Theater chapter 6-8

minor characters in a play are always written as basic stock characters

false

selection and arrangement of scenes from a story

plot

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

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

viewpoint

"to portray a story in a comic manner"

viewpoint

"to present events as heroic"

viewpoint

the main representative character in Henrik Ibsen's doll house who to this day serves as a symbol of the modern woman

Nora Helmer

a hard-fought and relatively equal contest

a balance of forces

which would NOT be considered slapstick comedy?

a woman watches her husband die slowly after giving him the wrong meds

minor characters are

all of the above

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

a type of broad, exaggerated comedy that takes marriage and sex as objects of fun

bedroom farce

a playwright, composer, or architect who envisions a work sets about putting the idea into one that will be recognizable to those who will bring the idea to ultimate realization

blueprint

the final and most significant crisis is referred to as the

climax

which is NOT a genre?

clowning

an outside force or new twist in the plot introduced at an opportune moment

complication

which is NOT a feature of melodrama

even if the ending is sad, an optimistic worldview is present

Because existentialism suggests that characters have no personal history before the play begins, no background, and therefore no specific causes for their action, the structure of an existentialist play is often lacking in

exposition

technical team for revelation of background material in a play

exposition

The action of a play is generally confined to a "world" of its own—that is, to a fictional universe that contains all the characters and events of the play—and none of the characters or actions moves outside the orbit of that world. This is an example of limited time.

false

because we no longer have a society that believes in the concept of "the Gods" as they did in ancient Greece, traditional Greek tragedies are no longer feasible to consider for contemporary productions

false

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

false

if 2 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

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 20th century play by Neil Simon

false

two periods that were particularly conductive to the creation of tragic drama were the 18 and 19 century

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

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

harlequin

another word that means "contrast in the connection of scenes"

juxtaposition

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

limited conflict

the use of a word that sounds like the right word but actually is a different word altogether is the use of

malaprop

an impediment that is put in a character's way

obstacle

when Horace Walpole said "This world is a comedy to those that think, a tragedy to those that feel" he was probably NOT thinking

one should think about one thing profoundly and a thousand things well

the subject of theatre is always

people

which is not a characteristic of extraordinary characters?

pivotal but minor role

some tragicomedies, such as Shakespeare's Measure for Measure and All' Well that Ends Well, have been called

problem plays

a humorous use of words with the same sound but different meanings is

pun

"to entertain royalty" is a

purpose

"to escape"

purpose

"to reinforce religious beliefs"

purpose

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

ritual

Which is NOT a characteristic of comedy?

sense that the universe is cruel and unfeeling

full account of an event or series of events, usually told in chronological order

story

which is NOT a technique of comedy?

strong emphasis on suspense

" the events of the holocaust"

subject

"a love story"

subject

"the story of electra" is a

subject

a ______ reinforces or runs parallel to the major plot in an episodic play

subplot

in tragicomedy, the overview, or prevailing attitude, is a ____ of the serious and comic

synthesis

plays that convey humanity's sense of alienation and its loss of bearings in an illogical, unjust, and ridiculous world are called theaters of

the absurd

the word drama is derived from a Greek root, the ver DRAN, which means

to do and to act

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

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

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

true

as seen in some of Chekhov's play 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 a climactic drama, the plot begins early in the story

true

in the modern period, tragicomedy has become the predominant form of many of the best playwrights

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 bucket'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 viewpoint o a theatre artist actually provides the audience with a key to understanding the actions and words of the characters on stage

true