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Multiple-Choice
Please choose the answer that best completes each sentence.
1. Certain types of group activities, with a strong theatrical component, such as singing,
dancing, and pantomime, are referred to as:
*A. popular entertainment
B. text-based theatre
C. ceremonial theatre
D. mimesis
2. Traditional European theatre is based primarily on:
A. methexis: group sharing
B. vodum: ritual
*C. mimesis: imitation
D. none of the above
3. Psychodrama, sociodrama, and classroom exercises are good examples of:
A. ceremonial theatre
*B. participatory theatre
C. popular entertainment
D. mimesis
4. One of the strongest deterrents to the emergence of theatre in an advanced society is:
A. lack of funding
*B. religious opposition
C. political instability
D. lack of interest
5. ____________________argue that history is written and taught by people in power
and, therefore, needs to be analyzed in terms of who is empowered by history and who is
not.
A. Semioticians
B. Multicultural historians
*C. Deconstructionists
D. Revisionist historians
6. Which of the following is true of the Abydos Passion play:
A. It is a ritual with no theatrical elements.
B. It is a theatrical performance with no ties to ritual.
*C. Scholars argue about whether it is "theatre" or "ritual."
D. It is neither "theatre" nor "ritual."
7. Your text takes what is sometimes called a "positivist" approach. This means:
*A. History can be explained logically and chronicled objectively.
B. History has been told from the point of view of the social elite.
C. History has been written and taught by people in power and needs to be analyzed
accordingly.
D. The study of history should be focused on signs that have inherent meaning for the
observer.
8. The ___________________________ was an Egyptian performance focusing on
Osiris, Isis, and Set.
A. Dithyramb
B. Epic Rhapsode
*C. Abydos Passion play
D. Tutankamun ritual
9. One aspect of religious ceremonies and rituals, which sets them apart from dramatic
presentations, is that these ceremonies and rituals are efficacious. This means that:
*A. They are intended to achieve direct results (i.e. bring rain).
B. They are attended by the entire community.
C. They are a mirror of nature.
D. They are entertaining.
10. An example of popular entertainment is:
A. singing
B. pantomime
C. acrobatics
*D. All of the above
11. The acting out of an established, prescribed procedure is known as a:
A. ceremony
*B. ritual
C. revisionist
D. collective
12. African theatre is generally based on:
A. catharsis (purgation of emotion)
B. deconstruction (analysis of power structures)
*C. methexis (group sharing)
D. parodos (entrances)
13. Which of the following statements is true?
A. We often have little idea about acting styles of earlier periods.
B. Some plays considered exceptional now may have been considered so-so in their own
day.
C. Different aspects of theater have been valued at different times.
*D. All of the above
14. ______________________historians focus on how theatre reflects economic and
political oppression
*A. Marxist
B. Revisionist
C. Semiotic
D. Positivist
15. A formal religious or social occasion, which is usually led by an authority figure such
as a priest or chief, is known as:
*A. a ceremony
B. a ritual
C. a play
D. all of the above
16. Which of the following is true of “participatory” theatre:
A. Actors and audience members have clearly delineated and separate roles.
B. Audience members only participate in the action prior to the start of the play.
*C. It attempts to remove the barrier between actors and the audience.
D. It is only found in prehistoric cultures.
17. The study of how and why scholars create their historic narratives is known as:
A. Semiotics
B. Positivism
C. Epic Studies
*D. Metahistory
18. _______________ stress that history has usually been told from the point of view of a
social elite.
*A. Revisionist historians
B. Semioticians
C. Metahistorians
D. None of the above
19. _________________ oppose a cause-and-effect approach to historical events, arguing
that history needs to be analyzed in terms of who is empowered by history and who is
not.
A. Positivists
*B. Deconstructionists
C. Linearalists
D. All of the above
True-False
Please choose whether the statement is true or false.
20. In societies that had not developed written language, the storyteller, known as a
shaman, kept alive the history of the people.
*True
False
21. Rituals and ceremonies are notable for their improvisational qualities.
True
*False
22. Religious ceremonies are different from dramatic presentations in that they are
efficacious.
*True
False
23. Participatory theatre attempts to remove the barrier between performers and
spectators.
*True
False
24. Theatre always requires a playing space, in which actors and audience members are
separate.
True
*False
25. History can never be objective.
*True
False
26. Approaches to theatre history, such as feminist, deconstructionist, and semiotics, are
mutually exclusive.
True
*False
27. The study of theatre history tends to focus only on a few high points, because theatre
often ceased for hundreds of years throughout history.
True
*False
28. Plays and performers we now consider exceptional were not always considered
outstanding in their own day.
*True
False
29. Racial minorities and women were often overlooked and forgotten as critics created
what is known as the canon of outstanding works.
*True
False
Essay
30. Compare and contrast two theories on the origin of theatre. How does each reflect a
different view of human beings?
31. Compare and contrast two approaches to studying theatre history.