TD 301 EXAM 1 REVIEW | QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
| 2025/2026 UPDATE | RATED 100% CORRECT
What does David Wiles ask about theatre? Answer - He asks if theatre is a
mimetic event or a social event.
Mimesis Answer - Imitation, the representation or imitation of the real world
in a work of art, literature, etc.
Social Event Answer - 1. Of a person: friendly or affable in company; disposed
to conversation and sociable activities; sociable.
2. Of a group of people consisting or composed of people associated together
for friendly interaction or companionship.
Formula from Marvin Carlson on Storytelling Answer - "A impersonates B while
C looks on"-Eric Bentley
Better description would be
"A imitates B performing an action while C looks on.
Lacking in the A, B, C formulation is audience is not only in a relationship to the
stage but also in a relationship with the audience around them.
Keywords Answer - Process
,Human Body
Represent
Action
Relationships
Community
Interaction
Positive
What does Marvin Carlson emphasize on the first page? Answer - He
emphasizes stories and how there's always some reason for an impersonation.
Carlson doesn't talk about C much in his two formulas from "A impersonates B
while C looks on" Answer - Who is the audience?
The while helps us think about audience. Also helps us how to connect the
audience to the larger world.
Citizenship is about a connection among people.
Lacking in the A, B, C formulation is audience is not only in a relationship to the
stage but also in a relationship with the audience around them.
He's reiterating the complexity is reiterated with being with other people.
Main Points from Carlson Answer - • Two key points about community
• Idea of community is essential to A, B, and C as there is a community of
actors and audiences.
,• Communities are not just communities of family but also communities with
people you may have never met before.
• Theatre involves politics, social stuff, and aesthetics. If you focus on one area,
you wouldn't be able to recognize all the other stuff that comes from the other
aspects.
How to "Read" Performance? Answer - Describe, Analyze, and Interpret
Who is Dionysus? Answer - The god of wine, drunkenness, madness, ecstasy,
masks, and impersonation.
He came from East Asia and was always celebrated as a foreign god adopted by
Greece.
City of Dionysia in the theatre Answer - -Ritual Purification of the space by the
high priest.
-Libation by ten most important citizens.
-Benefactors names announced and they are given gold crowns.
-Display of tribute from subject allies.
-During Peloponnesian War, presentation of suits and armor to orphans of
dead citizens.
Pompe Answer - The procession (Greek pompe) was a vital part of ancient
Greek ritual involving the movement of ritually important individuals, artifacts
(hiera), and/or sacrificial animals to and from a sacred destination. Processions
are most often associated with polis festivals, although they are also vital to
some mystery religions.
Procession brings statue. Parade into Dionysia. Occurs first day of festival.
, A public procession (pompe) set forth, in which Dionysus' image was paraded
through the streets of Athens in a ship driven on wheels.
Like a vase painting of Dionysus conveyed to orchestra.
What is proagon? Answer - The occasion prior to the opening of the Great
Dionysia dramatic festival in Athens at which the playwright/director of a
tragedy could announce and inform his potential audience the topic of his
forthcoming play and what changes he had made in his own new version of an
old myth.
In Chapter Two "Athens" of Theatre and Citizenship, which play does David
Wiles discuss at length? Answer - The Frogs
The worship of which Greek god was an act of Athenian citizenship, according
to David Wiles? Answer - Dionysus
Aristotle's 6 Elements of Tragedy Answer - 1. Plot
2. Character
3. Theme/Idea
4. Language/Diction
5. Music
6. Spectacle (Visual Adornment)
Plot(Structuring of Incidents) Answer - Stasis, Inciting Incident, Rising Action,
Climax, and Resolution.
What is peripety according to Aristotle? Answer - According to Aristotle, a shift
from the course of what is undertaken to the opposite.
| 2025/2026 UPDATE | RATED 100% CORRECT
What does David Wiles ask about theatre? Answer - He asks if theatre is a
mimetic event or a social event.
Mimesis Answer - Imitation, the representation or imitation of the real world
in a work of art, literature, etc.
Social Event Answer - 1. Of a person: friendly or affable in company; disposed
to conversation and sociable activities; sociable.
2. Of a group of people consisting or composed of people associated together
for friendly interaction or companionship.
Formula from Marvin Carlson on Storytelling Answer - "A impersonates B while
C looks on"-Eric Bentley
Better description would be
"A imitates B performing an action while C looks on.
Lacking in the A, B, C formulation is audience is not only in a relationship to the
stage but also in a relationship with the audience around them.
Keywords Answer - Process
,Human Body
Represent
Action
Relationships
Community
Interaction
Positive
What does Marvin Carlson emphasize on the first page? Answer - He
emphasizes stories and how there's always some reason for an impersonation.
Carlson doesn't talk about C much in his two formulas from "A impersonates B
while C looks on" Answer - Who is the audience?
The while helps us think about audience. Also helps us how to connect the
audience to the larger world.
Citizenship is about a connection among people.
Lacking in the A, B, C formulation is audience is not only in a relationship to the
stage but also in a relationship with the audience around them.
He's reiterating the complexity is reiterated with being with other people.
Main Points from Carlson Answer - • Two key points about community
• Idea of community is essential to A, B, and C as there is a community of
actors and audiences.
,• Communities are not just communities of family but also communities with
people you may have never met before.
• Theatre involves politics, social stuff, and aesthetics. If you focus on one area,
you wouldn't be able to recognize all the other stuff that comes from the other
aspects.
How to "Read" Performance? Answer - Describe, Analyze, and Interpret
Who is Dionysus? Answer - The god of wine, drunkenness, madness, ecstasy,
masks, and impersonation.
He came from East Asia and was always celebrated as a foreign god adopted by
Greece.
City of Dionysia in the theatre Answer - -Ritual Purification of the space by the
high priest.
-Libation by ten most important citizens.
-Benefactors names announced and they are given gold crowns.
-Display of tribute from subject allies.
-During Peloponnesian War, presentation of suits and armor to orphans of
dead citizens.
Pompe Answer - The procession (Greek pompe) was a vital part of ancient
Greek ritual involving the movement of ritually important individuals, artifacts
(hiera), and/or sacrificial animals to and from a sacred destination. Processions
are most often associated with polis festivals, although they are also vital to
some mystery religions.
Procession brings statue. Parade into Dionysia. Occurs first day of festival.
, A public procession (pompe) set forth, in which Dionysus' image was paraded
through the streets of Athens in a ship driven on wheels.
Like a vase painting of Dionysus conveyed to orchestra.
What is proagon? Answer - The occasion prior to the opening of the Great
Dionysia dramatic festival in Athens at which the playwright/director of a
tragedy could announce and inform his potential audience the topic of his
forthcoming play and what changes he had made in his own new version of an
old myth.
In Chapter Two "Athens" of Theatre and Citizenship, which play does David
Wiles discuss at length? Answer - The Frogs
The worship of which Greek god was an act of Athenian citizenship, according
to David Wiles? Answer - Dionysus
Aristotle's 6 Elements of Tragedy Answer - 1. Plot
2. Character
3. Theme/Idea
4. Language/Diction
5. Music
6. Spectacle (Visual Adornment)
Plot(Structuring of Incidents) Answer - Stasis, Inciting Incident, Rising Action,
Climax, and Resolution.
What is peripety according to Aristotle? Answer - According to Aristotle, a shift
from the course of what is undertaken to the opposite.
