Exam 3/ Final Set

Question 1

The Art of Acting

Answer 1

imitating and representing specific or imaginary human beings and their actions through intellectual, psychological, and emotional exploration

Question 2

Skills needed to be an actor

Answer 2

ability to memorize quickly and correctly; training/technique; understands the importance of research (vital to character preparation); knows how to improvise (allows the actor to investigate different characteristics of a role; excellent concentration/being PRESENT; a thick skin (enduring a lot of rejections)

Question 3

Auditioning

Answer 3

the professional actor rarely stops auditioning throughout his/her career; it is the job of the actor to audition

Question 4

What are the facets of voice training?

Answer 4

vocal variety; projection; articulation; dialects; the breath

Question 5

Vocal Variety

Answer 5

use different pitches so as to not sound monotone

Question 6

Projection

Answer 6

so the people in the nose bleed section can hear you without a microphone

Question 7

Articulation

Answer 7

no marble mouths

Question 8

Dialects

Answer 8

What happens if you are a Northerner living in the south? You learn the dialect

Question 9

The Breath

Answer 9

learning how to breath correctly is the cornerstone of all acting techniques

Question 10

What can an actor do to remain healthy during a physically demanding show that runs eight time a week?

Answer 10

rest, workout/yoga, vitamins/supplements, no partying, drinking lots and lots of water

Question 11

Representational

Answer 11

attempts to portray real life; audience observes actors on stage and actors make no interaction with them (4th wall); follow a clear linear structure (beginning middle and end); realistic and familiar dialogue; realistic setting

Question 12

Konstantin Stanislavski

Answer 12

the father of all acting techniques; began the Moscow Art Theatre in 1898; created a common language for sharing the acting process between director and actor; stressed the importance of psychological exploration of character; most teachers have taken the basic points of his work and added additional methods

Question 13

What is training of the actor also known as?

Answer 13

technique

Question 14

Famous acting teacher who was influenced by Stanislavski

Answer 14

Michael Chekhov, Uta Hagen, Lee Strasberg, Stella Adler, Sanford Meisner

Question 15

The Stanislavski System

Answer 15

much of Stanislavskis technique centers around Given Circumstances and The Magic If

Question 16

Given Circumstances

Answer 16

the first step towards doing this is going through the play and writing down all the facts about your character you can find; once you have found out everything you can about your Given Circumstances, you should have lots of material to help you to start understanding your character

Question 17

Example of Given Circumstances questions to ask

Answer 17

Where am I?, When is it?, Who am I?, What relationships do I have?, What has happened before the play started?

Question 18

The Magic If

Answer 18

Stanislavski describes the Magic If as being able to imagine a characters Given Circumstances enough to understand what that character might do in any situation that arises; so when something happens to your character in the play you can understand how they would respond because you know so much about the world that they exist in

Question 19

Lee Strasberg and “The Method”

Answer 19

Strasbergs method requires actors to go beyond emotional memory and use a technique called “substitution” to temporarily become the characters they are portraying; Method acting dictates that actors should prepare for a role by immersing themselves as much as possible in the circumstances of their characters

Question 20

Famous actors that use “The Method”

Answer 20

Heath Ledger as the Joker (probably the most famous); Daniel Day Lewis; Forest Whitaker; Rooney Mara; Christian Bale

Question 21

Rehearsal Schedule at the Professional and University Level

Answer 21

Professional Level (Broadway)- 8 hours a day, 6 days per week for 3 weeks; off on sundays
University Level- at UWG, 6:30-10pm Monday-Friday and Saturday 1-4:30pm; rehearsals last anywhere from 5-9 weeks; off on sundays

Question 22

How might you begin rehearsing a Shakespeare play, musical, or “Straight” play

Answer 22

Shakespeare- might spend the first week dissecting the text; Musical- might begin by staging the choreography or rehearse the songs/music; “Straight”- might begin by doing a table read, then put it on its feet after a week or two

Question 23

“Straight” Play

Answer 23

a non-musical play

Question 24

Ground Plan

Answer 24

a birds eye view of the stage that shows all doors, stairs, furniture, entrances/exits

Question 25

Tape Out

Answer 25

is done so that everyone knows where they are going before they get on the actual set

Question 26

What does the stage manager do with the set designers ground plan?

