Theatercraft -Study cards

Question 1

In general, where did theater/drama begin?

Answer 1

Ancient Religious Festivals

Question 2

Where did drama begin in ancient Greece?

Answer 2

Dionysian festivals

Question 3

Who is Dionysus?

Answer 3

God of wine and fertility

Question 4

What was the area around the altar where the wooden statue of Dionysus was placed called?

Answer 4

The Orchestra

Question 5

Who is considered to be the first actor?

Answer 5

Thespis

Question 6

Who is considered to be the first playwright

Answer 6

Thespis

Question 7

What does the word thespian mean?

Answer 7

Actor/Theater lover

Question 8

Who introduced the use of masks?

Answer 8

Thespis

Question 9

What was the name of the place where ancient Greek actors changed their costumes?

Answer 9

Skene

Question 10

What modern word comes from the answer to the previous question?

Answer 10

Scene

Question 11

One of the earliest “special effects” was the entrance of a god lowered by machinery. What is the Latin expression for this special effect which literally means “god from the machine”?

Answer 11

deus ex machina

Question 12

Who are considered to be the triumvirate of ancient Greek playwrights?

Answer 12

Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides

Question 13

Who introduced the first actor to the stage?

Answer 13

Thespis

Question 14

Who introduced the second actor to the stage?

Answer 14

Aeschylus

Question 15

Who introduced the third actor to the stage?

Answer 15

Sophpcles

Question 16

What did the introduction of the second actor enable?

Answer 16

Human Conflict

Question 17

Who reduced the chorus from fifty to twelve men and yet maximized its use to get his point across?

Answer 17

Aeschylus

Question 18

Which ancient Greek playwright is noted for his psychological insights?

Answer 18

Sophocles

Question 19

Who wrote Hippolytus which many consider to be the first love story in a play?

Answer 19

Euripides

Question 20

What created the need for ancient Greek comedies?

Answer 20

audience members committing suicide in response to tragedies

Question 21

Who is the most famous of ancient Greek writers of comedy?

Answer 21

Aristophanes

Question 22

Who conquered the ancient Greeks and adopted many of their traditions?

Answer 22

The Romans

Question 23

What was the primary purpose of Roman theater?

Answer 23

Entertainment

Question 24

During which historical period was the chorus eliminated?

Answer 24

The Roman Era

Question 25

Who did away with the use of masks and emphasized real facial expressions and feelings?

Answer 25

Romans

Question 26

What stage practice lead to the gladiator games?

Answer 26

Real Fighting

Question 27

From where did the most significant changes in theater come in the Middle Ages?

Answer 27

The Church

Question 28

In what language were the first church plays of the Middle Ages written?

Answer 28

Latin

Question 29

Why were plays likely pushed out of the church during the Middle Ages?

Answer 29

Rowdy and inappropriate behavior

Question 30

Who eventually took over the responsibility of producing religious drama after it was forced out of the church during the Middle Ages?

Answer 30

Regular Folk/ The Guilds

Question 31

What is the name of the Biblical dramas that included local places and events and were performed on pageant wagons?

Answer 31

Mystery Plays

Question 32

Why did pageant wagon plays become less associated with religious holidays?

Answer 32

So they could be performed more frequently

Question 33

By the middle of the 16th century, it had become traditional for traveling theater companies to perform where?

Answer 33

Courtyards of Inns

Question 34

What is the most famous London theater that incorporated design elements from the courtyard performing space and originally staged many of Shakespeare’s productions?

Answer 34

The Globe

Question 35

After which British monarch was dethroned was all entertainment forbidden and all the theaters closed?

Answer 35

Charles I

Question 36

What happened to British theater when the monarchy was restored in 1660?

Answer 36

Theaters reopened

Question 37

During which period was the proscenium introduced?

Answer 37

The Restoration period

Question 38

What is a proscenium?

Answer 38

The archway around the opening of the stage

Question 39

During which historical period was the actress introduced?

Answer 39

The Restoration Era

Question 40

What part of theater achieved greater importance with the introduction of the actress?

Answer 40

Costumes

Question 41

When was electrical lighting first used in a theater production?

Answer 41

1880

Question 42

Which Norwegian playwright noted for social realism was the forerunner of twentieth century drama?

Answer 42

Henrik Ibsen

Question 43

What did this Norwegian playwright raise through the use of dialogue?

Answer 43

Moral Questions

Question 44

What was the name of Thornton Wilder’s experimental play that was produced in 1938?

Answer 44

Our Town

Question 45

What was experimental about Thornton Wilder’s 1938 play?

Answer 45

Bare stage/ No scenery

Question 46

What is the name of the experimental theater movement whose playwrights are often propelled by the notion that man occupies a position of helplessness in the universe?

Answer 46

Theater of the Absurd

Question 47

What is the name of the theater movement/plays that self-consciously comment on the process of theater?

Answer 47

Metatheater

Question 48

What are the three main parts of theater?

Answer 48

1) Actor
2) Audience
3) Literature