Question 1

While Broadway theatres are all within the district near Times Square in New York City, the styles of their architecture and types of their stages vary considerably.

Accepted Answer

The answer of While Broadway theatres are all within the...

Question 2

To perform in repertory means to present a series of plays over a given span of time.

Accepted Answer

Performing in repertory involves staging multiple plays in rotation over a specific period, allowing different productions to be presented in succession.

Question 3

Until the early 1950s, most new plays written in the United States originated in regional theatres.

Accepted Answer

Until the early 1950s, most new plays in the United States originated on Broadway, not in regional theatres. Regional theatres gained prominence later.

Question 4

Off-Broadway theatre began in the 1950s as an alternative to Broadway and is located in smaller theatres outside the Times Square district.

Accepted Answer

Off-Broadway theatre emerged in the 1950s as a response to the commercialism of Broadway, offering more experimental and diverse productions in smaller venues outside the main Broadway district.

Question 5

While the trend toward diversity in the American theatre has given birth to many multiethnic, multicultural, and gender-based theatre companies representing groups with special interests, plays produced by these theatres rarely enter the mainstream of American theatre.

Accepted Answer

The answer of While the trend toward diversity in the...

Question 6

Off-Broadway shows are usually produced wherever inexpensive space is available-churches, lofts, warehouses, large basements-and are characterized by low-priced productions and a wide variety of offerings.

Accepted Answer

Off-Broadway shows are known for being produced in smaller, less expensive venues compared to Broadway, allowing for more experimental and diverse productions at lower costs.

Question 7

Live theatre is actually flourishing throughout the United States; even in areas where professional theatre may not be present, there are typically active college and university theatre programs in addition to numerous amateur community theatre groups.

Accepted Answer

Live theatre is thriving in the U.S. with active college, university, and community theatre programs, even in areas lacking professional theatre.

Question 8

When a person watches a play, it is expected that they will ignore their own individual memories, emotional scars, and private fantasies.

Accepted Answer

Theater often encourages audiences to engage with their own emotions and memories, enhancing the experience and personal connection to the play.

Question 9

Women played an important role in the creation of Greek theatre during the classical period.

Accepted Answer

Women were not allowed to perform or participate in the creation of Greek theatre during the classical period; male actors played all roles, including female characters.

Question 10

If a reviewer dislikes a particular production, it is probably best to avoid it.

Accepted Answer

A single reviewer's opinion is subjective and may not reflect the views of others or your own preferences.

Question 11

A critic should treat a play as an aesthetic object separate from its social, political, or cultural context.

Accepted Answer

Critics often consider the social, political, and cultural context of a play to fully understand and evaluate its themes, messages, and impact.

Question 12

Because the reviewer should represent the tastes of the general public, it is not important that he or she have a thorough background in theatre.

Accepted Answer

A thorough background in theatre allows a reviewer to provide informed and insightful critiques, which can help the general public understand and appreciate the nuances of a performance.

Question 13

No matter how knowledgeable a critic is about theatre, much of what he or she writes is simply opinion.

Accepted Answer

Critics provide subjective interpretations and evaluations of theatrical performances, which are inherently based on personal perspectives and tastes.

Question 14

One unique aspect of Maria Irene Fornés's play Fefu and Her Friends, described in the text, is that during one part of the play the audience is divided into four groups and taken to different locations to view scenes.

Accepted Answer

Fefu and Her Friends is known for its unconventional staging, where the audience is split into groups and moved to different locations to experience the play's scenes, creating an immersive experience.

Question 15

In their work for most regional professional theatres, the dramaturgs are responsible for examining new plays, researching plays the theatre is producing, and possibly working with playwrights on developing new scripts.

Accepted Answer

Dramaturgs in regional professional theatres typically engage in tasks such as analyzing new plays, conducting research on plays being produced, and collaborating with playwrights to develop new scripts.

Question 16

Discuss a work of art that has had a particularly strong effect on you because of a personal experience that was reflected in it. How did your experience influence your response? Have other students had similar experiences?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Discuss a work of art that has...

Question 17

Analyze the culture of a particular society at a time when theatre thrived-Greece in the fifth century B. C.E., Europe in the middle ages, Elizabethan England, France in the seventeenth century-and discuss the basic assumptions of that society. Read and discuss a play which reflects the assumptions of the society.

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The answer of Analyze the culture of a particular society...

Question 18

Assume that you are going to the theatre. Choose a specific play, perhaps one you are asked to attend for class assignment, and list the preconceptions you might take with you (regarding subject matter, author, the play itself, the historical period in which it was written, and personal factors). Where do your preconceptions come from and why?

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Question 19

Discuss Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun, written in 1959, in the context of the kind of issues that were at the center of the civil rights marches of the 1960s. Discuss As Is by William Hoffmann or The Normal Heart by Larry Kramer (both produced in 1985) in the context of the treatment and understanding of gays at the height of the AIDS crisis.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Discuss Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the...

Question 20

The text notes that sometimes artists are accused of being antisocial, subversive, or enemies of the state or of common morality. Can you think of any contemporary artists that are sometimes described in these pejorative terms and why? What do people object to in their art? Do the stories we tell and the images we share affect the people who see them? In what way? Should our society be concerned about the stories and images that are being produced? To what extent should those images be controlled in the best interests of the society?

Accepted Answer

The answer of The text notes that sometimes artists are...

Quiz 2: The Background and Expectations of the Audience