Quiz 1 Flashcards
Absurdism
A style of drama popularized in France after World War II that viewed human existence as meaningless and treated language as an inadequate means of communication
Authors include Samuel Beckett and Eugene Ionesco
Abstraction
An artistic depiction that is different from a literal, photographic representation of the thing depicted, usually by being more generalized, less particular
Acting
Creation of a character in action, through impersonation, for an audience
In formal acting, the actor seeks the truth of theatrical convention; in realistic acting, the actor seeks the truth of everyday life
Action
According to Aristotle, a causally linked sequence of events, with beginning, middle, and end; the proper and best way to unify a play
Actor-manager
A starring actor who is head and nominal artistic director of a company
Sir Henry Irving in late 19th century England
Aesthetics
Study of the nature of beauty
Afterpiece
A short play that followed the main attraction
Agent
Professional who represents theater artists for a percentage of their income
Alley stage
Performance area shape that puts audience on each side, with the performance area, usually a long rectangle, between
Amateur theater
A producing organization in which most participants are not paid or are paid only token amounts well below professional levels
Antagonist
The opponent in an agon, or contest; in drama, either of two opponents in conflict, or the character who opposes the protagonist
Applause
Positive response to performance by clapping hands
Apron
The part of the stage that extends in front of the proscenium arch
Arena stage
A stage in which the audience completely surrounds the playing area; also called “theater in the round”
Art
Activity done for its own ends, separable from both life and practicality, although it may be applied to very practical as well as aesthetic purposes
Art theater movement
A theatrical movement of the late 19th and early 20th centuries that tried to separate itself from commercial theater and the reliance on box office
Audience
Those who watch or listen to a performance
Audition
A session at which a theater artist, usually an actor, displays his or her craft in order to secure a job
Auditorium
“Hearing place”; audience section of theater
Avant-garde
Art thought ahead of the mainstream, experimental
Backdrop
Painted two-dimensional hanging, usually as part of a scenic background
Balance
On the proscenium stage, the visual equalizing of the two halves of the stage picture as seen from the audience
In any stage moment, the attempt to achieve a sense of equal weight between the people and objects on stage
Beat
A rhythmic unit in a play
Beijing opera
Traditional Chinese theatrical form, spectacular, non realistic
Black theater
A theater movement of the 1960s and after, primarily for black audiences, actors, and playwrights, originally connected with the Black Power movement, a political ideology
