Ch01
Student: ___________________________________________________________________________
1. The word "theatre" comes from the Greek theatron, which means
A. acting place.
B. seeing place.
C. singing place.
D. listening place.
2. What is the relationship between "child's play" and the theatre?
A. both are unconcerned with serious issues and only focus on having fun.
B. both can be easily categorized into different genres, such as comedy and tragedy.
C. both involve acting out different roles.
D. they are, in fact, nothing alike.
3. Which of the following is NOT a possible meaning of "theatre"?
A. the building where the play is performed.
B. the company of players.
C. the stage and backstage spaces.
D. the occupation of acting, directing, designing, building, crewing, managing, producing, and
playwriting.
4. The minimal requirement for a theatre "building" is
A. a platform and an orchestra pit.
B. a curtain and bleachers.
C. a director and actors.
D. a place to act and a place to watch.
5. One term for a long-standing, collective group of theatre practitioners who have worked together is
A. corporation.
B. collection.
C. troupe.
D. posse.
6. Which theatrical craft fits the following description? Technicians execute in proper sequence, and with
carefully rehearsed timing, the light and sound cues, the shifting of scenery, the placement and return of
properties, and the assignment, laundering, repair, and change of costumes.
A. stage managing
B. producing
C. directing
D. crewing
7. The task of securing all necessary personnel, space, and financing; supervising all production and
promotion efforts; fielding all legal matters; and distributing the proceeds derived from receipts falls to
the
A. stage manager.
B. producer.
C. director.
D. manager.
,8. The responsibilities for admitting, seating, and providing for the general comfort of the audience fall to
the
A. house manager.
B. producer.
C. director.
D. designer.
9. The person who controls and develops the artistic product and provides it with a unified vision is the
A. builder.
B. director.
C. producer.
D. stage manager.
10. Which of the following theatrical crafts is usually executed away from the theatre building and its
associated shops?
A. running
B. producing
C. stage managing
D. playwriting
11. Historically, theatres have developed in close relationship to
A. eating places.
B. medicinal baths.
C. sports activities.
D. political events.
12. While both theatre and sport are public spectacles, theatre differs from sports activities because
A. sports activities have more players.
B. theatre has a pre-ordained ending.
C. theatre has a central protagonist.
D. only sports involves conflict.
13. The distinctive feature of theatre, which separates it from other arts, is that theatre employs
A. impersonation.
B. verse.
C. scripts.
D. symbolism.
14. Theatre is an art because it
A. is not always enjoyable.
B. is always restricted by form.
C. combines emotions, intellect, and aesthetics.
D. provides an escape from life.
15. Denis Diderot's idea of the paradox of the actor states that onstage
A. the actor undertakes work to create something that is more akin to play.
B. while the actor performs a fictional story she/he believes in what she or his is doing.
C. the actor is in public yet self-absorbed.
D. while the actor disappears or seems lifeless, the simulated character seems to live.
16. The English word for person comes from the Latin word for
A. humor.
B. appearance.
C. mask.
D. outfit.
,17. In the ancient Greek theatre, what physical and symbolic element separated the actors from the audience?
A. The actors spoke in verse.
B. The actors wore masks.
C. The actors' names were printed in the program.
D. The actors danced in special costumes.
18. Which mode of performance makes the drama "dramatic" as opposed to simply theatrical, enabling the
audience to concentrate on the events that are being and not on their method of demonstration?
A. representational
B. presentational
C. transparent
D. imperative
19. Which mode of performance acknowledges the audience—as in the case of the nightclub performer who
sings, dances, jokes, and responds overtly to applause?
A. The soliciting mode.
B. The entertaining mode.
C. The presentational mode.
D. The representational mode.
20. The mode of performance in which the audience watches interactions that are staged as if no audience
were present at all is called
A. the presentational mode.
B. the representational mode.
C. the feigned mode.
D. the treacherous mode.
21. Coleridge's term for the audience participation engendered by way of empathy was
A. willing suspension of disbelief.
B. inadvertent involvement.
C. harmonic conversion.
D. synergy.
22. Theatrical performance differs from other kinds of performance because
A. the audience is charged an admission fee.
B. theatre is live, scripted, and rehearsed.
C. theatre employs dialect and scenery.
D. theatre uses actors.
23. Why did the playwright-director Bertolt Brecht use songs, signs, chalk talks, arguments, and slide
projections in his productions?
A. He wanted to encourage active audience participation through empathy.
B. He wanted to discourage stage "magic" in order to appeal to the audience directly about social issues.
C. He wanted to create a more realistic vision of life.
D. He had no specific intention but introduced these elements spontaneously, according to the inclinations
of his acting troupe.