Answer 26

uses it to “tape out” the rehearsal room

Question 27

Stage directions are recorded by the stage manager

Answer 27

this is done just in case the director is out for a rehearsal; in musicals, if a performer injures themself, understudies will step in and they need to know what they are doing

Question 28

Technical Rehearsal

Answer 28

focuses on the technological aspects (lights, props, special effects, sound, costumes) of the performance; will run through the entire production from beginning to end; stage manager, designers, and director will run whats known as a “cue-to-cue”; stage manager and running crew will fine tune “scene shifts” (aka Scene Changes); technical rehearsals are the final phase of the rehearsal process

Question 29

Cue to Cue

Answer 29

meant specifically to time and fine tune all the cues, putting lights and sound together with scenery and costumes for the first time; performers are present and the acting takes a backseat

Question 30

Dress Rehearsal

Answer 30

costumes are added; once the costumes have been added the play should be ready for an audience

Question 31

Previews

Answer 31

performances that allow the director and crew to make changes, fix problems and make adjustments before critics are invited to attend; critics are never allowed to attend previews especially on Broadway

Question 32

Proscenium Stage/Space/Theatre

Answer 32

what we usually think of as a “theatre”; its primary feature is the proscenium, a “picture frame” placed around the front of the playing area of an end stage

Question 33

The Wings

Answer 33

spaces of either side of the stage; used for storage of scenic elements, props, and other equipment until they are needed on stage; actors, before they go on stage, are usually “waiting in the wings”

Question 34

Thrust Space

Answer 34

performance space in which the stage breaks through and extends well past the proscenium arch; reaches out into the auditorium, so that it is surronded on 3 sides by the audience; makes a dynamic performance space; stage is flexible: the length, size, and shape of the thrust can be altered to suit the needs of each production

Question 35

Thrust Spaces in history

Answer 35

thousands of years old and is the oldest known type of fixed staging; ancient greek amphitheaters had a thrust configuration; type of stage at the old Globe Theatre in London where many of shakespeares works were performed in Elixabethan times

Question 36

Arena Stage

Answer 36

any theatre space in which the audience surrounds the stage area; requires no stage curtain, little scenery and allows the audience to sit on four sides of the stage; the stage itself is typically round, diamond, or triangular, with actors entering and exiting through the audience from different direction or from below stage

Question 37

Arena Stage in History

Answer 37

theatre in the round was common in ancient theatre, particularly that of Greece and Rome but was not widely explored again until the latter half of the 20th century; 1947 Margo JOnes established Americas first professional theatre-in the round company: Theatre ‘47

Question 38

Black Box

Answer 38

bare room with a movable seating area, stage, and a flexible lighting system; became popular during the explosion of experimental theatre in the 1960’s when storefronts, church basements, etc suddenly became intimate performance venues

Question 39

Found Space

Answer 39

aka Experimental theatre; found spaces are nontheatrical spaces such as a church, warehouse, courtroom, carpenters shop; space is typically chosen because of its context to the play

Question 40

Raked Stage

Answer 40

theatre stage floor angled from the edge of the stage, near the audience, up toward teh back of the stage, furthest from the audience; angled stage prompted the use of the terms upstage, downstage, and center stage; raking the stage allowed cast members placed behind the immediate action happening near the audience to still be seen; now the seating is raked

Question 41

Conventions

Answer 41

a theatre convention is an unspoken agreement between performers and audience; codes of communication; governed by a specific culture and the attitudes and beliefs of that culture

Question 42

Examples of Theatre Conventions (Historical)

