Deck 6: From Romanticism to Realism

Question 1

_____ Which is an implication some derived from Charles Darwin's theories?

A) Heredity and environment influence human behavior and characteristics
B) Conscience is innate
C) Shakespeare's plays should be performed as initially intended by the playwright
D) All of the above
E) None of the above

Answer 1

A

Question 2

_____ A Doll's House exemplifies realism in that:

A) Most of the characters are stereotypes who are consciously aware of their behavior
B) The play develops logically through a cause-to-effect dramatic construction
C) The play focuses on characters against a spectacular background
D) All of the above
E) None of the above

Answer 2

B

Question 3

_____Which artistic movement challenged neoclassicism in the late 18^th and early 19^th centuries?

A) Dadaism
B) Romanticism
C) Realism
D)Naturalism

Answer 3

B

Question 4

_____ Melodrama encouraged the development of realistic spectacle

Question 5

_____ Stanislavsky believed that on stage the actor should be free to improvise spontaneously

Question 6

_____ The independent theatre movement:

A) Staged popular melodramas on stages specially equipped for aquatic or equine effects
B) Staged public performances of cutting edge dramas by young, unpublished writers
C) Got around the censorship laws governing public performance by staging "private" performances

Question 7

_____ Wagner's demand for "unity of production:"

A) Sought to filter all stage expressions through a single artistic consciousness
B) Sought to demonstrate the effects of environment and heredity through realistic, "box-set" scenery
C) Sought for crowd scenes to be played by large groups of actors unified by a single purpose

Question 8

_____ The complexity involved in staging the spectacular effects required by melodrama was a contributing factor in:

A) Stanislavsky's work at the Moscow Art Theatre
B) The development of the German Sturm and Drang
C) The perceived need for a director to coordinate and unify stage action
D) The objection by censors to the public presentation of Ibsen's plays

Question 9

_____ Realism and naturalism were based on the idea that character is determined by heredity and environment

Question 10

_____Who is usually considered the first director, in the modern sense?

A) Konstantin Stanislavsky
B) Emile Zola
C) Richard Wagner
D) George II, duke of Saxe-Meiningen

Question 11

_____ Saxe-Meiningen's company was known especially for its realistic crowd scenes

Question 12

_____ Romanticists thought of a play as merely "a slice of life" - reality transferred to the stage.

Question 13

_____Ibsen's dramas were considered controversial because:

A) They sensationalized violence through elaborate spectacle
B) They focused on lower-class characters and unsavory life-styles
C) They challenged existing moral values and social norms

Question 14

_____ Numerous independent theatres were established all over Europe, the first of which was the Théâtre Libre in Paris.

Question 15

_____ Stanislavsky's "magic if" refers to:

A) A training method through which the performer could increase their physical dexterity and agility
B) A way through which the performer may imaginatively project themselves into the world of the play
C) The standard stage movement practice of performers at the Moscow Art Theatre, wherein the secondary actor moved to the center of the stage if the primary actor moved away from it
D) The practice of observing real life behavior and then transferring it directly to the stage
True/False

Question 16

_____ The configuration of Wagner's theatre at Bayreuth set the pattern for most 20^th century theatres

Question 17

_____ Among other things, Freud's theories contributed to an increased awareness of subtext (the possibility of a covert meaning beneath what is overtly communicated)

Question 18

_____ In the play A Doll's House, Nora walks out on her husband because he won't give her any money

Question 19

_____ George Bernard Shaw wrote comedies for London's Independent Theatre that punctured popular prejudices and provoked audiences to reassess their values

Question 20

_____Which was NOT an appeal of melodrama?

A) Realistic spectacle
B) Suspense
C) Box Sets
D) The vindication of virtue

Question 21

Explain the concepts of Richard Wagner: what he sought to create and how he realized this goal through his production practices and the creation of his theatre at Bayreuth.

Question 22

Explain the 5 basic premises of the Stanislavsky system of acting and relate why such a system might be particularly effective for the performers in plays by Ibsen or Chekhov.