24. How does a theatrical performance differ from a filmed performance?
A. The theatrical performance has a script whereas filmed performances are most often impromptu.
B. Regional dialect is more effectively used in film than in theatre.
C. Symbolism is far more important in theatrical performances than in film.
D The theatrical performance is live, with the audience and performers, who are aware of each other and
. mutually interact in their shared presence.
, 25. Which of the following is true of the relationship between the play script and the performance?
A. The script is a silhouette or outline of the play itself, which fully exists in performance only.
B The script is the master plan, containing indications of the gestures, expressions, and movement that the
. actors need to mount it faithfully.
C. Most scripts in the past were completed and published prior to the initial production.
D. Scripts in the past always emerged out of improvisations done prior to performance.
26. The rigid distinction between the acting space and the audience space came to be formalized when acting
became an unsavory, often illegal profession.
True False
27. Theatres built in Elizabethan London to accommodate both plays and bearbaiting provide an example of
the shared history of theatre and sport.
True False
28. Since the development of motion pictures, theatre has suffered declining attendance, revenues, and
numbers of theatres in America.
True False
29. The advantages of live performance include its two-way communication between audience and actors,
unification of group responses, and live immediacy which makes every show novel and different.
True False
30. Although the names and allocations of craft functions such as directing, producing, designing, and stage
managing have changed over the course of the theatre's history, the functions themselves have remained
fairly constant.
True False
31. Although films are recorded, we perceive them as having a greater immediacy than theatre due to the fact
that plays are rehearsed and repeated.
True False
32. Adult plays and children's games share the ability to help develop means of coping with life's challenges
and uncertainties.
True False
33. Theatre performances can elicit the audience's participation by arousing in the audience the feeling of
empathy.
True False
34. Like viewers of television drama and movie-house films, theatre audiences assume an essentially one-on-
one relationship with what is being viewed and do not communicate with other viewers.
True False
35. Performance is an action or series of actions taken for the ultimate benefit of the performers.
True False
36. Define impersonation and explain the moral and conceptual implications it holds for theatre. Why is
impersonation the heart of theatre? How does the actor cope with the implied split in self? Incorporate
Denis Diderot's remarks about the actor's paradox into your answer.
Student: ___________________________________________________________________________
1. The word "theatre" comes from the Greek theatron, which means
A. acting place.
B. seeing place.
C. singing place.
D. listening place.
2. What is the relationship between "child's play" and the theatre?
A. both are unconcerned with serious issues and only focus on having fun.
B. both can be easily categorized into different genres, such as comedy and tragedy.
C. both involve acting out different roles.
D. they are, in fact, nothing alike.
3. Which of the following is NOT a possible meaning of "theatre"?
A. the building where the play is performed.
B. the company of players.
C. the stage and backstage spaces.
D. the occupation of acting, directing, designing, building, crewing, managing, producing, and
playwriting.
4. The minimal requirement for a theatre "building" is
A. a platform and an orchestra pit.
B. a curtain and bleachers.
C. a director and actors.
D. a place to act and a place to watch.
5. One term for a long-standing, collective group of theatre practitioners who have worked together is
A. corporation.
B. collection.
C. troupe.
D. posse.
6. Which theatrical craft fits the following description? Technicians execute in proper sequence, and with
carefully rehearsed timing, the light and sound cues, the shifting of scenery, the placement and return of
properties, and the assignment, laundering, repair, and change of costumes.
A. stage managing
B. producing
C. directing
D. crewing
7. The task of securing all necessary personnel, space, and financing; supervising all production and
promotion efforts; fielding all legal matters; and distributing the proceeds derived from receipts falls to
the
A. stage manager.
B. producer.
C. director.
D. manager.
,8. The responsibilities for admitting, seating, and providing for the general comfort of the audience fall to
the
A. house manager.
B. producer.
C. director.
D. designer.
9. The person who controls and develops the artistic product and provides it with a unified vision is the
A. builder.
B. director.
C. producer.
D. stage manager.
10. Which of the following theatrical crafts is usually executed away from the theatre building and its
associated shops?