Answer 42

during Elizabeth Renaissance Era, women were not allowed on stage (men played womens parts); ancient greece only three actors were allowed on stage at a time; no violence on stage; masks were used

Question 43

Conventions Used by Playwrights

Answer 43

one of the conventions used by Playwrights is Spoken Decor

Question 44

Spoken Decor

Answer 44

establishes place and time; such as using language to let the audience know several things about the world of the play

Question 45

(Modern) Conventions of Theatre

Answer 45

fourth wall, seats for the audience, applause, “curtain call”, getting your ticket and program, theatre etiquette

Question 46

Fourth Wall

Answer 46

imaginary wall at the front of the stage separating the audience from the performers; the fourth wall (along with the sides and back of the standard stage) encloses the world of the play

Question 47

Front of House

Answer 47

the box office staff (sells tickets; also refers to a shows revenue); house manager; the ushers

Question 48

House Manager

Answer 48

responsible for the safety of the audience; helps audience members who may have a medical emergency; coordinates with the stage manager to let them know that “the house” is seated and ready for the show to begin

Question 49

Curtain Speech

Answer 49

delivered by the house manager; done right beofre the show is about to begin; usually a recording

Question 50

Ushers

Answer 50

take your ticket; give you a program; guide you to your seat and keep disruptions (latecomers, texting) to a minimum

Question 51

Musical

Answer 51

a play or movie in which singing and dancing play an essential part; musicals developed from light opera in the early 20th century

Question 52

What is considered the first musical

Answer 52

The Black Crook; premiered in New York on September 12, 1866; much debate about it being the first musical; historians no longer considered it to have been a musical; it was a phenomenal mix of play, dance, music and spectacle

Question 53

The Music Director

Answer 53

supervises all aspects of music in a musical; at UWG they are in charge of teaching the songs the actors sing; conduct the band/orchestra during the production run; music director works in tandem with the stage director of a musical; important for the music director, stage director, and set designer to know where the band/orchestra will be for any given show

Question 54

The Pit

Answer 54

an orchestra pit is the area in a theater (usually located in a lowered area in front of the stage) in which musicians perform; orchestral pits are utilized in forms of theatre that require music

Question 55

Choreographer

Answer 55

person who serves as an assistant to the stage director for all movement in a musical theatre production

Question 56

What is the role of the critic?

Answer 56

a critic is a professional who communicates an assessment and an opinion of various forms or creative works such as art, literature, music, cinema, theatre, fashion architecture and food

Question 57

The Functions, Roles and Impacts of Reviews

Answer 57

goal of reviews is to succinctly communicate their honest reaction to the major elements of a production; critics enthusiasm can be infectious and lead to ticket sales and vice versa; role of the critic is to honestly and impartially assess whats in front of them; good critics should be intelligent, informed, balanced, and insightful; bad critics believe their job is to deliver “zingers” that potentially close a show

Question 58

Strike

Answer 58

refers to the restoring of the stage (playing space) to the condition it was before the show moved in; long standing tradition; at UWG all studnets involved strike the show under faculty supervision

Question 59

What happens during a strike…

Answer 59

all set pieces are removed; all furniture and props are rreturned to storage; if in good condition, save any wood boards to reuse; discard of anything needed to be; costumes washed and stored carefully; all lightning, sound, and media equipment stored; borrowed equipment returned; can take anywhere from 2-10 hours

Question 60

Postmortem

Answer 60

an informal assessment of all elements of a production process from first rehearsal to strike; intent is to increase efficiency, identify best practice and maintaining these practices for the next production; opportunity to address miscommunication inaccurate information and bad habits; questions such as What can be improved and what went well are asked

Question 61

Presentational

Answer 61

not as limited as representational; attempts to present ideas to the audience; no fourth wall; presentational used to be the only form of drama; characters are usually simplistic and stereotypical; plot may be non-linear; can rely on audiences imagination for the unrealistic world;