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Fine Arts > Theatre > Flashcards

Theatre Flashcards

1
Q

plot

A

Series of closely related events

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2
Q

live actor

A

live actor in same space as audience

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3
Q

theatrical space

A

formal theatre space or informal such as garage, basement, street corner

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4
Q

theatrical event

A

actors and audience react to each other

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5
Q

suspension of disbelief

A

audience is able to fully immerse themselves in the story taking place on stage; accepting improbability within the framework of the work of art

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6
Q

plot

A

series of closely related events; story structure

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7
Q

character

A

people of the play, vehicle thru which the story is told

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8
Q

thought

A

theme, message, moral, central idea playwright is trying to get across

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9
Q

diction

A

language of the playimagery, tone, and articulation

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10
Q

music

A

all sound; rhythm of sounds and vocal tones, music

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11
Q

spectacle

A

all visual aspects of the production

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12
Q

proscenium

A

a stage framed by a large rectangular arch that divides playing space from audience (house)

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13
Q

thrust

A

stage that thrusts into audience area and is surrounded on three sides by seats.

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14
Q

arena

A

stage is surrounded on all sides by seats

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15
Q

black box

A

flexible space that can be configured for requirements of the production

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16
Q

tragedy

A

Oldest form of recorded drama; serious play with protagonist of high social stature who has a tragic flaw

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17
Q

drama

A

a play with a serious intent, but not the universal significance of tragedy; usually people of everyday type, but ending is often unhappy or at least serious

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18
Q

comedy

A

a funny play often about serious human conflict

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19
Q

melodrama

A

stereotypical and sentimental drama

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20
Q

farce

A

play written purely for entertainment

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21
Q

musical

A

play combining dialogue, music, and often, dance

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22
Q

dramatic structure

A

how a play is organized

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23
Q

exposition

A

background information; introduces the characters, situation and problem

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24
Q

conflict or complication

A

drama requires conflict; mechanism by which a situation becomes dramatic; this begins with an inciting incident.

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25
Q

climax

A

the moment of maximum tension in the play when the primary conflict is resolved

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26
Q

denouement

A

(DAY noo mah) resolution of the conflict; new harmony or understanding has been reached

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27
Q

dramatic time

A

things happen on stage faster than they do in life and audience accepts this

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28
Q

protagonist

A

principal character in a dramatic action

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29
Q

antagonist

A

the character who opposes the action

30
Q

director

A

is responsible for the casting, rehearsal process, and mounting of the play; communicates their vision or approach to the play to actors and designers

31
Q

designers

A

provide the visual elements for a production including, setting, costumes, lighting, props, sound

32
Q

actors

A

people who bring the characters to life

33
Q

playwright

A

the author of the script

34
Q

concept or production approach

A

vision of the entire production formulated and shared by the director

35
Q

representational

A

plays that present life in a realistic manner; characters talk to each other without regard for the audience

36
Q

presentational

A

characters deliver the material out to the audience in a less than realistic manner

37
Q

theatricality

A

style of theatre in which design and approach to the play is heightened and not necessarily a historical representation; style is removed from observable reality

38
Q

acting

A

To behave truthfully under an imaginary set of circumstances.

39
Q

blocking

A

Major movement on stage, usually predetermined and set by the director.

40
Q

stage business

A

Small actions performed by each character, necessary for specifically defining each character and for creating reality on stage.

41
Q

monologue

A

A long speech, delivered by one character, which may be heard but not interrupted by others in his/her presence.

42
Q

soliloquy

A

A speech wherein a character verbalizes his/her thoughts aloud while alone.

43
Q

direct performance

A

presentational in intent, meaning that the character(s) acknowledge the presence of the audience by speaking directly to them

44
Q

aside

A

A speech wherein a character expresses his/her thoughts in words audible to the audience but supposedly unheard by the other characters on stage.

45
Q

fourth wall

A

The imaginary wall between the actors and the audience.

46
Q

theater

A

the building in which theatre takes place

47
Q

theatre

A

the production of drama

48
Q

drama

A

the literature of theatre; scripts

49
Q

orchestra

A

a round dancing place before the stage. The chorus performed there.

