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89 Cards in this Set

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  • Back
Who was Thespis?
The first known actor in a Greek drama.
What are the tree basic INGREDIENTS of theater?
1. What is performed.
2. The performance.
3. The audience.
What are the 5 SPECIAL QUALITIES OF THEATER
1) Lifelike
2) Ephemeral
3) Objective
4) Complexity of its means
5) Immediacy
As far back as we can trace human history, what is the name of the activity that uses all the elements of theater?
RITUAL
List 7 elements of theater that derive from ritual:
1. Performance space
2. Performers
3. Make-up or masks
4. Costumes
5. Music
6. Dance or movement
7. Audience
Explain Eric Bentley's definition ot theater: “A performs B for C”
A = the actor(s)
B = the play or event
C = the audience
As it relates to theater, explain Samuel Taylor Coleridge's term: “the willing suspension of disbelief”.
The audience tacitly agrees to view the performance as if it were not a conceit and happening for the first time. IT IMPLIES A TENSION BETWEEN BELIEVING AND KNOWING OTHERWISE.
When and where did western theater achieve its present identity:
In ancient Greece 2500 YEARS AGO
Who wrote “I CAN TAKE ANY EMPTY SPACE AND CALL IT A BARE STAGE. A MAN WALKS ACROSS THIE EMPTY SPACE WHILST SOMEONE ELSE IS WATCHING HIM, AND THIS IS ALL THAT IS NEEDED FOR AN ACT O F THEATRE TO BE ENGAGED”?
PETER BROOK in The Empty Space.
Give two examples of Fine Arts and two examples of Useful Arts.
FINE: LITERATURE, PAINTING, SCULPTURE, ARCHITECTURE, MUSIC AND DANCE, PHOTOGRAPHY & CINEMA.
USEFUL ART: MEDICAL ARTS, POLITICS, PERSUASION, SALES
What is the typical theater audience relationship?
Playwright to Director to Actors to Audience.
True or False: In theater, there is always an assurance that an Audience member's interpretation will accord with a Playwright's intention or a Director's interpretation if they do their jobs correctly.
LOOK IN YOUR NOTES
List five important differences between theater and film"
1. Theater does not have the use of close ups, camera angles and focus options and other camera work.
2. Theater is played straight through, beginning to end.
3. Theater is played to a live audience and in real time.
4. Performances will vary with every audience.
5. Mistakes in performance cannot be edited out.
Broadway Theaters are not-for-profit.
LOOK IN YOUR NOTES
Not-for-profit theaters measure success solely by ticket sales
LOOK IN YOUR NOTES
All minority theaters are non-profit.
LOOK IN YOUR NOTES
A critical perspective is necessary to enjoy theater.
LOOK IN YOUR NOTES
What two things does being analytical after a theater event engender?
Better communicates the experience to others, AND increases our understanding of the experience.
What three major questions is the theater critic primarily concerned with?
1. Understanding
2. Effectiveness and
3. Ultimate Worth
All theater directors must respect the playwright's intentions.
LOOK IN YOUR NOTES
Trained professional Theater critics will value a production for the same reasons.
LOOK IN YOUR NOTES
What is an AUTEUR-DIRECTOR?
Directors that may use the script as raw material to use for their “vision”.
What is the difference between DRAMA and THEATER?
The simple response is that drama is the printed text of a play while theatre refers to the actual production of the play.
UNLIKE: ESSAYS, BIOGRAPHIES, NOVELS, POEMS, A HISTORICAL TREATISE OR A FILM, A PLAY IS MADE UP MOSTLY OF _________
DIALOGUE
THE GREEK PHILOSOPHER ARISTOTLE [384BC – 322 BC] (DISCIPLE OF PLATO ) WROTE THE OLDEST EXTANT TREATISE ON DRAMA CALLED
THE POETICS
According to Aristotle, there are several methods of organizing Dramatic Action (most plays will use a combination of these with varying emphases): The three most common are:
1. PLOT
2. CHARACTER
3. THOUGHT
What is EXPOSITION in drama?
