Theatre Appreciation
Unlock all answers in this set
Unlock answersquestion
All My Sons
answer
Arthur Miller (1947)
question
An American Daughter
answer
Wendy Wasserstein (1997)
question
Brighton Beach Memoirs
answer
Neil Simon (1986)
question
Mr. Marmalade
answer
Noah Haidle (2004)
question
Marisol
answer
Jose Rivera (1992)
question
Picasso at the Lapin Agile
answer
Steve Martin (1993)
question
What is a significant difference between live theatre & film
answer
every performance is different & unique
question
for the audience, theatre is a group experience. One thing that may alter a theatrical event is the:
answer
Psychological make up of a group
question
The transitory nature of the theatre exists because:
answer
of the immediacy of the experience, the feedback & energy loop among the actors and the audience & once it is finished it only lives in memory
question
Being a good theatre critic requires that we
answer
try to understand what the artist was doing, evaluate the effectiveness of what the artist was doing & decide upon the ultimate worth of the production
question
A critic might offer background information about the
answer
playwright, subject matter of the play, and the style of the production
question
No matter how knowledgeable a critic is about theatre, much of what he/she writes about is simply opinion
answer
TRUE
question
Knowledge of the play or playwright is never necessary for a successful theatre experience
answer
FALSE
question
When a person watches a play, it is expected that he/she will ignore his/her own individual memories, emotional scars & private fantasies
answer
FALSE
question
Embedded: Live
answer
Tim Robbins
question
Who came up with "The Willing Suspension of Disbelief"
answer
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
question
Who believed that the actor & the audience are all that is needed for the act of theatre to be engaged
answer
Peter Brook
question
Who is the playwright that believed in the "immediacy" of theatre
answer
Thornton Wilder
question
Who wrote about art as a creation of signification forms symbolic of human feeling
answer
Susanne Langer
question
Engaged Theatre
answer
Drama that aspires to promote dialogue and social justice through performance. It is a broad category that includes community-based theatre, theatre for social change, prison theatre & political theatre
question
Important creators of "engaged" theatre in the 20th/2st century
answer
Hallie Flanagan, August Boal & Reverend Billy
question
The political and military authorities can manipulate the media to control public opinion
answer
Embedded: Live theme statement
question
Who are the masked characters in Embedded: Live supposed to represent
answer
The chief advisors to George W. Bush
question
Aesthetic distance
answer
the objectivity involved in the experience
question
"Don't you try & go through life worrying about if somebody like you or not"
answer
Fences
question
"Thus conscience does make a coward of us all"
answer
Hamlet
question
"How come you ain't ever liked me?"
answer
Fences
question
'Who knows not where a wasp does wear his sting? In his tail?"
answer
Taming of the Shrew
question
"...what dreams may come when we have shuffled off this mortal coil"
answer
Hamlet
question
Large expanse of fabric hung at the back of the stage, often painted with a landscape or lit to represent the sky
answer
Cyclorama
question
The immense area above the stage from where lights, scenery, and other items can be flown in or out
answer
Fly Space
question
The blueprint or map of the setting for the play created by the set designer
answer
groundplan
question
a small, tin cutout placed in front of a lighting instrument to create special lighting effects
answer
Gobo
question
the area on either side of the acting area that is out of sight to the audience
answer
Wings
question
Person who manages the shop and stage space, and builds and installs the sets
answer
technical director
question
a set designer needs to collaborate with whom on the following list?
answer
lighting designer, costume designer, technical director, and the director
question
One main purpose of lighting design is
answer
to illuminate and highlight to create mood
question
a lighting designer needs to deal directly with whom
answer
set designer, costume designer, technical director, and the director
question
one important function of costume design is
answer
establish time. place, style, and mood of the production
question
costume designer works with
answer
line, shape, silhouette, color, fabric & accessories
question
actor training includes
answer
training the vocal instrument, body & the mind
question
Russian director/ teacher devised first complete acting system. Tenets of this system include emotional memory, subtext, action, objectives & the "magic if"
answer
Konstantin Stanislavsky
question
analyzing a role, an actor decides on his/her character's primary goal. what is this called
answer
super objective
question
Playwright creates the spoken text. Who creates the sub-text?
answer
the actor
question
What did Meryl Streep indirectly say in her quote?
answer
its important to thoroughly research a role and study a character's behavior
question
What was August Wilson's lifetime project?
answer
to write one act plays representing African American life for each decade of the 20th century
question
Why did August Wilson choose the title Fences?
answer
fences are symbolic of the characters' relationships that we see bond and break
question
how does knowledge about design elements of a production influence your understanding of a theatre event?
