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Multiple-Choice
Choose the answer that best completes each sentence.
1. _______________________, who wrote Waiting for Godot and Happy Days, is the
most renowned of the absurdist playwrights.
A. Eugene Ionesco
B. Albert Camus
C. Harold Pinter
*D. Samuel Beckett
2. ________________________, such as Peter Weiss's The Investigation, are based on
historical events.
*A. Documentary dramas
B. Environmental dramas
C. Happenings
D. Multimedia
3. This work, with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and book by Joseph
Stein was said to mark the end of the "golden era of book musicals":
A. Kiss Me Kate
B. The King and I
*C. Fiddler on the Roof
D. The Sound of Music
4. A proponent of "poor theatre," _________________________ argued that the only
essential elements for theatre were the actor and the audience.
A. Peter Brook
B. Josef Svoboda
C. Vaclev Havel
*D. Jerzy Grotowski
5. The following actors made their debuts in off-Broadway theaters:
A. Meryl Streep, Lawrence Olivier, and Elisabeth Shue
*B. Jason Robards, Dustin Hoffman, and Al Pacino
C. Charlieze Theron, Matt Damon, and Ben Affleck
D. John Gielgud, Elizabeth Taylor, and Glenn Close
6. Which of the following designers is known for his use of multimedia on stage?
*A. Josef Svoboda
B. Jean-Louis Barrault
C. Amiri Baraka
D. Julian Beck
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7. _______________________ was the first Black woman playwright to have her play
produced on Broadway.
A. Amiri Baraka
*B. Lorraine Hansberry
C. Anna Deavere Smith
D. Judith Malina
8. A type of play where the language is sparse, the plot moves in a circle, and little
expository information is given about the characters is:
A. existentialist drama
*B. absurd drama
C. selective realism
D. documentary drama
9. A group of anti-establishment playwrights that dealt with the dissolving British empire,
class conflict, and political disillusionment were the:
A. Negro Ensemble Company
*B. Angry Young Men
C. Angry Young Women
D. English Stage company
10. Julian Beck and Judith Malina founded:
A. The Open Theatre
B. The Performance Group
C. The Human Race
*D. The Living Theatre
11. By infusing allegory and lyricism into his depictions of racial unrest in America,
________________ changed the shape of protest drama.
A. Joseph Papp
*B. Amiri Baraka
C. August Wilson
D. Julian Beck
12. The Cafe La Mama was founded in 1961 by:
A. Joan Littlewood
*B. Ellen Stewart
C. Karen Rogers
D. Josef Svoboda
13. Peter Weiss, a documentary playwright wrote:
A. The Hostage
B. Three Tall Women
C. The Lesson
*D. The Investigation
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14. ______________________ is a philosophy in which there is little meaning to
existence, that God does not exist, and that humanity is alone in an irrational universe.
A. Romanticism
*B. Existentialism
C. Monotheism
D. Polytheism
15. Many off-off-Broadway groups perform in _______________, such as factory lofts,
churches and warehouses.
*A. found spaces
B. thrust stages
C. proscenium arch theaters
D. none of the above
16. ______________ were nonstructured events that occurred with a minimum of
planning and organization.
*A. Happenings
B. Multimedia plays
C. Environmental plays
D. None of the above
17. Joseph Svoboda’s work centers on the concept of ___________________, which
means that his settings are dynamic and change throughout the performance according to
the demands of the text.
A. biomechanics
B. poor theater
*C. kinetics
D. environmental theatre
18. Who is known for having the common theme of outsiders trapped in a hostile
environment?
*A. Tennessee Williams
B. Edward Albee
C. Joseph Papp
D. Charles Ludlam
19. Artists around the world who experimented with a wide variety of techniques and
defy easy catergorization are called:
A. kinetics
B. dada
*C. eclectics
D. mama
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20. Several of Joseph Papp's shows moved to Broadway. He was an off-Broadway
producer noted for:
A. The Long Wharf and Paradise Now
*B. The New York Shakespeare Festival and the Public Theatre
C. appearing at the opening of A Chorus Line in a suit of armor
D. using masks, stylized gestures and vocalizations, and theatrical conventions from the
past
21. _________________ is known for focusing on failure, guilt, responsibility for one's
own actions, and the effects of society on the individual.
A. Harold Pinter
B. Tennessee Williams
*C. Arthur Miller
D. Josef Svoboda
22. Eugene Ionesco was particularly concerned with:
A. the loss of civil liberties
B. promoting realism
C. promoting didactic drama
*D. the futility of communication
23. _______________ is based on the idea that the entire space is performance space.
A. Documentary drama
*B. Environmental theatre
C. Absurdist drama
D. Multimedia theatre
24. The acting style for Grotowski’s productions was
*A. externally based, focused on control of body and voice
B. based on inner emotions
C. focused on creating a realistic illusion
D. none of the above
25. _______________ is a style, which heightens certail details of action, scenery and
dialogue, while omitting others.
A. Paratheatricalism
B. Symbolism
C. Expressionism
*D. Selective realism
True/False
Please choose whether the statement is true or false.
26. Happenings were generally repeated every day at the same time for seven days.
True
*False
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27. The thirty years following World War II were marked by experimentation in the
theatre.
*True
False
28. Existentialists believe that the only significant action an individual can take is to
accept responsibility for one’s own actions.
*True
False
29. While the philosophy of existentialist plays was fairly traditional, their dramatic form
was revolutionary.
True
*False
30. Careful exposition and cause-and-effect plot structure mark Harold Pinter’s work.
True
*False
31. Many historians believe that Jerzy Grotowski’s theories, rather than his practical
work, have exerted the most influence on modern theatre.
*True
False
32. Most of the plays, which won the Pulitzer Prize in the United States between 1945
and 1975, were nonrealistic.
True
*False
33. The stage directions of Peter Weiss’s The Investigation require the actors to deliver
testimony unemotionally so that the audience will focus on the facts.
*True
False
34 Peter Brook argued that the most important element was the end product, which
justified any means in making a production successful.
True
*False
35. In the 1960s, off-off-Broadway replaced off-Broadway as the center for
experimentation in New York City.
*True
False
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Essays
36. Compare and contrast the work of one postwar realistic playwright with that of an
absurdist playwright. Are their differences purely stylistic, or do they also differ as far as
worldview is concerned?
37. Discuss the development of American commercial theatre from Broadway to offBroadway to off-off-Broadway.
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