Theater exam 3 questions with verified
answers
nonrealism - ANS ✔✔a theatrical style that offers a way of interpreting human experience
different from the illusion of daily life created by realism. some styles are expressionism,
symbolism, and surrealism. these styles emphasize bold theatrical imagery and gestural acting.
theatricalize - ANS ✔✔a style of playwriting or theatrical production that makes bold use of the
resources of the theatre. it is nonrealistic and employs vivid imagery and heightened language
to express the playwrights meaning. plays produced in this style frequently call attention to the
mechanics of the theatre itself.
often concerned with expressing the interior journey of characters
interactive with the audience
Representational staging - ANS ✔✔the creation of a complete, realistic illusion on the stage that
makes audience members forget that they are in the theatre
presentational staging - ANS ✔✔staging that makes obvious use of the theatre's resources,
demands more of the audiences imagination, used in nonrealistic theater
German expressionism - ANS ✔✔-an artistic movement in the visual and performing arts that
prevailed in Germany from 1905 to 1922; it merged aesthetic and political views
-inspired Japanese form: Butoh
-infused with a sense of anguish, theater performances were a cry for humanitarianism to
replace the brutality they saw around them
ex: metropolis by German Filmmaker Fritz Lang
,expressionism - ANS ✔✔-a theatrical style that uses exaggeration and distortion in both design
and acting to reflect the interior world of the characters
-reaches truths beyond/underneath reality
-grotesque
-follows protagonist
-reflects interior world of characters
inner monologues - ANS ✔✔the unspoken thoughts that accompany an actor's lines in method
acting. the actor responds to the character's situation with a stream of spontaneous thoughts as
if the actor were in the character's place.
subtext - ANS ✔✔the thoughts and feelings of the character that are unspoken but expressed
through gesture, facial expression, and phrasing.
epic theater - ANS ✔✔a theatrical style that emphasizes a historical approach to the subject
and uses an episodic structure. this theatre also uses devices such as songs and signs to
interrupt the action of the play so that emotional distance is created
catharsis - ANS ✔✔element of tragedy: the release of emotion experienced by audience
members watching a play. aristotle understood this emotional release to be one of the essential
elements of the experience of watching a tragedy
alienation effect - ANS ✔✔the Brechtian idea of distancing the audience from a performance
through breaks in the narrative and the suspense to promote critical awareness, made the
performance strange, mechanics were exposed
acting in quotes - ANS ✔✔the Brechtian concept of acting in which actors comment on the
actions of the characters they are playing rather than maintain continuous identification with
the character
, theatre of the absurd - ANS ✔✔-Plays that focus on the lack of meaning in human existence,
such as those written by Samuel Beckett, Eugene Ionesco, and Jean Genet
-1950s
-existentialist
-reaction to the atrocities of wwII
total theatre - ANS ✔✔a theatrical style that integrates sound, words, movement, light, music,
and color to create a performance that emphasizes gesture and imagery as much as or more
than language
avant-garde - ANS ✔✔New ideas of drama and performance that push back boundaries and
challenge the assumptions of accepted theatre traditions.
cross-gender casting - ANS ✔✔The casting of actors of the opposite sex in roles written for
either men or women. In many early theaters, men played the roles of women characters. In
recent productions, this has been used as a strategy to explore issues of gender identity.
nontraditional casting - ANS ✔✔The casting of actors of different racial backgrounds in plays
that were written for a nonpluralistic society, such as the plays of Shakespeare.
dramaturg - ANS ✔✔A theatre practitioner concerned with selecting plays for a theatre
company, working with playwrights on the development of new scripts, and working with
directors on research issues.
musical theatre - ANS ✔✔A form of theatre in which dialogue, singing, and dance are integrated
to communicate character and plot.
book - ANS ✔✔The scripted action and dialogue of a musical- as distinguished from the music
and lyrics of the songs.
answers
nonrealism - ANS ✔✔a theatrical style that offers a way of interpreting human experience
different from the illusion of daily life created by realism. some styles are expressionism,
symbolism, and surrealism. these styles emphasize bold theatrical imagery and gestural acting.
theatricalize - ANS ✔✔a style of playwriting or theatrical production that makes bold use of the
resources of the theatre. it is nonrealistic and employs vivid imagery and heightened language
to express the playwrights meaning. plays produced in this style frequently call attention to the
mechanics of the theatre itself.
often concerned with expressing the interior journey of characters
interactive with the audience
Representational staging - ANS ✔✔the creation of a complete, realistic illusion on the stage that
makes audience members forget that they are in the theatre
presentational staging - ANS ✔✔staging that makes obvious use of the theatre's resources,
demands more of the audiences imagination, used in nonrealistic theater
German expressionism - ANS ✔✔-an artistic movement in the visual and performing arts that
prevailed in Germany from 1905 to 1922; it merged aesthetic and political views
-inspired Japanese form: Butoh
-infused with a sense of anguish, theater performances were a cry for humanitarianism to
replace the brutality they saw around them
ex: metropolis by German Filmmaker Fritz Lang
,expressionism - ANS ✔✔-a theatrical style that uses exaggeration and distortion in both design
and acting to reflect the interior world of the characters
-reaches truths beyond/underneath reality
-grotesque
-follows protagonist
-reflects interior world of characters
inner monologues - ANS ✔✔the unspoken thoughts that accompany an actor's lines in method
acting. the actor responds to the character's situation with a stream of spontaneous thoughts as
if the actor were in the character's place.
subtext - ANS ✔✔the thoughts and feelings of the character that are unspoken but expressed
through gesture, facial expression, and phrasing.
epic theater - ANS ✔✔a theatrical style that emphasizes a historical approach to the subject
and uses an episodic structure. this theatre also uses devices such as songs and signs to
interrupt the action of the play so that emotional distance is created
catharsis - ANS ✔✔element of tragedy: the release of emotion experienced by audience
members watching a play. aristotle understood this emotional release to be one of the essential
elements of the experience of watching a tragedy
alienation effect - ANS ✔✔the Brechtian idea of distancing the audience from a performance
through breaks in the narrative and the suspense to promote critical awareness, made the
performance strange, mechanics were exposed
acting in quotes - ANS ✔✔the Brechtian concept of acting in which actors comment on the
actions of the characters they are playing rather than maintain continuous identification with
the character
, theatre of the absurd - ANS ✔✔-Plays that focus on the lack of meaning in human existence,
such as those written by Samuel Beckett, Eugene Ionesco, and Jean Genet
-1950s
-existentialist
-reaction to the atrocities of wwII
total theatre - ANS ✔✔a theatrical style that integrates sound, words, movement, light, music,
and color to create a performance that emphasizes gesture and imagery as much as or more
than language
avant-garde - ANS ✔✔New ideas of drama and performance that push back boundaries and
challenge the assumptions of accepted theatre traditions.
cross-gender casting - ANS ✔✔The casting of actors of the opposite sex in roles written for
either men or women. In many early theaters, men played the roles of women characters. In
recent productions, this has been used as a strategy to explore issues of gender identity.
nontraditional casting - ANS ✔✔The casting of actors of different racial backgrounds in plays
that were written for a nonpluralistic society, such as the plays of Shakespeare.
dramaturg - ANS ✔✔A theatre practitioner concerned with selecting plays for a theatre
company, working with playwrights on the development of new scripts, and working with
directors on research issues.
musical theatre - ANS ✔✔A form of theatre in which dialogue, singing, and dance are integrated
to communicate character and plot.
book - ANS ✔✔The scripted action and dialogue of a musical- as distinguished from the music
and lyrics of the songs.
