THE2000 The Basics Quiz

What does the textbook say is usually the goal of a production of a play?

To pursue the vision of the playwright

According to the textbook, the place in this universe where the playwright picks up the story is called the ____________.

point of attack

According to Dr. Mitchell in the lecture, what do all plays talk about in some way?

power

A "pretense of self" is defined in your textbook as:

presentation of character

A psychological perspective or attitude which should exist on the part of anyone contemplating a work of art is called __________.

Aesthetic Distance

Who did the textbook refer to as "our first drama critic"?

Aristotle

A performs B for C. What is "C"?

Audience

We can trace the origins of theatrical practice in the Western world to the performance of dithyrambs in ancient Athens. What Greek deity were the citizens celebrating with these performances?

Dionysus

Why does the group 'Improv Everywhere' refer to their activities as "missions" rather than pranks?

Because the word "prank" implies that an activity may be mean-spirited.

In musical theatre, a performer interrupts a scene to break into song. This is an example of a theatrical___________.

Convention

In what way does the textbook say a stage is no different from a painting?

Everything inside the frame is open for interpretation.

According to the textbook, theatre is a literary form.

False

It is supposedly bad luck to speak the title of this play by Shakespeare.

MacBeth

What play does the textbook say is considered by many to be a masterpiece of plot construction?

Oedipus the King

What does Ken Davenport say is a good quality for a producer to have?

Passion

What are "tweet seats"?

Reserved seats where audience members use Twitter to comment on a performance as it is happening

In ancient Greece, ______________ was the name used to refer to "the seeing place."

Theatron

Director Peter Brook states in his book The Empty Space that all that is needed for an act of theatre to be engaged is a man to walk across an empty space while someone else watches.

True

Sculpture, Dance, Music, Poetry, and Theatre are all examples of Fine Arts.

True

What does Samuel Taylor Coleridge ask us to willingly suspend?

disbelief