Deck 5: The Director and the Producer

Question 1

The emergence of the director as a separate creative figure can partly be attributed to the

A) production elements demanded by nonrealistic drama.
B) insistence by playwrights that someone take control of the rehearsal process.
C) rise of the Broadway producing organization in the 1920s.
D) increase in numerous forms of communication, which opened up a world of other cultures to examine and bring to life on stage.

Answer 1

increase in numerous forms of communication, which opened up a world of other cultures to examine and bring to life on stage.

Question 2

Which of the following is NOT a responsibility of the director?

A) choosing a script
B) establishing the "spine" of the play
C) raising money for the production
D) establishing the style of the production

Answer 2

raising money for the production

Question 3

The fundamental action or conflict of the play is called the

A) spine.
B) skeleton.
C) metaphor.
D) theme.

Answer 3

spine.

Question 4

The way in which a play is presented, the "manner in which the spine is articulated," is called the

A) through line.
B) main action.
C) circle of attention.
D) style.

Question 5

A controlling idea, vision, or point of view that the director feels is appropriate to the play is called a directorial

A) concept.
B) image.
C) symbol.
D) run-through.

Question 6

Which of the following is NOT a responsibility of the dramaturg?

A) reading new plays
B) identifying significant plays from the past that have been overlooked
C) researching criticism and interpretations of plays from the past
D) designing the program

Question 7

When a performer closely resembles in real life the character to be enacted, this is known as

A) casting against type.
B) typecasting.
C) fashion casting.
D) form casting.

Question 8

________ is when a director decides where and when performers move and position themselves on the stage, this is called.

A) Set up
B) Visual manipulation
C) Blocking/staging
D) Shifting

Question 9

A ________ is a performance in front of an audience prior to the "official" opening of the play, when the director and the performers discover which parts of the play are successful and which are not.

A) dress rehearsal
B) preview
C) technical rehearsal
D) None of these answers is correct.

Question 10

A ________ is a rehearsal where the performers are onstage with scenery, lighting, and sound for the first time and the primary focus is the mechanical and physical aspects of production.

A) dress rehearsal
B) preview
C) technical rehearsal
D) None of these answers is correct.

Question 11

A ________ is a rehearsal where all the elements are put together, and the play is performed as if the audience were present, with no stops or interruptions and with full lights, scenery, costumes, and sound.

A) dress rehearsal
B) preview
C) technical rehearsal
D) None of these answers is correct.

Question 12

Which of the following is NOT the responsibility of the producer?

A) supervising the advertising
B) raising money to finance the production
C) arriving at a central metaphor for the play
D) securing the rights to the script

Question 13

In the nonprofit theatre, the person or group with the responsibilities of the producer is called the

A) board of directors.
B) manager.
C) coordinator.
D) CEO.

Question 14

In the nonprofit theatre, which of the following is NOT a front-of-house responsibility?

A) securing ushers
B) printing programs
C) raising money to finance the production
D) maintaining the auditorium

Question 15

The movement, pace, and rhythm of a play are NOT affected by the

A) director.
B) actors.
C) audience.
D) producer.

Question 16

________ is the representation of an abstract theme or subject through the symbolic use of characters, actions, or other elements of a production.

A) Naturalism
B) Heightened realism
C) Allegory
D) Expressionism

Question 17

________ is the term for when characters and their activities are intended to resemble life, but a certain license is allowed.

A) Naturalism
B) Heightened realism
C) Allegory
D) Expressionism

Question 18

The Crucible by Arthur Miller represents

A) naturalism.
B) theatrical style.
C) allegory.
D) expressionism.

Question 19

________ was at its height during the first quarter of the twentieth century; it gave outward expression to inward feelings.

A) Naturalism
B) Heightened realism
C) Allegory
D) Expressionism

Question 20

Which of the following is sometimes called "slice-of-life" drama?

A) naturalism
B) heightened realism
C) allegory
D) expressionism

Question 21

A medieval morality play is an example of

A) naturalism.
B) heightened realism.
C) allegory.
D) expressionism.

Question 22

Attempts to put onstage as exact a copy of life as possible, down to the smallest detail, are an example of

A) naturalism.
B) heightened realism.
C) allegory.
D) expressionism.

Question 23

________ is a kind of superrealism.

A) Naturalism
B) Heightened realism
C) Allegory
D) Expressionism

Question 24

Which of the following serves as a parable or lesson?