50
Q

skene (SKEE-nee)

A

a winged building behind the stage and in front of the actors. It may have had a painted backdrop. It is the origin of our word scene.

51
Q

buskin

A

also called cothurnus, a high-soled shoe used to elevate characters in Greek tragedy. The less dignified characters in comedy wore socks. In both genres actors wore masks.

52
Q

episode

A

a scene. The term is now used for any scene in a novel or an installment of a TV series. The first episode (providing exposition) was the prologue, the final episode the epilogue.

53
Q

ode

A

one of the songs which the chorus performed between episodes. The opening ode, sung as the chorus entered the stage, was called the parodos; its final ode, sung upon exiting, was the exodos. Parts of an ode were called strophe (STRO-fee) and antistrophe (an-TISS-tro-fee). The strophe was probably sung while the chorus danced from stage right to stage left; the antistrophe was the opposite.

54
Q

chorus

A

a group of twelve or fifteen performers who sang and danced the odes; they represented elders (leading citizens). Their spokesman, the choragos, had speaking parts during the scenes.

55
Q

stichomythia (stick‑uh‑MYTH‑ee‑uh)

A

dialogue consisting of alternating single lines spoken by two characters. It was used in Greek tragedy to show tenses disputes. Modern writers like Shakespeare use versions of it. It is similar to repartee (rep-ar-TAY), a fast-paced exchange of witty retorts in modern comedy.

56
Q

dramatic irony

A

irony that results when characters say or do something of greater significance than they realize. The audience’s knowledge is superior to that of the character(s)..

57
Q

deus ex machina (DAY-us ex MOCK-ee-na)

A

a convention used in Greek tragedy after Sophocles for lowering or lifting actors playing gods by means of a crane on the skene. The Latin phrase deus ex machina (“a god from a machine”) is now used for any quick means of resolving a plot, like the sudden revelation at the end of Huck Finn that Jim is free and Huck has a fortune.

58
Q

dithyramb

A

a choral ode honoring the god Dionysus. A chorus of singers dressed as satyrs performed episodes from myths. The dithyramb evolved into tragedy.

59
Q

tetralogy and trilogy

A

respectively, a group of four and three plays. In Athens during the age of Sophocles (the fifth century B.C.), competitions were held in the spring during rituals honoring Dionysus. The first three plays were a trilogy of tragedies.

60
Q

satyr play

A

a parody of a myth. The final part of the tetralogy in Athenian dramatic competitions.

61
Q

hamartia (hahm-mar-TEE-uh)

A

according to Aristotle, an error of judgment that causes the downfall of a tragic protagonist. The concept is often identified with the tragic flaw or fatal weakness in character, such as the jealousy of Othello or the pride of Oedipus.

62
Q

hubris (HEW-bris)

A

extreme (or “overweening”) pride, especially when considered a tragic flaw.

63
Q

catastrophe

A

the resolution of the plot of a tragedy, depicting the final downfall of the protagonist.

64
Q

catharsis

A

according to Aristotle, the purging of pity and fear that tragedy causes in viewers.

65
Q

downstage

A

toward the audience. So called because stages used to be slightly sloped.

66
Q

upstage

A

away from the audience. Used as a verb, it means to force an actor to turn away from the audience. Thus it has come to mean “to draw attention from.”

67
Q

stage left and stage right

A

these terms refer to the point of view of someone facing the stage. To the actor facing the audience, thus, stage left means right and stage right means left.

68
Q

stage directions

A

instructions in a script or play text. Early editions of Shakespeare include some stage directions but omit some that must have been intended. Modern editors include conjectures (i.e., guesses) of stage directions, sometimes enclosing them in brackets.

69
Q

exeunt

A

a Latin stage direction meaning “exit” but referring to two or more characters. Exeunt omnes means “all exit.”

70
Q

convention

A

necessary or convenient features of literature which audiences unquestioningly accept. An example from drama is the “fourth wall”the audience’s understanding that a scene showing characters indoors has an invisible wall between the audience and the stage.

71
Q

aside

A

a dramatic conventiona speech to the audience, understood to be the speaker’s thoughts.

Fine Arts (6 decks)

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