Chapter 6: Creating the World of the Play

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

Mei Lanfang Beijing Opera

story

a full narrative account of an event typically told in chronological order

The work of the playwright points the way for collaborators to create the realization of the text on stage. In this respect, the playwright is similar to a(n) __________ or ___________.

architect composer

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

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:

creating a language that was suggestive and ambiguous 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

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

The term _____ is from the Greek word dran meaning "to act" or "to do."

drama

Some of the decisions the playwright will make when writing the play include:

establishing the tone determining the characters the order of events of the story the time and place

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

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

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

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

What is meant by the idea that the action of the play is generally confined to a "world" of its own?

it contains a fictional universe of all the characters and events of the play

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 complications

Examples of one character or group opposing another may be:

old guard versus young turks father versus son home team versus the visiting team men versus women

Aeschylus and Sophocles differed in the __________ in their dramatizations of the Electra story that shows the latitude dramatists have in fitting a story to their artistic purpose.

order of events

The primary artist in the theatre who conceives of the initial idea to be staged is the _______.

playwright

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

plot

scenes that are selected and arranged for maximum dramatic impact

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

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

the Golden Age of Greece the Renaissance

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.

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

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

True or 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

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

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

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

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