A) naturalism
B) heightened realism
C) allegory
D) expressionism

Question 25

The Adding Machine by Elmer Rice is an example of

A) naturalism.
B) heightened realism.
C) allegory.
D) expressionism.

Question 26

Select the response that places the directing activities in the proper order.

A) dress rehearsal, casting, developing a concept, blocking/staging, technical rehearsal
B) developing a concept, casting, blocking/staging, dress rehearsal, technical rehearsal
C) casting, developing a concept, blocking/staging, technical rehearsal, dress rehearsal
D) developing a concept, casting, blocking/staging, technical rehearsal, dress rehearsal

Question 27

Which of the following is NOT the responsibility of the stage manager?

A) taking meticulous notes regarding actors' movement and placement during blocking/staging rehearsals
B) distributing rehearsal notes after each rehearsal to all members of the production team indicating any new production changes, questions, or needs
C) discovering promising new plays and working with playwrights on developing their scripts
D) after the official opening, maintaining consistency of the director's vision

Question 28

Which of the following is a major responsibility of the stage manager?

A) alters the text and dialogue to make certain that the script serves his or her professional vision
B) identify ways in which previous directors have approached the same script or how they have approached production solutions
C) maintain the lighting/sound/scene designer's and director's vision of rhythm and pace through the proper and consistent calling of all cues during the run
D) All of these answers are correct.

Question 29

The dramaturg serves an increasingly important function particularly in regional theatre or period pieces, since their work encompasses research related to

A) previous productions of the same play.
B) discovering promising new plays.
C) the social and historical details surrounding the period in which a play takes place.
D) All of these answers are correct.

Question 30

Which of the following is NOT the responsibility of the producer?

A) reviewing all union contracts related to production
B) raising money to finance the production
C) arriving at a central metaphor for the underlying meaning of the play
D) supervising the advertising

Question 31

The starting point and foundation for this type of director is the script.

A) auteur director
B) postmodern director
C) traditional director
D) stage director

Question 32

Auteur is a French word that means:

A) author
B) artist
C) director
D) high art

Question 33

This director takes responsibility for shaping every element of production including the script.

A) auteur director
B) postmodern director
C) traditional director
D) stage director

Question 34

Prior to 1874, when George II, the duke of Saxe-Meiningen, began supervising every element of his theatrical productions, the function of the director did not exist.

Question 35

When a new play is being given its first production, the director will have a series of meetings with the playwright to iron out problems in the script.

Question 36

When a play goes into dress rehearsals, last-minute changes are no longer possible.

Question 37

After a play has had several previews, it often will go back into rehearsal prior to opening.

Question 38

Although the business of theatre has a distinctly different organization between professional "for profit"
and professional "not for profit"
theatre entities, the actual artistic structure and process are very similar.

Question 39

An auteur director adheres closely to the playwright's intent in the form of text and sequence of events.

Question 40

Imagine that you are directing one of the plays read during the semester. Describe the director's responsibilities in preparing the play for performance. Trace the process by which a director selects and rehearses actors and actresses before public performances.

Question 41

The auteur director uses the play text as raw material for his or her own vision. The text may be altered or radically reinterpreted to fit the auteur director's vision. Discuss whether this approach to directing is ethical. Should the director be able to distort an author's work? Is rearrangement or reinterpretation distortion? What if the result is a brilliant work of art in itself? Are there boundaries beyond which an auteur director should not go?

Question 42

While the director is very important to the success of a production, his or her work is not easily identified by audiences. Discuss how a critic or a reviewer might be able to evaluate a director's contribution.

Question 43

It is important for the director to be true to the spirit of the play as well as the author's intent. In the case of an author who is dead, how might the director go about doing this?

Question 44

The text indicates that several "spines"
are possible for a given play. How can this be?

Question 45

Both the critic and the director "stand in"
for the audience during various phases of the production process. Discuss similarities and differences between the two jobs. Do you think a director would be a good critic? Would a critic be a good director?

Question 46

Compare the roles of director, performers, producer, and stage manager with roles in business or other arts. For instance, is there a job in a corporation that is similar to that of the director? Is there such a job in a symphony orchestra? Discuss the other roles in these terms as well.

Question 47

Casting is an important aspect of the director's job, since it has such an effect on the way the play is perceived by an audience. Directors frequently cast according to type in order to make the audience's perception easier. Is this good for the play? The actors? The theatre as a whole?

Question 48

A dramaturg serves many functions. Which are particularly useful to the director of a classic play as she begins to develop a concept for the spine of the production?