Theatre Appreciation Exam 2

"The world is a comedy to those who think, a tragedy to those who feel" is a

viewpoint.

"To portray a story in a comic manner" is a

viewpoint.

"To present events as heroic" is a

viewpoint.

Common structure in musical theatre requires that every song have a segment that involves the chorus.

False

If playwrights are writing about a historical event, it is inappropriate for them to change the order of events to suit their purpose

False

If two or more playwrights create a play based on the same story, it is important that the facts of that story remain consistent from one play to the next.

False

Minor characters in a play are always written as basic stock characters.

False

One technique that works effectively is to structure most of the play with a looser organization that allows the playwright to create a tightly structured ending in order to make the viewpoint clear.

False

Samuel Taylor Coleridge coined this statement regarding a playwright's point of view: "The world is a comedy to those that think and a tragedy to those that feel."

False

The subject of drama varies greatly, and at certain times throughout theatre history, drama has focused on human beings, but more often than not the subjects of drama are quite different.

False

The term "robot" was actually first used in an early twentieth-century play by Neil Simon.

False

The word genre means "an ability to generalize about all human beings by observing a small portion of their actions."

False

Two periods that were particularly conducive to the creation of tragic drama were the eighteenth century (the age of enlightenment) and the nineteenth century (the century of progress).

False

When nonhuman characters are written into a script it is typically because the producers do not want to create a stage prop when an actor can solve the problem nicely.

False

The main representative character in Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House who to this day serves as a symbol of the modern woman is

Nora Helmer

A tableaux structure begins with characters arranged in a visual stage picture and the action, frequently nonverbal, proceeds from that tableaux until the end of the scene.

True

Although it is an aspect of basic human nature that people like to categorize all things, it is often not best to try place all plays into distinct categories, as that is a practice that does not recognize those plays that are unique and original in their point of view or style.

True

An example of point of view in film might be the various angles of vision and perspectives that the camera selects for us.

True

Another danger of categorizing dramatic works is that this diverts our focus from the single most important aspect of theatrical production: to experience the play live and to react to it in the moment.

True

As seen in some of Chekhov's plays it is possible to combine the climactic and the episodic forms.

True

Dramatic action is the essence of drama, and even the word drama derives from the word dran, which means "to act" or "to do."

True

In our contemporary world it is important to recognize a feminist or woman's point of view in analyzing and understanding dramatic works as that viewpoint has not always been considered or respected throughout history but it is essential to the future development of dramatic works.

True

It has become more common in contemporary plays for characters within the play to "step out of their character" and also serve the function of a narrator by speaking directly to the audience about the action.

True

Narrators in the most traditional sense remain outside the action of the play and typically comment on the action communicating directly with the audience.

True

Patterns as structure exist not only in dance but also in some plays, where the characters' movement and circumstances can be repetitive, as in Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot.

True

Politicians and advertisers often hide their point of view, whereas a playwright's imposition of their point of view is direct and deliberate.

True

The fact that Euripides was writing tragedies at the same time that Aristophanes was writing satirical farces serves as an example that it is possible for a multiplicity of individual viewpoints to be expressed in drama regardless of the prevailing societal viewpoint.

True

The first task of the dramatist is to decide what aspect of people and their concerns to write about in order to give the play a purpose.

True

The viewpoint of a theatre artist actually provides the audience with a key to understanding the actions and words of the characters on stage.

True

We know that playwrights frequently write plays about a single family in classic climactic structure and they will also occasionally create two contrasting characters that are siblings or husband and wife in order to allow character traits to stand out more dramatically in the action.

True

An intellectual or artistic movement that breaks with tradition and therefore seems ahead of its time is called ________; literally, it means "advance guard in a military formation."

avant-garde

The fifteen performers who sang, danced, chanted, and sometimes interacted with the main characters in a classic Greek drama are called the

chorus

The final and most significant crisis is referred to as the

climax.

An outside force or new twist in the plot introduced at an opportune moment is a(n)

complication.

The technical term for revelation of background material in a play is

exposition

Another word that means "contrast in the connection of scenes" is

juxtaposition

Which of the following is NOT a convention of dramatic structure?

limited conflict

An impediment that is put in a character's way is called a(n)

obstacle.

A selection and arrangement of scenes from a story is called a(n)

plot

A selection and arrangement of scenes from a story is called a

plot.

"To entertain royalty" is a

purpose.

"To escape" is a

purpose.

"To make a political statement" is a

purpose.

"To reinforce religious beliefs" is a

purpose.

A repetition or reenactment of a proceeding or a transaction which has acquired special meaning is called a

ritual

A full account of an event or series of events, usually told in chronological order, is called a

story.

"A love story" is a

subject.

"The events of the Holocaust" is a

subject.

"The story of Electra" is a

subject.

Medieval cycle plays were known to go on for as long as

twenty-five days.

Minor characters are

typically used as a dramatic device by the playwright to move the action along. typically used to be supportive or confidante-like characters for the central character in a play. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern inShakespeare's Hamlet, for example.

Harlequin

was at the heart of most plot complications in the commedia dell'arte.