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