Download Theatre One Semester Review with answers

Name _____________________________
Date ______________________________
Mr. Hughes
Theatre One, Pd ______
THEATRE ONE REVIEW FOR FIRST SEMESTER FINAL
The review is a 3rd 6wks grade whether or not you are exempting the final. Everyone must do it.
Define the following terms:
 Collaborative Art Form – any artform requiring team work.

Cue – a signal for an actor or technician to respond

Freeze – a verbal command given by the director to stop the action.

Focus 1) concentration
2) where an actor looks
3) where the audience looks (or the intended area of interest on stage.)

Sensory Awareness – being aware of the experiences of your five senses

Sensory Recall – remembering the experiences of your five sense and drawing
upon them while acting

Emotional Recall – remembering your own emotional experiences and drawing
upon them while acting

Mime 1) the technique of communicating without words
2) the person utilizing mime techniques

Pantomime – the use mime techniques to tell a story

Mimesis – a greek word meaning “to imitate an activity”

Pantomimus – a latin word meaning “all gestures in support of a theme”

Cheat Out – to turn more towards the audience than maybe natural

Blocking - planning the movement on stage

Projection – all voice elements used effectively to be heard

Improvisational Theatre – spontaneous, unrehearsed, and unscripted acting.

Neutral Position – a postion of readiness and willingness to learn

Fourth Wall – an imaginary wall that divides the actors from the audience

Slate – the introduction an actor gives before an audition piece - usually stating
his/her name, character and title of piece.

Audience Etiquette – proper behavior expected of audience members.

Why do actor’s warm-up? To prepare, focus, prevent injury etc.

What are an actor’s “three tools?” body, voice, and mind

What’s the difference between “resonators” and “articulators”? What types of
vocal warm ups help resonance? And articulation?
Articulation is breaking the air up into syllables, while resonance is the
quality and sound of space in the vocal tract. Key thing to remember:
Articulators are the teeth, tongue, and lips. Articulation is heard on
constants (B, K, T etc). Resonance is hear during vowel sounds.
hOW nOW brOWn cOW – concentrates on resonance
BeTTy BoughT a BiT of BuTTer – concentrates on articulation
 Ensemble – a team working collaboratively.
 Oral interpretation – the skill of reading aloud to convey an author’s message to
an audience.
 Pace = the rate or speed at which one speaks
 Volume – How softly or loudly a person speaks
 Pitch – the musical tone of a voice.
 Diaphragm – muscle located between the ribs and abdomen which controls
breathing.
BLOCKING

Define Blocking – planning the movement on stage

Stage directions are always determined by whose point of view while facing the
audience? The actor’s

Label the appropriate 4 basic stage directions.
Up stage
Stage
Right
Stage
Left
Down stage

Label the 10 acting areas of the stage.
UR
UC
UL
CR
C
CL
DR
DC
DL
Apron

Label the 8 body positions.
FB
¾ R
PR
¾L
PL
¼L
¼R
FF

Define the 3 types of stages.
o Proscenium Arch Stage – audience on 1 side
o Thrust Stage – audience on 3 sides
o Arena (also known as Theatre-in-the-Round) Stage – audience on all sides

Define 2 subtypes of stages
 Found space – a space not origninally intended to be a theatre, but
converted into one
 Flexible Seating – a stage that allows the seating to move into different
configurations

Define Cross – an movement from one point of the stage to another

Abbreviate cross - X
GREEK THEATRE
 Ancient Greek plays took place during festivals honoring who?
Dionysus, the Greek God of Wine and Fertility

What time of day were Ancient Greek plays performed? Sun rise to sunset

What is the word that means “actor”? Thespian

Who was considered the first actor? Thespis

What is an orchestra in an ancient Greek Theatre? Circular floor (stage) of a
Greek Theatre

What is special about the way the chorus spoke? In unison

Ancient Greeks actors wore what? masks

Were women allowed to act in ancient Greece? no

What does theatron mean? The seeing place

What does dran mean? To do
ROMAN THEATRE

How often were Romans able to enjoy theatre during the year? All year

What was naumachia? Flooding the theatre for shows about water battles

Seneca is known for writing what type of plays? Tragedies

Name two Roman playwrights known for writing comedies. Terence and Titus
Plautus

What was the backdrop in a Roman theater was called? Sceanae Frons

If the play was a comedy, the scaenae frons would represent what? A street of
common homes

