general and miscellaneous

Question 1

theatre definition and characteristics

Answer 1

theatre is live, involving a relationship between performer and audience, it is ephemeral (fleeting - comes and goes), it is an imitation of human action (aristotle), and it involves a pretense of self (character)

Question 2

Bunraku

Answer 2

Japanese puppet theatre, three people, different training

Question 3

Tadashi Suzuki

Answer 3

stomping to connect with the earth

Question 4

Stella Adler

Answer 4

use imagination instead of lived experience, making informed choices based on the character’s given circumstances within the script

Question 5

Le Strasburg

Answer 5

emotional recall, help performers achieve a sense of emotional truth onstage

Question 6

Henrik Ibsen

Answer 6

Norweigen playwright, considered the founder of modern realistic drama

Question 7

Anton Chekhov

Answer 7

Russian dramatist, moved away from melodramatic events (like suicides) and made his character’s stories echo each other’s

Question 8

Konstantin Stanislavski

Answer 8

Russian director, first believe the truth of what they say and do; relax, concentrate, fantasy/imagination (magic if), inner truth, psychophysical action

Question 9

Sanford Meisner

Answer 9

living truthfully under the imaginary circumstances

Question 10

Uta Hagen

Answer 10

more emotional recall methods, using past experience

Question 11

traditional tragedy

Answer 11

extraordinary, high-status characters, unfortunate circumstances, irretrievable situations. They are also written in heightened language or verse.

Question 12

modern tragedy

Answer 12

written in prose, protagonists are not often royalty, purists argue they aren’t real tragedies

Question 13

heroic drama

Answer 13

serious drama of any period that features aspects of traditional tragedies, but has a happy ending or optimistic ending

Question 14

domestic drama

Answer 14

Bourgeois; replaced heroic drama; portrayed middle class problems related to the home rather than the state; most predominate form of serious drama in Europe and US

Question 15

melodrama

Answer 15

features spectacular special effects, musical underscoring, and stock characters (such as clearly defined heroes and villians) that plays upon fear

Question 16

farce

Answer 16

physical comedy, slapstick humor, and over-the-top situations

Question 17

burlesque

Answer 17

physical humor, gross exaggerations, and vulgarity; as a ludicrous imitation of other forms of dramas or plays; think spamilton

Question 18

satire

Answer 18

commentary on political or moral content, uses wit and irony to poke fun ar evils

Question 19

domestic comedy

Answer 19

like sitcoms/home based comedies

Question 20

comedy of manners

Answer 20

uses comedy to make fun of high society characters and their “social pretensions”

Question 21

tragicomedy

Answer 21

in Renaissance times: tragic themes and noble characters but a happy ending; in modern times: serious and comic elements; comic or ironic treatment of a serious theme

Question 22

theatre of the absurd

Answer 22

convey humanity’s sense of alienation and its loss of bearings in an illogical, unjust, and ridiculous world; are serious, but have comedy and ironic themes

Question 23

Showboat 1927

Answer 23

1st show focused on story (serious subject), based on a book, first integrated cast

Question 24

Oklahoma! 1943

Answer 24

considered the first modern musical; first show to take singing, dialogue, and dance to tell the unified story; songs weren’t written to be a radio hit, but to tell story; first rogers and hammerstein show

Question 25

serial structure

Answer 25

Plot is characterized by a series of individual theatre events offered as a single presentation; often the individual acts or scenes are united by a common theme

Question 26

episodic structure

Answer 26

Plot begins early in the story; usually has many scenes, locations, and characters; may have multiple plotlines

Question 27

cyclical structure

Answer 27

Plot often begins and ends in the same place; sometimes this plot structure is used by female playwrights in feminist work.

Question 28

climactic structure

Answer 28

Linear plot that begins late in the story; action takes place in a short period of time; restricted number of characters and locations