LOOK IN YOUR NOTES
What is PLOT in drama?
LOOK IN YOUR NOTES
What is the POINT OF ATTACK in a play?
The moment at which the story is taken up (vs. when the story begins).
What is the INCITING INCIDENT?
LOOK IN YOUR NOTES
What is an example of a MAJOR DRAMATIC QUESTION?
LOOK IN YOUR NOTES
What is the CLIMAX of a drama?
LOOK IN YOUR NOTES
What is meant by CRISIS in dramatic structure?
LOOK IN YOUR NOTES
What are BEATS or UNITS in a play?
Beginnings and endings of which are shifts in motivation or the introduction of new elements.
Where in the structure of a play does RESOLUTION OR DENOUEMENT begin and end?
LOOK IN YOUR NOTES
What is a SUBPLOT in a play?
Where events or actions of secondary interest are developed.
Can there ever be more than 3 subplots in a play?
LOOK IN YOUR NOTES
Name the four qualities of CHARACTERIZATION:
1) Biological or Physical
2) Societal
3) Psychological
4) Moral
A CHARACTER IS REVEALED IN SEVERAL WAYS: One way is through: DESCRIPTIONS IN STAGE DIRECTIONS, PREFACES OR OTHER MATERIAL NOT PART OF THE DIALOGUE. Name three other ways:
1) THROUGH WHAT THE CHARACTER SAYS.
2) THROUGH WHAT OTHERS SAY ABOUT HIM IN THE PLAY.
3) THROUGH WHAT HE DOES – HIS ACTIONS.
DRAMATIC CHARACTERS cannot be both TYPIFIED and INDIVIDUALIZED: true or false
LOOK IN YOUR NOTES
Characters in a play may be SYMPATHETIC or UNSYMPATHETIC. The most convincing are those that:
a) Have elements of both
b) Are sympathetic
c) Are unsympathetic
d) None of the above
a) Have elements of both
True or False: Playwrights always clearly state their themes in a play.
LOOK IN YOUR NOTES
True or False: There is always one correct interpretation of a play.
LOOK IN YOUR NOTES
True or False: By union (SSDC) rules, directors are always obligated to follow the author's intentions unless the author is dead.
LOOK IN YOUR NOTES
True or False: The Broadway production of a play sets the stage directions in stone. Everyone thereafter is obligated to use these stage directions printed in the official published script.
LOOK IN YOUR NOTES
Choose the correct answer: COMEDY/TRAGEDY/TRAGICOMEDY/THEATER OF THE ABSURD: arouses strong empathy for those who strive for integrity and dignity.
LOOK IN YOUR NOTES
THEATER IS A VERY ________________ PROCESS
COLLABORATIVE
Which form of drama requires an objective view from the audience to be successful: Tragedy, Comedy, Melodrama or Tragicomedy
LOOK IN YOUR NOTES
What is a FIRST DRAFT?
LOOK IN YOUR NOTES
Define briefly what are PREVIEWS:
Performances after Technical Rehearsals and before Opening Night where there is a paying audience but changes to all elements of the production are permitted.
Define OPENING NIGHT:
The first night CRITICS are permitted to review the play. The point after which usually no more changes take place in the production.
What is the function of a PRODUCTION DRAMATURGS in the U.S.?
Helps the director make decisions by asking questions or supplying information relevant to the production. Helps to clarify the goals of the production and the interpretation of the script.
What is the function of the LITERARY MANAGER?
Helps the playwright realize the vision they set out to embody (applies to non-profit theaters).
What is the question every Literary Manager asks herself before recommending a play for production?
LOOK IN YOUR NOTES
Where does the audience sit in relation to the stage in a PROSCENIUM theater?
LOOK IN YOUR NOTES
Where does the audience sit in relation to the stage in a THRUST THEATER?
LOOK IN YOUR NOTES
Where does the audience sit in relation to the stage in a IN THE ROUND theater?
LOOK IN YOUR NOTES
What is a FLEXIBLE SPACE?
