chapter 6 theater

Identify the two equal but complete ideas that illuminate the meaning of tragedy.

-Man is capable of extraordinary even limitless achievements. -The world we live in is often cruel, unjust and meaningless.

in what way might the viewpoint of the playwright help the audience understand the play?

-The playwright's viewpoint helps us perceive and interpret the actions of the characters. -It tells us that the author is looking at events from a personal or unusual angle.

By rejecting the Aristotelian concept of play structure as inherently male oriented, feminist playwrights and philosophers offered a "new poetics" to explore a "woman's form" of drama. These include:

-cyclical forms that are open ended rather than having a single climax -creating a contiguous dramatic form that was fragmented rather than whole or complete -creating a language that was suggestive and ambiguous

The limits of time in theater can be looked at in two ways:

-how long it takes a performance to take place -the time limits placed on the characters within the structure of the play

The opening scene of a play may do which of the following?

-indicate the tone of the production -establish the imbalance between the characters -initiate the action of the characters.

The playwright will typically state a problem that the characters strive to resolve:

-just before the play is taken up -immediately after the play opens

The two prominent periods in which tragedy found it greatest dramatic expression were:

-the Renaissance -the Golden Age of Greece

German playwright Bertolt Brecht and American playwright Thornton Wilder were greatly influenced by:

Beijing Opera Mei Lanfang

story

a full narrative account of an event typically told in chronological

In order to generate a contest of wills as equal as possible, the playwright will attempt to create a ___ of forces.

balance

This is the final and most important moment in the play in which the key issues are resolved.

climax

Because of a series of conflicts, obstacles and complications the character(s) must resolve, a variety ____ of that build one on top of the other before reaching the climax.

crises

Feminist plays often are written with a __________ structure that does not focus on a single climactic event.

cyclical

Family members are rarely used as a device to create tension between forces

false

complications are impediments that are put in the character's way whereas new forces or plot twists that alter the balance of power and delay the climax are called obstacles.

false

Impediments that are put in the character's way are called ___ whereas ____ are new forces or plot twists that alter the balance of power.

obstacles and complications

The arrangement of events or the purposeful order of scenes in a play is called

plot

Because people may see an event from their own perspective, it is critical that the playwright deliberately and directly impose their own __________ on the play.

point of view

When we reflect on strongly opposed forces, we often think of the antagonist against the

protagonist

Typically speaking, theatre is limited to the

stage

Plot is usually based on a __________.

story

Which of the following is a full account of an event, or series of events, usually told in chronological order?

story

People are the ___ of the drama whereas the action that defines the characters is the _____.

subject verb

Bertolt Brecht used ___ props and actions that were similar to those seen in Beijing opera in order to achieve his alienation or distancing effect.

symbolic

A balance of forces means

the playwright attempts to create a relatively equal but hard fought contest.

The time limit or deadline within the structure of the play is

the time covered by the events of the play.