Theater MTEL Exam Questions with
Verified Solutions
Preview - ANS-Holding a performance outside of the actual production venue in order to
solicit ideas for improving a show before its opening.
Foreshadowing - ANS-Foreshadowing hints to the audience what will happen later on in
the play. Two examples include Ibsen's Hedda Gabler. Hedda commits suicide in the
play and plays with a gun in a earlier scene. In Shakespeare's Macbeth, the witches
speak in rhyme about events to come.
An early form of Greco-Roman comedy called "mime." - ANS-Actors combined dialogue
with dancing and suggestive gestures, paving the way for later versions of "mime"
where actors communicate only with gestures, movements, and facial expressions,
rather than sound or speech.
Apron Stage - ANS-Another name for Thrust stage. Seats audience on the sides of the
platform.
Kabuki Theater - ANS-Began in Japan in the late 16th Century. Addresses injustices
faced by the merchant class. Originally, actors were women, but females were banned
in 1629 by the government.
Bunraku - ANS-Japanese puppet theatre
Quarter - ANS-Shouted to actors by stage management backstage 15 minutes a show
starts.
Half - ANS-Shouted to actors by stage management backstage 30 minutes a show
starts.
Prompt Book - ANS-A copy of the script, usually kept by the Stage Manager, that
includes all the actors' movements and tech cues.
Prompt Side - ANS-The side of the stage where the prompt corner is and where the
prompter stands ready to give lines and cues. It is usually on the left side.
OP - ANS-Stands for "opposite prompt" - the side of the stage opposite from the prompt
corner.
, Noise Gate - ANS-Used to decrease background noise by keeping sound level. This is
achieved by muting or increasing a signal relative to changes in volume.
Overlay - ANS-When there are two followspots on an actor, this is the wider of the two.
Examples of Shakespearean "Problem Plays" - ANS-All's Well That Ends Well, Troilus
and Cressida, Measure for Measure
Tramp Migratory - ANS-An American clown type - finds work everywhere he goes.
Hobo Migratory - ANS-Am American clown type - Travels, but does not work.
Bum - ANS-An American clown type - Doesn't travel and doesn't work.
Mise-En-Scene - ANS-Everything placed on a stage to be part of the performance.
Includes actors, scenery, lighting, props, costumes, etc. Some feel it is so all
encompassing that it can be used to describe the overall theme of a piece.
Contra-Auguste Character - ANS-Mediator between the whiteface clown and the
Auguste character. Lower status than the whiteface clown, but higher status than the
Auguste. Social climber. Often employed by the whiteface clown to correct the Auguste.
Auguste Character - ANS-An anarchist, a joker or a fool. He is clever, but of lower
status than a whiteface clown. Often takes orders from the whiteface clown, but has
trouble executing tasks or purposefully does not execute them.
Antistrophe - ANS-When the chorus responds to the previous verse in Greek drama.
Not generally used in contemporary theater.
Apostrophe - ANS-A character addresses an abstract thing/person not on stage (e.g.
god, the fates)
Soliloquy - ANS-Character speaks his/her thoughts outloud to him/herself.
Syllogism - ANS-Three-step method (major-premise, minor premise, conclusion) of
deductive reasoning that should present a sound argument. Major premise is a
generalization, while the minor premise is a specific example. A conclusion is drawn by
applying a generalization to a specific case. (e.g. if all theater is awesome, then this
play must also be awesome). If either premise is untrue, the argument is undone. (e.g. it
is subjective that all theater is awesome).
Straw Man Fallacy - ANS-Oversimplification or distortion of opposing viewpoints. If your
argument is very weak, it will be overturned.
Proletcult - ANS-Russian theatrical movement from 1917 that strove to create theater
without any bourgeois influence. Also known as the "theater of attractions" since it drew
Verified Solutions
Preview - ANS-Holding a performance outside of the actual production venue in order to
solicit ideas for improving a show before its opening.
Foreshadowing - ANS-Foreshadowing hints to the audience what will happen later on in
the play. Two examples include Ibsen's Hedda Gabler. Hedda commits suicide in the
play and plays with a gun in a earlier scene. In Shakespeare's Macbeth, the witches
speak in rhyme about events to come.
An early form of Greco-Roman comedy called "mime." - ANS-Actors combined dialogue
with dancing and suggestive gestures, paving the way for later versions of "mime"
where actors communicate only with gestures, movements, and facial expressions,
rather than sound or speech.
Apron Stage - ANS-Another name for Thrust stage. Seats audience on the sides of the
platform.
Kabuki Theater - ANS-Began in Japan in the late 16th Century. Addresses injustices
faced by the merchant class. Originally, actors were women, but females were banned
in 1629 by the government.
Bunraku - ANS-Japanese puppet theatre
Quarter - ANS-Shouted to actors by stage management backstage 15 minutes a show
starts.
Half - ANS-Shouted to actors by stage management backstage 30 minutes a show
starts.
Prompt Book - ANS-A copy of the script, usually kept by the Stage Manager, that
includes all the actors' movements and tech cues.
Prompt Side - ANS-The side of the stage where the prompt corner is and where the
prompter stands ready to give lines and cues. It is usually on the left side.
OP - ANS-Stands for "opposite prompt" - the side of the stage opposite from the prompt
corner.
, Noise Gate - ANS-Used to decrease background noise by keeping sound level. This is
achieved by muting or increasing a signal relative to changes in volume.
Overlay - ANS-When there are two followspots on an actor, this is the wider of the two.
Examples of Shakespearean "Problem Plays" - ANS-All's Well That Ends Well, Troilus
and Cressida, Measure for Measure
Tramp Migratory - ANS-An American clown type - finds work everywhere he goes.
Hobo Migratory - ANS-Am American clown type - Travels, but does not work.
Bum - ANS-An American clown type - Doesn't travel and doesn't work.
Mise-En-Scene - ANS-Everything placed on a stage to be part of the performance.
Includes actors, scenery, lighting, props, costumes, etc. Some feel it is so all
encompassing that it can be used to describe the overall theme of a piece.
Contra-Auguste Character - ANS-Mediator between the whiteface clown and the
Auguste character. Lower status than the whiteface clown, but higher status than the
Auguste. Social climber. Often employed by the whiteface clown to correct the Auguste.
Auguste Character - ANS-An anarchist, a joker or a fool. He is clever, but of lower
status than a whiteface clown. Often takes orders from the whiteface clown, but has
trouble executing tasks or purposefully does not execute them.
Antistrophe - ANS-When the chorus responds to the previous verse in Greek drama.
Not generally used in contemporary theater.
Apostrophe - ANS-A character addresses an abstract thing/person not on stage (e.g.
god, the fates)
Soliloquy - ANS-Character speaks his/her thoughts outloud to him/herself.
Syllogism - ANS-Three-step method (major-premise, minor premise, conclusion) of
deductive reasoning that should present a sound argument. Major premise is a
generalization, while the minor premise is a specific example. A conclusion is drawn by
applying a generalization to a specific case. (e.g. if all theater is awesome, then this
play must also be awesome). If either premise is untrue, the argument is undone. (e.g. it
is subjective that all theater is awesome).
Straw Man Fallacy - ANS-Oversimplification or distortion of opposing viewpoints. If your
argument is very weak, it will be overturned.
Proletcult - ANS-Russian theatrical movement from 1917 that strove to create theater
without any bourgeois influence. Also known as the "theater of attractions" since it drew