If the play was a tragedy, the scaenae frons would represent what? Palace or
Temple

Name 4 changes Roman made to Greek-style theatre. 1 They eliminated the
chorus. 2) Added music to underscore the dialogue. 3) Did not limit the number of
performers on stage. 4) They added onstage violence.
MISC
 What was the title of the Theatre Company’s fall plays in the PAC? Noises Off,
Final Dress Rehearsal, Cinderella
 What is the title of the current musical? The Wizard of Oz
IMPROVISATION
List the 10 rules of improvisation. (Be able to do this from memory on the test.)
1. Every improvisation needs the 5 Ws: .
2. The Rule of Everyone:
3. Never Break Character:
4. Don’t put the weight of the scene on the other actor:
5. Never deny:
6. Avoid dead-end words and phrases:
7. Discover the conflict and resolution:
8. Show, don’t tell:
9. Don’t force it:
10. Keep it fresh:
1. What is the name of the Improvisational Comedy Troupe we watched (video)?
Second City
2. What’s a bad way to begin an improv? Any question that puts the weight of the
scene on the other actor such as “What are you doing?”
3. What’s almost always the best response in an improv? “Yes, and…”
4. Describe the rules of the game “Freeze” 2 people begin in an improvisational
scene. They must keep the scene moving physically. After a while, an audience
member calls “Freeze” and tags one of the players. They then start a new scene
based on the physical postion of the person they tagged. Repeat
5. Describe the rules of the game “Hitchhiker” Four people are driving in a car.
Driver finds a logical reason to exit. Everyone moves over. They pick up a
hitchhiker with an interesting character choice. Everyone in car copies the
character. Repeat.
6. Describe the rules of the game “Park Bench” Two people meet at a park bench.
After they interact, one person finds a reason to leave. A new character enter the
scene. Repeat.
7. Describe the rules of the game “Dr. Know-It-All” 3 or more actors answer
questions from the audience 1 word per head at a time. They must answer in
complete sentence. We always accept the answer as fact.
COMEDY SKETCH/SCRIPTING
 Generally, stage directions are formatted how in a script? In italics.

What is a “pitch”? presenting your idea

What is a “greenlight”? approval of your idea
AUDIENCE ETIQUETTE:
Be able to correctly identify inappropriate audience behavior and appropriate audience
etiquette. Here’s an example question: Doris bought tickets to see Little Shop of Horrors.
Her friend Martin was playing the lead role of Seymour. She wanted her friend to know
she came to support him, so every time Martin came on stage she screamed, “Martin,
you’re the man!” Did Doris demonstrate proper audience etiquette? Why or why not?
Here’s a review of audience etiquette:
Audience Etiquette – appropriate behavior at a theatrical event.
Rules of Audience Etiquette
1. Arrive on time
2. Dress appropriately. (Appropriateness is determined by a variety of factors
including style of the show, where it is performed, and time of day it is
performed. A good rule of thumb is the more expensive the ticket, the dressier
the event.)
3. Treat the actors/crew with respect
4. Treat other audience members with respect.
5. Do not talk during the performance.
6. Save your criticism until you leave the theatre. (You are not required to like
every show you see. In fact, I would worry about you if you did, but you should
know that there is time and a place to express you criticism of a show. At the
theatre is not the time or place.)
7. Turn off cell phones, pagers, etc. (Vibrate is NOT acceptable. Even when you
turn a phone to vibrate other audience members can hear and be disturbed by your
phone vibrating in an otherwise quiet theatre. Furthermore, as you’ll learn when
we discuss sound, cell phone signals can interfere with wireless microphone
transmissions.
8. No flash photography. (Flash photography can distract actors and dancers, and
in some cases can even lead to physical injury.)
9. Avoid leaving during a performance
10. Generally, food is not allowed in a theatre.
11. Do not bring a video camera. In most cases videoing a play is breaking
copyright law.
12. No crying babies.
13. No hats (you can block peoples view. Besides, wearing hats indoors is bad
manners. There are of course religious exceptions.)
14. Don’t kick the back of chairs or put your feet up on the seats.