A. running
B. producing
C. stage managing
D. playwriting
11. Historically, theatres have developed in close relationship to
A. eating places.
B. medicinal baths.
C. sports activities.
D. political events.
12. While both theatre and sport are public spectacles, theatre differs from sports activities because
A. sports activities have more players.
B. theatre has a pre-ordained ending.
C. theatre has a central protagonist.
D. only sports involves conflict.
13. The distinctive feature of theatre, which separates it from other arts, is that theatre employs
A. impersonation.
B. verse.
C. scripts.
D. symbolism.
14. Theatre is an art because it
A. is not always enjoyable.
B. is always restricted by form.
C. combines emotions, intellect, and aesthetics.
D. provides an escape from life.
15. Denis Diderot's idea of the paradox of the actor states that onstage
A. the actor undertakes work to create something that is more akin to play.
B. while the actor performs a fictional story she/he believes in what she or his is doing.
C. the actor is in public yet self-absorbed.
D. while the actor disappears or seems lifeless, the simulated character seems to live.
16. The English word for person comes from the Latin word for
A. humor.
B. appearance.
C. mask.
D. outfit.
,17. In the ancient Greek theatre, what physical and symbolic element separated the actors from the audience?
A. The actors spoke in verse.
B. The actors wore masks.
C. The actors' names were printed in the program.
D. The actors danced in special costumes.
18. Which mode of performance makes the drama "dramatic" as opposed to simply theatrical, enabling the
audience to concentrate on the events that are being and not on their method of demonstration?
A. representational
B. presentational
C. transparent
D. imperative
19. Which mode of performance acknowledges the audience—as in the case of the nightclub performer who
sings, dances, jokes, and responds overtly to applause?
A. The soliciting mode.
B. The entertaining mode.
C. The presentational mode.
D. The representational mode.
20. The mode of performance in which the audience watches interactions that are staged as if no audience
were present at all is called
A. the presentational mode.
B. the representational mode.
C. the feigned mode.
D. the treacherous mode.
21. Coleridge's term for the audience participation engendered by way of empathy was
A. willing suspension of disbelief.
B. inadvertent involvement.
C. harmonic conversion.
D. synergy.
22. Theatrical performance differs from other kinds of performance because
A. the audience is charged an admission fee.
B. theatre is live, scripted, and rehearsed.
C. theatre employs dialect and scenery.
D. theatre uses actors.
23. Why did the playwright-director Bertolt Brecht use songs, signs, chalk talks, arguments, and slide
projections in his productions?
A. He wanted to encourage active audience participation through empathy.
B. He wanted to discourage stage "magic" in order to appeal to the audience directly about social issues.
C. He wanted to create a more realistic vision of life.
D. He had no specific intention but introduced these elements spontaneously, according to the inclinations
of his acting troupe.
24. How does a theatrical performance differ from a filmed performance?
A. The theatrical performance has a script whereas filmed performances are most often impromptu.
B. Regional dialect is more effectively used in film than in theatre.
C. Symbolism is far more important in theatrical performances than in film.
D The theatrical performance is live, with the audience and performers, who are aware of each other and
. mutually interact in their shared presence.
, 25. Which of the following is true of the relationship between the play script and the performance?
A. The script is a silhouette or outline of the play itself, which fully exists in performance only.
B The script is the master plan, containing indications of the gestures, expressions, and movement that the
. actors need to mount it faithfully.
C. Most scripts in the past were completed and published prior to the initial production.
D. Scripts in the past always emerged out of improvisations done prior to performance.
26. The rigid distinction between the acting space and the audience space came to be formalized when acting
became an unsavory, often illegal profession.
True False
27. Theatres built in Elizabethan London to accommodate both plays and bearbaiting provide an example of
the shared history of theatre and sport.
True False
28. Since the development of motion pictures, theatre has suffered declining attendance, revenues, and
numbers of theatres in America.
True False
29. The advantages of live performance include its two-way communication between audience and actors,
unification of group responses, and live immediacy which makes every show novel and different.
True False
30. Although the names and allocations of craft functions such as directing, producing, designing, and stage
managing have changed over the course of the theatre's history, the functions themselves have remained
fairly constant.
True False
31. Although films are recorded, we perceive them as having a greater immediacy than theatre due to the fact
that plays are rehearsed and repeated.
True False
32. Adult plays and children's games share the ability to help develop means of coping with life's challenges
and uncertainties.
True False
33. Theatre performances can elicit the audience's participation by arousing in the audience the feeling of
empathy.
True False
34. Like viewers of television drama and movie-house films, theatre audiences assume an essentially one-on-
one relationship with what is being viewed and do not communicate with other viewers.
True False
35. Performance is an action or series of actions taken for the ultimate benefit of the performers.
True False
36. Define impersonation and explain the moral and conceptual implications it holds for theatre. Why is
impersonation the heart of theatre? How does the actor cope with the implied split in self? Incorporate
Denis Diderot's remarks about the actor's paradox into your answer.
