History of Theatre I

In the earliest medieval liturgical dramas, which were performed during Catholic church services . . .

All of the Above

The ancient Greek word for "actor" was:

Hypokrites

In performance, Plautus's plays were frequently accompanied by music.

True

Traditionally, the first Chinese academy for the training of actors, dancers, singers and acrobats was established during the Tang Dynasty (618-906 CE) in the capital city. Because of its location in the grounds of the Imperial Palace, it was known as the 'Pear Garden'.

True

Which of these is NOT one of the four types of characters in a typical Chinese drama, developed for plays of the nanxi (or 'Southern Drama') genre during the Song Dynasty (960-1279 CE)?

A 'Marcopolo' - a comic traveler from the West, generally puzzled by Chinese customs

A 'canon' is:

A group of literary works or dramatic texts considered by scholars, critics, and practitioners to have eternal value, and therefore always worth studying and performing.

The three tragic plays known collectively as The Oresteia were written by the poet:

Aeschylus

Although each Asian theatrical tradition in different cultures is unique, which of the following characteristics tend to set Asian theatre practice apart from that of the West?

All of the Above

Renaissance playwrights emulated the following aspects of Seneca's tragedies:

All of the Above

Factors that encouraged the growth of medieval drama were:

All of the above

How long ago do historians believe theatre began?

All of the above answers are correct, in some way.

Even by the Greeks, New Comedies were considered different from Old Comedies because:

All of the above.

What is The Natyasastra?

An ancient document describing the mythological origin, practices, and theories of Sanskrit drama.

In the Ancient Eastern Mediterranean, the 'Hellenistic Era' was:

An period describing the centuries after the reign of Alexander the Great, up to the time of Roman domination

Acting, following scripts, and design are elements of performance that:

Are found in ritual and ceremony, and also in theater.

A surviving comic play that comments on the social and political climate in Athens, and that is full of bawdy wit, was probably written by:

Aristophanes

The name of the Spring festival of drama, an annual Athenian civic, religious, and artistic ritual:

City Dionysia

Roman pantomime performances:

Could be compared to modern ballet

A poet known for his sympathetic portrayal of women, his realism, his skeptical treatment of the gods and heroes, and a diminished use of the chorus:

Euripides

"Mystery" plays would often involve an entire medieval-era community in a group investigation of a murder or crime against God.

False

Because Islam prohibits the depiction or personification of God, and discourages the imitation of His creation, there is no history of theater in countries where Islam is the majority religion.

False

Dance and music in Greek theatre was the same in both comedies and tragedies

False

Forerunners to formal theatre in the Greek golden age included religious ceremonies such as those honoring the god Apollo.

False

Greek theater was regarded mostly as a curiosity by the Romans, who mostly were not influenced by it.

False

Greek theaters were known for their innovative use of artificial lighting effects.

False

It can be easily proven that Theater is a dying art form, just by looking at historical trends in the United States.

False

It is a widely-acknowledged fact that Sanskrit drama emerged after concepts of Greek theater were introduced to the Indian subcontinent by the armies of Alexander the Great.

False

Performing on stage was regarded as a distinct civic honor by Roman aristocrats.

False

The Poetics was consulted by every major Greek tragic poet, to make sure he got the form of tragedy correctly.

False

The ancient Sanskrit drama Shakuntala, which is subtitled The Recovered Ring, has story elements similar to those of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings.

False

The dancers in tragic choruses brief shorts with upright false penises attached, while those in satyr plays had dangling leather phalluses.

False

The danger for students planning to become theater artists is that studying the theatre of the past, will keep them tied to older practices, and therefore less likely to explore new forms of drama.

False

The invasion of Mongol armies, and the establishment of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368 CE) brought to an end the rich flowering of medieval Chinese drama.

False

The text of Everyman gives us a good example of what medieval liturgical drama was like.

False

The works of over a dozen Roman playwrights survive today, and are frequently performed.

False

Unfortunately, no actual texts of Medieval English 'cycle' plays survived. All our information about them comes from illustrations in manuscripts.

False

The textbook notes that there is often a close relationship between religion and theater, and that there have been times when religious authorities have bitterly opposed and outlawed theater performances. But, as a matter of History, religious prohibitions forbidding theater:

Have, in various places and eras, ended or suppressed dramatic performances.

Medieval author who wrote several literary dramas in Latin about such topics as conversion to Christianity, martyrdom, or penance in order to glorify Christian virgins. Probably they were meant to be read out loud, rather than performed.

Hrotsvitha of Gandersheim

A centuries-old Chinese play entitled A Circle of Chalk:

Is based upon ancient Chinese harvest rituals, and was performed during rice harvest festivals.

A series of medieval plays in vernacular language, enacting biblical stories, the lives of saints, and even secular stories, which used a mixture of comic and serious approaches were called:

None of the above

Romans did not construct permanent theatres in their capital city until the year 55 BCE because

Officials thought they were a threat to public morals

Roman playwrights that whose works we still study from this period are:

Plautus, Terence, and Seneca

"Morality Plays" were:

Plays that taught important spiritual and social lessons, using allegorical characters

A famous Roman comedian whose name was often used to praise a good actor in later centuries.

Roscius

A poet known for his amiability, his civic virtues, his long life, and for having the most victories for the best tragedy:

Sophocles

A ritual is:

The acting out of an established, prescribed procedure.

For much of history, Menander's plays were:

Thought to have actually been written by Aristophanes.

A major shift between the classic fifth century BCE drama, and Hellenistic Greek theatre was that there was a change of popular interest - away from scripts and to performers.

True

All Greek performers in the classical period wore masks, including the chorus.

True

Athen's city government provided the theatre, the awards, and the salaries for the actors and playwrights

True

During the Early Middle Ages, troupes of traveling performers that presented comic, acrobatic, or circus-like entertainments were frequently condemned by Catholic church officials, because of their supposed association with profane entertainments of the Late Roman Empire.

True

Early Christians in Rome and the Puritans in Elizabethan England are two examples of historic religious groups that opposed the theatre.

True

Folk theater, in many of the spoken languages of modern India, continue to dramatize the ancient stories of Sanskrit literature.

True

Like those of the Ancient Greeks, the masks of Roman actors covered the entire head of the performer.

True

Lysistrata is a play that satirically challenged its original Athenian audience to consider ending the war with Sparta.

True

The Quem quaeritis, a brief drama, with a call and response between an angel and the three Marys visiting Christ's tomb, was a part of Easter service developed during the Tenth Century CE.

True

To understand the role of audiences in theatre history, scholars often ask questions about gender, race, and class of people attending performances.

True

Western theatre can trace its origins to Athens, Greece, in the fifth century B.C.E.

True

Ancient Athenian 'satyr plays':

Were burlesques or parodies of serious Greek myths.

The most ancient Indian Sanskrit dramas:

Were performed by troupes of actors who catered to the nobility and elite castes.