THTR 100
The characteristics of traditional tragedy include tragic heroes and heroines, tragic circumstances, tragic irretrievability, and
acceptance of responsibility and tragic verse
Blanche DuBois is a famous dramatic character is which play?
A Streetcar Named Desire
Playwright associated with tragicomedy
Anton Chekhov
Which 2004 musical featured puppets?
Avenue Q
True or False: A wig is an accessory
False
True or False: Unlike in Britain and numerous European countries, in the United States, there is a long tradition of significant support for theatre from the government.
False
The female playwright whose works can be viewed as melodramas, such as The Little Foxes, is...
Lillian Hellman
Which design theorist stated, "A good scene should be, not a picture, but an image"?
Robert Edmond Jones
Postmodern directors are noted for deconstructing:
classic dramas
Which of the following is not an element or material for scenic design?
ellipsoidals
Modern tragedy began
in the late nineteenth century
Which invention helped the most with quick changes?
velcro
Of the character types below, which type is described as representing one "humor"?
characters with a dominant trait
Comedy is created when the basic assumptions about society and the characters and events of the play
clash or cut against each other
When a musical is based around an idea rather than a story, it is called a
concept musical
Heroic drama differs from tragedy in two ways. The first is in having a happy ending. The second is...
Assuming a basically optimistic worldview even when the ending is sad.
Of the following Shakespearean plays, which is known for effectively exploring plot complications?
Comedy of Errors
Which theatre company is heavily associated with Chicano theatre and the civil rights movements of the 1960s?
El Teatro Campesino
Of the character types below, which type is described as being "larger than life"?
Extraordinary
Of the following, which is a type of comedy that thrives on exaggeration in both plot complications and physical humor—its aim being entertainment with no pretensions toward intellectual stimulation?
Farce
The period from Oklahoma! to Fiddler on the Roof is known as the __________ ___ of American theatre
Golden Age
Of the following character types, which type is written specifically to speak directly to the audience?
Narrator
There have been several influences on theatre in English-speaking Africa. Of the following, which has not been an influence?
TV and film
Of the following, which theatre was founded in New York during the 1820-1821 season by William Brown and featured African American performers?
The African Grove Theatre
Which government-funded initiative during the Depression significantly change black theatre in the 1930s?
The Federal Theatre Project
True or False: An idea or concept that turns the accepted notion of things upside down and becomes the basis of the play is also known as the comic premise.
True
True or False: Bedroom farce is a form of comedy that uses stock characters and characters with dominant traits.
True
True or False: Costumes can help actors and actresses to create their parts.
True
The plastic material placed in front of a lighting instrument to produce colored light is called
a gel
Of the following, what does tragedy attempt to do?
ask basic questions about human existence
Of the following, which best describes the role of minor characters?
characters who play a small part in the overall action
Verbal humor, comedy of character, and plot complications are all...
techniques used to produce comedy
One of the best examples of heroic drama is by Edmond Rostand entitled
Cyrano de Bergerac
The first musical to win the Pulitzer Prize was...
Of Thee I Sing
An early domestic drama was
The London Merchant by George Lillo
A bird's eye view of the stage space showing all the furniture and set pieces in location is called
a ground plan
A word that sounds like the right word but means something quite different is known as
a malaprop
Of the following, which best describes a periaktoi?
a vertical three-sided or prism-shaped column which could be rotated to present three different scenic pictures
What is the first step in any design process?
reading the script
Which element of shape do bustles and corsets affect?
silhouette
Objectives and functions of lighting design include:
visibility, shape & form, and focus & composition
One of the best examples of heroic drama is by Edmond Rostand entitled...
Cyrano de Bergerac
Of the character types below, which type is described as "typical or ordinary"?
Quintessential or representative
Of the following, who wrote the play Tartuffe, which serves as a good example of the contrast between the social order and the individual?
Molière
Of the following, which play was written by Terrence McNally and chronicles gay life from 1950 to the present?
Some Men
Which African American playwright won the 2002 Pulitzer Prize for drama?
Suzan-Lori Parks
The late-19th-century production noted as the significant forerunner of the modern musical is:
The Black Crook
In 1968, which play brought gay life to the forefront, sparking the gay and lesbian movement?
The Boys in the Band by Mart Crowley
An example of both political and feminist theatre, which of the following plays examines women's obsession with their physical appearance?
The Good Body
True or False: In the Italian form Commedia dell'arte, actors were given a scenario for the play, which they performed by improvising or inventing words and actions.
True
True or False: Menander was known for creating nonhuman characters in ancient Greek drama.
True
True or False: Spiderwoman Theatre is categorized as both a Native American theatre company and a feminist theatre company.
True
Heroic drama differs from tragedy in two ways. The first is in having a happy ending. The second is
assuming a basically optimistic worldview even when the ending is sad
Of the following, which was at the heart of the works by South African playwright Athol Fugard?
concern for political and social equality
________ are the most personal aspect of the visual elements in theatre.
costumes
True or False: Eugene O'Neill argues that there can be "tragedy of the common man."
false, it was Arthur Miller
Which musical form had its beginnings in Italy around 1600?
opera
Of the following, which type of performance is defined as a drama that features a romantic story set in a far-off locale with little basis in everyday life? Although the majority of the drama is set to music, some portions are spoken by performers.
operetta
Which of the following is not a type of lighting cue?
pan
Which of the following is not a type of microphone used in theatrical sound design?
pencil mike
Which of the following is not a property of stage lighting?
silhouette
One of the arguments against modern tragedy focuses on
the inability of prose to articulate the lofty concerns of tragedy
Movies use characteristics of melodrama. Which of the following is not a characteristic of the form?
the main character is never placed in danger
Which of the following periods was considered to be the "golden era" of the American musical?
the mid-1940s through the mid-1960s
The term bourgeois refers to...
the middle class
What is one characteristic that distinguishes modern tragedy from traditional tragedy?
the use of the common man rather than royalty or nobility as the main characters
The fusion of serious and humorous is what marks...
tragicomedy
Of the following, which play is the most important post-World War II era production in relation to the African American experience?
