Theatre Appreciation, Test 2: Chapter 7

Question 1

True/False: “Wright” means “maker,” so a playwright is a maker of plays.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

True/False: A playwright can become a theatre person but not a great writer.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

True/False: A play doctor is somebody trained in literature and criticism.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

True/False: Successful playwrights start in doctoral programs in playwriting.

Answer 4

False

Question 5

True/False: Stage dialogue is seldom identical with real-life speech.

Answer 5

True

Question 6

True/False: A successful playwright can be a social outsider.

Answer 6

True

Question 7

True/False: Playwrights’ first big obstacle after writing the play is getting the first production.

Answer 7

True

Question 8

True/False: Once playwrights have had a major success, future productions of their plays are assured.

Answer 8

False

Question 9

True/False: Plays are both made and written.

Answer 9

True

Question 10

True/False: Drama is primarily literature.

Answer 10

False

Question 11

True/False: Some playwrights are themselves actors or other people of the theatre; some playwrights, however, come from fields outside the theatre.

Answer 11

True

Question 12

True/False: Playwrights usually go through structured programs of formal training.

Answer 12

False

Question 13

True/False: Playwrights are bound by the needs of production so the play can be seen.

Answer 13

True

Question 14

True/False: Playwrights look to critics for clues about how best to write.

Answer 14

False

Question 15

True/False: Most plays today have their first productions on Broadway.

Answer 15

False

Question 16

True/False: Many people today make their living as playwrights in the U.S.

Answer 16

False

Question 17

True/False: Most playwrights in the U.S. maintain their careers for decades.

Answer 17

False

Question 18

True/False: Good playwrighting produces good theatre.

Answer 18

False

Question 19

True/False: Successful playwrights have similar career trajectories.

Answer 19

False

Question 20

True/False: The person providing scripts for a musical is called a librettist.

Answer 20

True

Question 21

True/False: In general, the genesis of a play comes either from a story or a character.

Answer 21

False

Question 22

True/False: Playwrights are more like violinists than like composers.

Answer 22

False

Question 23

MC: Another name for a librettist is:

Answer 23

a. book writer

Question 24

MC: Periods that produce a great playwright often:

Answer 24

e. all of the above (offer playwrights a decent standard of living, offer playwrights a good place in society, feature many people writing plays, feature a vital commercial theatre and an avant garde)

Question 25

MC: The language of a play is more important because of all of these EXCEPT:

Answer 25

b. it substitutes for the action of a play

Question 26

MC: A playwright produces:

Answer 26

d. replicas of human actions

Question 27

MC: Playwrights should probably do all of these EXCEPT:

Answer 27

d. stick to just factual material

Question 28

MC: What is probably the LEAST useful first question for a playwright to ask?

Answer 28

b. How do I dramatize this idea?

Question 29

MC: A play is finished when:

Answer 29

a. it is on stage in front of an audience

Question 30

MC: Today, a new play is LEAST LIKELY to have its first production:

Answer 30

c. in a Broadway theatre

Question 31

MC: A playwright who has “the gift of ignorance” is LEAST LIKELY to find production:

Answer 31

c. in a Broadway theatre

Question 32

MC: Which of the following playwrights center on the history of powerless African-American women?

Answer 32

e. Lynn Nottage