theatre in culture - exam 3

With what role did today’s Stage Manager originate, as far back as the 1700s?

The Prompter (dictated lines and music to actors from the prompter’s box)

This role is arguably THE MOST CRUCIAL member of the artistic team.

Stage Manager

What is the role of the Technical Director?

To build the designs that the scenic designer conceives 

What are the three original basic design categories?

Scenic, costume, and lighting

This document is the master copy of the script of a play or musical, used by the stage manager to notate and ultimately call the show with.

The Prompt Book

What acting theorist gave us the traditional “Method” approach to acting?

Konstantin Stanislavski (aka: Stan the Man)

What is “blocking” as it pertains to acting?

Literal physical movements of actors on stage

What are the two main approaches to acting?

Presentational (artificial, gratuitous) and Representational (conveying true emotion)

Compare/Contrast Objectives and Super-Objectives according to the Stanislavskian acting technique.

Objective (scene-specific immediate goals of the character)

Super-Objective (overarching, large-scale life goals of the character)

What should a light or sound board operator do if the stage manager drops a cue?

Nothing. Nobody makes judgement calls except for the stage manager. 

What is the largest operative theatre on Broadway?

The Gershwin

What is the difference between a Broadway house and an Off-Broadway house?

Broadway houses in the theatre district have over 500 seats. Off-Broadway houses in the theatre district have 100-499 seats.

Define “authorial intent"

Staying true to the ideas of the author of the original work 

(i.e. preserving Gaston Leroux’s original ideas for Phantom of the Opera as it gets transformed into a megamusical for new audiences)

What are the TWO main types of dramaturgy?

Production Dramaturgy and New Work Dramaturgy

What is the newest fully operational Broadway theatre?

The Lyric (built and opened in 1998)

This collection of essays on dramatic criticism is the "Aristotle’s Poetics" of dramaturgy.

Gotthold Lessing’s “Hamburg Dramaturgy"

She was the 1st female historian, also known as one of the very first dramaturgs on record.

Hrosvitha of Gandersheim

Briefly explain WTPN (Why This Play Now?)

Why THIS play? (This particular play over another)

Why HERE? (In this local, regional, or institutional place)

Why NOW? (At this point in local, regional, global, or societal history)

List THREE basic dramaturgical questions one must ask when approaching any piece of theatre:

Time Period

Location/Region

Character Background

Class Observation

Dialect/Linguistics

Character Conflict/Resolution

This 18th century dramatist and philosopher is known as the “father” of dramaturgy.

Gotthold Lessing

What should the ultimate goal be of all artistic and production team members working on a production?

To realize the director’s vision.

What character in John Patrick Shanley’s Doubt ends the play by saying “I have doubts…..such doubts!"

Sister Aloysius 

This ancient term defines the actor’s purpose of “imitating what is real or true."

Mimesis

What does Richard Wagner’s “Gesamtkunstwerk” concept mean in regard to producing a cohesive piece of theatre?

Total Work of Art

If a shift or movement is reflected in a period style or piece of art, what does that indicate in regard to the society/culture at large?

There must be a shift or movement taking place within the society/culture.