Introduction to Theater Chapter 7 Test Flashcards
____________ is rooted in sacred ritual
Drama
A Greek word meaning “to do” or “to act”
Drama
Drama has been built on traditions that are up to ________ years old
2500 years old
The earliest forms of civilizations ____________ out activities that were important to them before engaging in them
Acted
People believed that in the earliest forms of drama, it would grant them success in meeting their real needs by ____1________ the intended act. They believed that this would _______2_____ their chances of success in the act
- imitating
2. Increase
Many plays were performed by these people to ____________ the young boys about the rituals they would soon partake in (hunting,fishing,war,etc.)
Teach
Since most people were not able to __________, religious plays were performed to teach important religious beliefs that the particular culture held in esteem.
read
The _____________ brought about the greatest tragedies of all time. The legacy of Greek Theatre has never been surpassed - even to this day
classic, or golden age of Greece
Greek drama has its roots in _____________
Greek religion
Celebrations were held in honor of the God of __________________ During these celebrations, dancers would chant around the altar.
wine and fertility, Dionysus.
The chanting of dancers around an altar evolved into _______________
Greek Tragedy
Thespis invented ___________
actors
Actors are often called ___________
Thespians
Who wrote the Poetics, which is the origin of drama and playwright structure, and was the first to analyze tragedy?
Aristotle
Catharsis means __________
cleansing
the visible part of a play
Spectacle
audible part of the play
Sound
language
Dictation
a person in a play
Character
the way speech is used to present all aspects of the play, including the production of emotions such as pity, terror, and anger
Reasoning
the action and events of a play
Plot
Aristotle’s key elements of a play (6)
- the visible part of a play —> Spectacle
- audible part of the play —>Sound
- language —> Dictation
- a person in a play —>Character
- the way speech is used to present all aspects of the play, including the production of emotions —> Reasoning
- the action and events of a play –> Plot
Portion of the stage where actors performed (included 1-3 doors in and out)
Scene
“Dancing place” where chorus sang to the audience
Orchestra
seating for audience
Theater on
Three Main Positions of Greek Theatre
Scene, Orchestra, Theater on
Dramas were performed in an ____________
amphitheater
The ________ described most of the action in a drama
chorus
True/False: all the fighting and movement going on off stage
True
Which came first, tragedy or comedy?
tragedy
Who wrote Seven Against Thebes?
Aeschylus (542 B.C)
Who wrote Antigone and Oedipus?
Sophocles (496 B.C)
Who wrote Medea?
Euripides (480 B.C)
Who wrote Lysistrata?
Aristophanes (488 B.C)
Who was a famous Greek Playwright that wrote comedy’s?
Aristophanes
At the Elizabethan Theater, Small acting troops would be looking for a ______________
Sponsorship
________________ sponsored theater
Queen Elizabeth
small roofed buildings for the wealthy people
Private Playhouses
__________ is the most famous private theatre
The Blackfriars
_______________ are usually in the backyards of inns
Public Playhouses
_____________ is an example of a public playhouse
The globe
Elizabeth I declared that actors must have a(n) ______________ or be arrested which began professional theatre
Sponsor
Plays were written to be __________, not read
acted
___________________ sponsored Shakespeare and his play
Lord Chamberlin
Shakespeare’s sponsor group called themselves _______________
Lord Chamberlin men
Plays belong to the __________ not the author so actors playwrights remained poor
company
At the globe theater, Performances take during the
____1____ –> because of the ____2____, used daylight to perform
- day
2. light
Public theaters were either a _________________ wooden structure
round or octagonal
Public theaters consisted of (7)
- Unroofed courtyard (groundlings would sit here)
- Roofed galleries (for the rich)
- Platform stage (platea)
- Tiring-house (back stage dressing room)
- Curtained center door for surprises
- Upper balcony
- Trapdoors
He was looked down on as “Hack writer” he was not highly esteemed as he is now
William Shakespeare
Had a good education, but no university study due to his father’s need for him to be a brick layer
Ben Johnson
Wrote in blank verse. Not rhymed verse
Christopher Marlowe
A set of three related plays
Trilogy
A play meant to be read rather than acted
Closet dramas
A religious play based on the lives and legends of saints
Saints plays
A form of religious drama based on biblical history
Mystery plays
A play concerned with the last week in the life of Christ
Passion play
A series of acting stations that represent biblical settings; the Saints play and Mystery plays were performed with __________.