A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry
In 1898, Bob Cole and William Johnson wrote, produced, and directed the first black musical. What was the name of the musical?
A Trip to Coontown
Oklahoma! was considered a landmark production because it integrated dance, story, music, and lyrics into the entire piece. The choreographer for the production was...
Agnes de Mille
In some ways, theatre in America is stronger today than at any time in its history. Which of the following is not a reason?
American theatres are only producing plays by English-speaking playwrights
____________ structure limits character activities and creates pressure until the characters are forced inexorably toward the climax of the play, the showdown between the protagonist and antagonist where the audience discovers who wins or gets their desire. As the plot unfolds, the characters' choices are reduced.
Climactic
Of the following, which type of comedy uses comic techniques to debate intellectual propositions, presenting a particular moral and social point of view?
Comedy of Ideas
In the second half of the 20th century, three branches of theatre emerged in Japan. Which of the following is not a branch that has emerged?
Grotowski's "poor theatre"
In the second half of the twentieth century, three branches of theatre emerged in Japan. Which of the following is not a branch that has emerged?
Grotowski's "poor theatre"
Of the following, which actor in the African Grove Theatre—a black company founded in New York by African American William Brown—was the first to play Othello?
James Hewlett
Which Greek play by Aristophanes uses the comic premise that women can withhold sex to keep men from going to war?
Lysistrata
Which modern musical sparked the protest of Asian American theatre artists over its casting practices?
M. Butterfly
Which Cuban American dramatist's work led to the emergence of Cuban American theatre?
Maria Irene Fornes
Of the following, which production is typically seen as marking the beginning of the "golden era" of the American musical?
Oklahoma!
In 1927, the landmark musical Show Boat opened. The controversial musical featured an interracial romance and eliminated the chorus line of girls that had always been considered indispensable. The team that created the musical is
Oscar Hammerstein II and Jerome Kern
A play that presented actual women's stories of intimacy, vulnerability, and sexual affirmation was
The Vagina Monologues
Which of the following theoretical works was written by the renowned Brazilian playwright, director, and theorist Augusto Boal? (The work serves as a manifesto for revolutionary and socially conscious theatre.)
Theatre of the Oppressed
Of the following, which 1970s production served as a milestone in the history of Hispanic theatre?
Zoot Suit
Rituals are...
a repetition of some act that has acquired special meaning
Which form of tragedy or serious drama was predominant in the twentieth century?
domestic drama
Special effects include...
effects of scenery, lighting, sound, and props that seem unusual or even miraculous.
Of the following, which is not a requirement of costume design?
establish the spatial environment onstage
True or False: The crafts artist translates the look of the models, renderings, and paint elevations into full-scale paintings of the design.
false, that is the task of the scenic charge artist and scenic artists
True or False: The crafts artist translates the look of the models, renderings, and paint elevations into full-scale paintings of the design.
false; that is the task of the scenic charge artist and scenic artists
Types of comedy include...
farce, burlesque, satire, domestic comedy, comedy of manners, and comedy of ideas.
In the early nineteenth century, which type of lighting was installed in theatres?
gas lighting
Which of the following is likely not a topic of political theatre?
gun rights
Along with tragedy, other forms of serious drama include
heroic drama, domestic drama, and melodrama
There are two active components of European and British theatre. Of the following, which are the two components?
traditional and establishment, and alternative
Playwrights sometimes introduce a secondary character who may serve as a foil or counterpart to the main character. This best describes which of the following character types?
Contrasting character
___________ structure features many characters and many locales over many years, and sometimes it has subplots. People, places, and events proliferate. There may be a parallel plot or subplot that seeks to look at the central question of the play from different angles, causing juxtaposition and contrast to occur. Short scenes alternate with longer scenes and public scenes alternate with private scenes. The overall effect is cumulative.
Episodic
The effect of tragedy is seen in two contradictory responses. One is negative, seeing the world as cruel and uncompromising. The other...
is positive, finding optimism in the manner in which the heroes and heroines meet their fate with dignity
Of the following, which does the lighting designer develop to show the position of all the lighting instruments in the space?
light plot
The last element incorporated into theatre production was...
lighting
Amongst the other designers, whom does the costume designer need to work particularly closely with?
lighting designer
Which of the following is not a part of the scene designer's process?
plots
The main character in a play and his or her chief opponent are known as
protagonist and antagonist
Which of the following is not a function or objective of stage lighting?
provide a barrier between actors and audience
Of the following, which Western theatre forms influenced theatre in Asia?
realism and departures from realism
Of the following, which type of performance presents sketches and vignettes alternating with musical numbers? With no single storyline, this form sometimes revolves around a common theme rather than a traditional plot.
revue
Melodrama was a popular form during the eighteenth and ninetheenth centuries. The word "melodrama" has Greek roots meaning music drama and...
song drama
Which aspect of sound design has been present throughout theatre history?
sound effects
Of the following, which is an effective way to classify sound design?
sound reproduction and sound reinforcement
Of the character types below, which type is described as exemplifying "one characteristic to the exclusion of virtually everything else"?
stock
Which of the following is NOT a technique of comedy?
strong emphasis on suspense
It is common in comedy that actions do not have the consequences that they do in real life. This characteristic is known as
suspension of natural laws
Which of the following is not an element of design?
symmetry
Which of the following is a famous postmodernist theatre group?
the Wooster Group