answer
design supports the themes, establishes time & place, as well as evoking symbolism
question
Who developed the first realistic acting theory
answer
Konstantin Stanislavsky
question
Taming of the Shrew
answer
William Shakespeare
question
Fences
answer
August Wilson
question
Hamlet
answer
William Shakespeare
question
Death of a Salesman
answer
Arthur Miller
question
Setting of Death of a Salesman
answer
Willy Loman's house in New York; flashbacks to past and present
question
King Oedipus
answer
Sophocles 429 BCE
question
Radium Girls
answer
D. W. Gregory
question
Time of Radium Girls
answer
1918; 1920's
question
Time of Fences
answer
set in the 1950's & 1960's
question
Dramatic Action Statement
answer
x struggles against y for z
question
Willing suspension of disbelief
answer
we throw reality out the door; we accept what will happen; we willingly do this
question
what is transitory?
answer
changing; never static; not the same twice
question
Perpetual present tense
answer
always in present tense
question
4 way feedback
answer
audience to performer; performer to audience; audience to audience; performer to performer
question
Director and author of Empty Space
answer
Peter Brook
question
who is the protagonist in King Oedipus?
answer
King Oedipus
question
What is the exposition
answer
what happens before the play; background information
question
Linear (Climatic) play
answer
few character; one setting
question
Episodic (Epic) play
answer
lots of sub plots; lots of characters; lots of settings
question
What is a plot?
answer
a selection and arrangement of events from a story
question
what is a story?
answer
a full account of an event, or series of events
question
What are the 6 elements to dramatic action? (Aristotle)
answer
1. Plot 2. characters 3. theme 4. language 5. spectacle 6. music
question
Proscenium Arch Stage
answer
raised platform framed by arch; seen from front only
question
Thrust Stage
answer
acting platform surrounded on 3 sides by seating; brings audience closer to action; more intimate
question
Arena Stage
answer
no platform; open stage at floor level; seating on all sides of the stage; most intimate; restricted scenery due to sightlines
question
Flexible Stage
answer
experiments with actor/audience relationship; arrangement changes from production to production; can be indoor, outdoor, large or small; outdoor stages called Environmental Space
question
Black Box Stage
answer
can be arranged in any of the four theatre spaces
question
actors enter and exit from what?
answer
vomitoria
question
Goethe's criteria
answer
understanding, effectiveness and ultimate worth
question
good set designs create appropriate environment for action of the play
answer
supports director's production concept, reinforces playwright's theme, creates mood & atmosphere, stages the story & makes interpretational statement
question
set designers give building plans to whom to build?
answer
technical directors
question
Who does the tech director hire to build the sets
answer
painters, carpenters, welders, interior designers, etc.
question
place in the play where the playwright begins the plot
answer
the point of attack
question
play that is structured with a tightly-woven linear plot, few characters, and a plot that begins late in the story
answer
climatic
question
the hero or heroine is an extraordinary person and/or person of social stature: a king, queen, a general, a nobleman, etc.
answer
Traditional or Classic tragedy
question
the situation becomes desperate and the protagonist makes desperate choices that seal his/her fate
answer
Modern Tragedy
question
play speaks to the larger questions of life
answer
Both classic and modern tragedies
question
the protagonist accepts responsibility for his/her actions and show a willingness to suffer and an immense capacity for suffering
answer
Traditional or Classic Tragedy
question
highest level of professional, commercial theatre in the U.S
answer
Broadway
question
in commercial theatre, investors are called
answer
angels
question
professional non-profit theatres often have a troupe of resident actors that are known as
answer
Regional Professional theatres
question
off-off Broadway shows are usually produced where?
answer
wherever inexpensive space is available, where artists feel free to do new, experimental work, where there are fewer than 199 seats
question
not-for-profit status for a theatre means what?
answer
the theatre gets a legal (501c3) tax break
question
in non-for-profit theatre, what do we call the person with business responsibilities similar to those of a commercial theatre producer?
answer
executive director or managing director
question
most common approach to directing a script which usually sticks to the original dialogue but may change stage directions, time, or place
answer
Translator approach
question
dramaturg
answer
literary consultant to help with the contextual and historical research for a production of a play
question
blocking a play involves
answer
the position and movement of actors on a stage
question
casting a play involves
answer
the selection of actors for specific roles
question
what is the music writer called?
answer
composer
question
dance written by who?
answer
choreographer
question
Ingredients of a musical
answer
directors, designers, performers
question
Jerome Kern
answer
Showboat (1927); 1st musical comedy with serious subject matter; 1st integrated cast on Broadway
question
Oklahoma (1943)
answer
Richard Rodgers; introduces dance narrative; duo goes on to be most prolific musical writing team
question
Westside Story
answer
1957; dramatically intentioned dance
question
Hair
answer
1967; first hit "rock" musical
question
sweeny todd
answer
1979; first successful dramatic musica
