refers to the structure of events; story refers to a narrative of what happens in a play

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Which element of drama refers not only to the pronunciation of spoken dialogue but also to the literary nature of the play's text, including its tone, imagery, articulation, and use of such literary forms as verse, rhyme, metaphor, jest, apostrophe, and epigram

answer

diction

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Which element describes the play's use of rhythm and sounds, either by way of instrumental composition or the orchestration of such noises as muffled drumbeats, gunshots, special effects, and vocal tones

answer

music

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The visual aspect of the play, including the scenery, costumes, lighting, make-up, and the over-all look of the stage are included in the element known as

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spectacle

question

The agreement between the audience and the actor, which includes a whole set of tacit understandings that form the context of playwatching, is called

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convention

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Background information, presented within the play, which the audience must possess in order to understand the action of the play, is called

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exposition

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Which of the following offers a way that the playwright can present a play's exposition?

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a spoken prologue that directly provides information

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In play construction, the single action that initiates the major conflict of the play is called the

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inciting incident

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The final scene, action, or lines in a play devoted to bringing the play to a new level of harmony or understanding, perhaps even resolution, after the climax is called the

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denouement

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Genre means category or kind. t/f

answer

true

question

The central character in any type of drama is called the tragic hero, t/f

answer

false

question

The modern play that challenges Aristotle's definition of tragedy because the lead character is a "low man" is Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman, t/f

answer

true

question

Aristotle's term for the play's abstracted intellectual content is "thesis." t/f

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false

question

In a Greek play, the lead character that moves the action forward is opposed by a figure called the antagonist, t/f

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true

question

According to Aristotle, it is impossible to break down the elements that make tragedy effective, t/f

answer

false

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When an actor turns to speak directly to the audience, unheard by the other characters, it is known as "side-speak." t/f

answer

false

question

Some playwrights criticize the primacy Aristotle gives to plot as a recipe that leads to mechanical plays, t/f

answer

true

question

Processions and the Ancient Greek proagon are two examples of ways in which theatre artists publicized their plays in ages past, t/f

answer

true

question

The audience is not a part of the definition of conventions of the theatre, t/f

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false

question

The purging or cleansing of the audience's pity and terror at the climax of a tragedy is called

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catharsis

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A play's final repository is

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the minds and memories of its audience

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The public form of play analysis following a production is called

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dramatic criticism

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Dramatic criticism usually appears in all the following forms...

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production reviews in newspapers or periodicals, reactions to the play posted on blogs and online magazines,scholarly articles or books on dramatic literature

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Examples of theatres that have been created or sustained by governments or ruling elites include..

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ancient Greek, medieval liturgical and Corpus Christi drama, royal era

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Why is the theatre in a strong position to force and focus public confrontation with social issues

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Most productions do not act as propaganda but present the issues in all their complexity as food for thought and as such focus public debate, stimulate dialogue, and turn public attention and compassion to important issues

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A play's relation to the individual stems from the fact that the best plays

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link up with our deepest musings and help us to put our unconnected ideas into some sort of order or philosophy.

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An audience member's aesthetic sensibility and response is

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a composite of many individual reactions and therefore subjective

question

Plays that deal with theatrical matter not simply as a vehicle but as a theme are called

answer

metadrama or metatheatre

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Which of the following is NOT an example of a play that makes the theatre a matter in the play itself

answer

Sophocles' Oedipus The King

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What word fits the definition of "that which holds the attention?"

answer

entertainment

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Theatre can be seen as entertainment

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in all cases

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A member of the audience may see a play from five different critical and dramaturgical perspectives. What are five perspectives

answer

social, personal, artistic, theatrical, and entertainment value

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What form does professional dramatic criticism take

answer

production reviews , scholarly works, and online blogs and journals

question

The journalist's review generally is

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limited to a brief, immediate reaction written within a few days of seeing the performance

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Which of the following is the journalist critic's principal job qualification

answer

writing ability

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Scholarly critics generally write

answer

detailed, comprehensive, and rigorously researched articles without the deadline or space limitations of newspapers

question

Dramaturgy gained in popularity in the United States during

answer

the 1960s, even though Europe has a long history of dramaturgical work

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the professional scholar

answer

seeks fresh insights from a body of literature while working within accepted methodologies

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scholar means...

answer

one who studies

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Which is NOT one of the tasks a dramaturg may undertake in a play's artistic development

answer

take over for the director during the theatrical run

question

The poet, playwright, philosopher, librarian, and scholar who is widely recognized as the first dramaturg is

answer

Elia Kazan

question

Which type of critic needs sufficient background to provide a context for opinion and evaluation? His or her judgments are made against a background of knowledge and experience

answer

the observant critic

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Which type of critic holds the theatre to its highest possible standards and cuts against the inherent danger in drama to turn toward pure entertainment or sensationalism

answer

the demanding critic

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Which type of critic expresses thoughts with precision, clarity, and grace, through the careful building up of ideas, a presentation of evidence, logical argument, the use of helpful analogy and example, and a clear style of expression

answer

the articulate critic

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The presence of a critical focus in the audience has the effect of keeping the theatre

answer

honest

question

All plays and play productions can be usefully analyzed and evaluated on the way they use the theatrical format to the best advantage and make us rethink the nature of theatrical production, t/f

answer

true

question

Dramaturgy is essentially a subset of directorial responsibilities, t/f

answer

false

question

The term used for the technical skills needed for professional acting, focusing primarily on the voice and body, is

answer

virtuosity

question

Which of the following does the director NOT typically look for in an audition

answer

personal history that exactly matches that of the character

question

Why did the Greek actor Polus, when playing the role of Electra, bring the ashes of his dead son onstage with him?

answer

He wanted to cry real tears lamenting the "death" of his character's brother

question

The audience's demand for internal consistency in a play, in which the characters, the situation, and the theatrical context are combined to generate the action, creates credibility.

answer

True

question

A play that deals with an issue of serious and lasting significance in humanity's spiritual or intellectual life beyond the mere attempt to imitate profundity is said to possess

answer

Gravity

Theatre 101: a Play’s Exposition, the Core Element, Professional Dramatic Criticism – Flashcards

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