A theater where the relationship of audience to playing area is changeable either during the show or for each show.
What are three characteristics of the theatrical space that influence both audience response and way production elements are used?
Formality
Size
Configuration.
What is a Greenroom?
LOOK IN YOUR NOTES
What is RAKE in theater.
LOOK IN YOUR NOTES
What is meant by the WINGS in a theater space?
LOOK IN YOUR NOTES
What is meant by FRONT OF HOUSE and BACK OF HOUSE?
LOOK IN YOUR NOTES
Define ACTOR:
An actor impersonates a character in a drama before an audience.
The six responsibilities of an actor:
1) Create the inner life of a character.
2) Speak clearly and project the voice. (Also singing)
3) Move on stage with ease and authority.
4) Wear costumes with poise and assurance.
5) Convey the playwright's and director's intentions regarding the character and the play.
6) Interact with other performers on stage.
True or False: Actors were always held in high regard by the populace and the authorities.
LOOK IN YOUR NOTES
What are the three main challenges for an actor:
1. Acquire the many physical and vocal skills that a stage performance requires.
2. Make characters believable.
3. Integrate these two.
The Stanislavski system incorporated nine techniques. Please list them:
1. RELAXATION: physical and vocal.
2. CONCENTRATION and OBSERVATION
3. IMPORTANCE OF SPECIFICS
4. INNER TRUTH
5. EMOTIONAL RECALL:
6. ACTION ONSTAGE:
7. THROUGH LINE of a role:
8. ENSEMBLE PLAYING:
9. VOICE and BODY
What does the "magic if" refer to in the Stanislavski System?
LOOK IN YOUR NOTES
What is a DIRECTORIAL CONCEPT?
An overall approach to the play.
What do most directors ask themselves before they begin rehearsals?
The director will ask what the author intended, how it can apply to today, to this audience.
What is BLOCKING in rehearsal?
When the director sets the actors' physical movement on stage.
What is a TECHNICAL REHEARSAL?
LOOK IN YOUR NOTES
What is a DRESS REHEARSAL?
LOOK IN YOUR NOTES
Define PREVIEWS?
LOOK IN YOUR NOTES
What are Sight Lines?
An uninterrupted line of view of the stage from the point of view of the audience.
True or False: The SCENIC DESIGNER and the SET DESIGNER have different functions:
FALSE They mean the same thing.
Yes or No: Does he absence of scenery constitute a set design?
YES it does. It is a purposeful choice.
What are the six OBJECTIVES of the Set Designer:
1. Helps set the tone and style of the production
2. Establishes the locale and period in which the play takes place
3. Develops a design concept consistent with the director's concept
4. Provides a central image or metaphor
5. Ensures that scenery is coordinated with other production elements
6. Solves practical design problems
What are the five PHYSICAL ASPECTS OF STAGE DESIGN (the set designer's tools):
PHYSICAL ASPECTS OF STAGE DESIGN
1. Line
2. Mass
3. Composition
4. Texture
5. Color
Define REALISM in theater?
REALISM in the theater means that everything connected with a production conforms to our observation of the world around us.
What is NONREALISM in theater?
NONREALISM in theater means all types of theater that depart from observable reality.
n order to convey information, the scene designer frequently develops a DESIGN CONCEPT. Give a definition.
The Design Concept is a unifying idea carried out visually.
True or False: The Design Concept should be developed independently from the Directorial Concept.
FALSE
When the Director asks the actor to move toward Stage Right, he means the actor should move to the right from the director's or the actor's point of view?
LOOK IN YOUR NOTES
What is a WAGON in scene design?
A movable platform, usually either on wheels, casters or a track.
Does the Set Designer collaborate with other designers on a production, or just with the Director?
The Set Designer collaborates with the Director AND other Designers.
What is a theater FLAT?
Flat pieces of theatrical scenery which are usually made of wood and painted cloth or canvas. They are positioned on stage to give the appearance of walls and other background.
What is a TURNTABLE in theatrical design?
A platform (usually round) that spins on itself.