Mansions
A series of short plays depicting religious history from creation through doomsday, performed by medieval guilds in the late fourteenth century
Cycle
Plays originating during the Middle Ages that were presented authors during planting time, harvest time, and other secular holidays
Folk Drama
A play dealing with right and wrong, usually in the form of an allegory
Morality Play
A short version of a Morality play that usually includes more humorous incidents
Moral Interludes
Professional improvised comedy that developed in Italy during the Renaissance
Commedia dell’arte
To slant or set at an angle; a __________ stage inclines from the area closest to the audience upward to the rear of the stage
Raked
A form of Chinese drama that originated in the nineteenth century
Peking Opera
A six-hundred-year-old Japanese form of drama employing standard characters, simple plots, and intricate language; the oldest form of drama to be preserved in its exact form; also called _________________
No (Noh)
Japanese drama that features wooden, elaborately costumed marionettes that are about four feet tall (both names for it!)
Bunraku, aka (Doll Theater)
Japanese drama from the seventeenth century that combines aspects of both No and _____________ forms of drama
Kabuki
How did drama probably originate?
Drama probably developed along different lines throughout Europe. The earliest evidence of Drama in the Middle Ages is a partial manuscript from a Western European liturgical drama dating to the tenth century.
What was the function of the Greek chorus?
The chorus served to explain the situation, to bring the audience up-to-date, to make a commentary on the action from the point of view of established ideas, and to. Engage in dialogue with the actors.
How did the Saint and Mystery plays change drama?
These plays changed drama because they were staged in the churches on platforms called mansions. These mansions represented biblical settings such as Heaven, Hell, and the Sea of Galilee. They were eventually moved out of the church to the town square where the mansions were placed in a straight line.
What is the Renaissance? How did it affect drama?
The Renaissance is the the revival of art and literature under the influence of classical models. It affected drama because some advances in the dramatic arts were made in Italy. Also theater architecture was developed, as was stage equipment. Sets with perspective and colored lighting were introduced.
In the commedia dell’arte, ___________ is a beautifully dressed young lover
Innamorati
In the commedia dell’arte, the ____________ is a middle-aged or elderly man
Panalone
In the commedia dell’arte, the ____________ is an elderly gentleman;friend, sometimes rival of Pantalone; originally a professor. Later a medical man lacking common sense.
Dottore
Who were the great Elizabethan dramatists? (6)
John Webster Thomas Heywood Thomas Kyd Francis Beaumont Beaumont, and Fletcher
What is the essence of the No theater?
The essence of the No theater is the bringing to life of brave warriors, honorable young women, and revered gods and demons.
Who wrote neo-Aristotelian tragedies that dealt with issues ranging from interpersonal relationships to faith.
O’Neill
Who won the Pulitzer Prize and the Drama Critics Circle. Award for what was to become known as a classic American tragedy, Death of a Salesmen. His other moral and political tragedies include The Crucible and All My Sons.
Miller
Who ranks as the greatest playwright next to Shakespeare. He was a playwright dedicated to the exploration of ideas through drama. His satiric humor and fascinating characters keep alive such plays as Saint Joan, Candida, Man and Superman, Caesar and Cleopatra, and Pygmalion. Goethe developed an approach to theater and acting that influenced actors and playwrights far beyond their geographical sphere.
Shaw
Who is sometimes called the father of modern drama and the father of realism, introduced realism in dialogue and characterization. His chief theme was that society must protect and develop the individual rights of each person.
Henrik Ibsen of Norway
Who contributed to the mounting interest in theater from 1547-1616.
Cervantes
Who introduced the first important use of blank verse, the “mighty line” of English poetic drama. Combining and extraordinary use of language and the excitement of melodramatic plots, he wrote Tamburlaine the Great, The Jew of Malta, and Edward II.
Marlow
In the center rear of the stage was curtained recess called the _________ or inner below. This area was used to reveal particular settings.
Study
In the center of the second-level acting area was a shallow balcony, the ____1____, behind another recess called the ______2_______ was often hung to conceal the chamber
- Tarras
2. Arras
The ___________, roof supported by two ornate columns, was above the stage.
Heavens
Above the Heavens was what appeared to be a small house, which was appropriately called the ____________. This structure housed the machinery that raised and lowered actors to the stage.
Scenery hut
