THEATER APPRECIATION MIDTERM

Why do people go see theater?

For its immediacy, relevance, and engagement — it’s a shared, live experience that connects people emotionally and intellectually.

What makes theater a social experience?

You share it with others, yet no two audience members have the exact same experience.

What sensations does theater appeal to?

Sound (language, music, effects) and visual spectacle (sets, lighting, costumes).

How does theater engage imagination?

Through storytelling, familiar and exotic experiences, and emotional contrasts (funny/sad, good/evil).

How does theater appeal intellectually?

It engages audiences with relevant social or moral issues.

What’s the difference between “theatre” and “theater”?

They’re interchangeable; some use “theatre” for the craft, “theater” for the building.

What are the three essentials of theater?

Actors + Audience + Space (no script required — improv counts!).

What happens if one of these (actors, audience, space) is missing?

• No actors → just people standing around.

• No audience → no performance.

• No space → nowhere to perform!

What is a performance?

When someone does something and others watch — not limited to art (e.g. teaching, politics, religion, sports).

What do all performances share?

Performers, an action, spectators, space, and time.

How do performances differ?

In how performers and audiences interact (e.g. sports fans cheer, theater audiences usually don’t).

What makes theater immediate and ephemeral?

It’s live and fleeting — each performance is unique (different actors, errors, energy).

What are shared traits of all arts?

Artificial, stand-alone, self-aware, and they evoke an aesthetic response.

How do arts differ in time and space?

• Space-based: sculpture, painting, architecture.

• Time-based: music, theater, literature.

How do arts differ by audience size?

• Solitary: books, paintings.

• Group: theater, dance, concerts.

What defines a theater actor?

A person impersonating someone else in front of a live audience.

How is theater unlike film?

Theater must bring the set to the audience; movies bring the audience to the world.

Why can’t theater “pause”?

It unfolds in real time — no rewinds or fast-forwards.

Famous quotes about theater as metaphor?

• “All the world’s a stage…” — Shakespeare.

• “This world is a comedy to those that think…” — Horace Walpole.

How early should you arrive to a show?

15–30 minutes before start time.

Why turn off phones?

Actors can see the light, it distracts others, and you might get a call mid-show.

What’s the unspoken agreement between actors and audience?

React naturally — laugh, clap, cry — but respectfully.

What’s a curtain call?

When actors return to the stage for applause.

What’s useful to read before attending?

The play itself, reviews, and the program or playbill (director’s notes, time/place, cast list).

What clues can the set and lighting give?

Time period, location, social class, and mood.

What are “given circumstances”?

Everything defining the play’s world:

• Previous action (exposition)

• Environmental facts (time, place, economics, politics, religion)

• Polar attitudes (conflicts between beliefs and world)

What are “conventions” in theater?

Agreements between artist and audience, like accepting time jumps or singing emotions in musicals.

Proscenium

one side, arch frame, wings, trapdoors, orchestra pit

Thrust

three sides, no arch, entrances via aisles / voms, intimate

arena

Four sides, “Theater in the round,” no curtain, full-view scene changes

Blackbox

Flexible, Paint black to focus on lighting/actors, can reconfigure

Environmental

Site-specific, Audience moves with action (e.g. Sleep No More)

Alley

Two opposite sides, Actors perform between audiences

Booth

Temporary, Curtain setup, often for touring/educational use

Broadway

500+ people, most prestigious, $189-$283+

off-Broadway

100-499 people, more experimental, can transfer to Broadway, $80+

off-off broadway

<99, experimental, anti-commercial, $30

example of off-off Broadway success?

Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812

regional theaters

• Non-profit, reinvest revenue

• Offer jobs, experiment freely

• Contracts: LORT, SPT, LOA

amateur theaters

• Educational: learning craft (college/high school).

• Community: local volunteers, unpaid.

• Children’s: young audiences, moral/social themes.

Why “wright,” not “write”?

“Wright” = maker (like “wheelwright”).

What does a playwright do?

Creates characters’ language to reveal personality, move plot, and express ideas.

What makes playwriting different from novel writing?

Plays use concise, active, performance-ready dialogue.

Where do playwrights find inspiration?

Overheard conversations, injustice, headlines, personal experience.

How long can a play take to write?

Anywhere from a week to several years.

What do playwrights in musicals do?

• Book-writer: dialogue only.

• Lyricist: song lyrics.

• Composer: music.

• Librettist: both dialogue and lyrics.

What are some famous playwrights?

• Lynn Nottage: Ruined (2009), Sweat (2017).

• August Wilson: Pittsburgh Cycle — 10 plays exploring African American life.

• Margaret Edson: Wit (1999 Pulitzer).

What are key playwriting maxims?

• Write what you know.

• Write actions, not speeches.

• Write for actors, not readers.

How are playwrights paid?

Usually a % of box office gross (Broadway ~6%), or royalties via licensing companies.

Birth & death?** of Shakespeare

April 23, 1564–1616, Stratford-upon-Avon.

How many plays and sonnets did Shakespeare write?

38 plays, 154 sonnets, 2 narrative poems.

Categories of plays that Shakespeare?

Tragedies, comedies, histories, romances.

What’s a soliloquy?

Speaking one’s thoughts aloud when alone.

What is scansion?

Marking stressed/unstressed syllables in verse.

Define iambic pentameter.

10 syllables per line, alternating unstressed/stressed — heartbeat rhythm.

What is the “actor paradox”?

They must pretend convincingly while making the audience believe it’s real.

Two main acting styles?

• Inspirational: emotional truth via personal memory.

• Technical: controlled use of voice/body (“bag of tricks”).

Three essentials of actor training?

Script analysis, body/voice training, imagination.

What’s script analysis?

Understanding both the whole play and one’s specific character through reading, stage directions, and other characters’ lines.

What is miming?

Wordless acting relying on physical expression and shared imagination

What is a “click”?

The visible moment of contact with an imaginary object (e.g., “hitting” a wall).

Why white face paint?

To emphasize expressions; derived from commedia dell’arte and Pedrolino.

Who was the most famous mime?

Marcel Marceau, who popularized mime worldwide in the 1950s.

What are the three goals of the actor’s body?

Resistance to fatigue, quick responsiveness, and adaptive ability — to endure multiple shows, dance, or stage combat.

What is neutral mask work?

Acting training where emotion and facial expression are removed; actors must communicate solely through body movement.

Why use a neutral mask?

To help actors express character through physicality rather than face — useful for large audiences or distant viewing.

What is body language and nonverbal communication?

Using the body to express ideas and emotions without words, through gestures and posture.

Give examples of body language in theater.

• Simple: waving a hand.

• Complex: posture that contradicts dialogue.

• Practical: rhythmic dancing, use of period props (fans, canes, swords).

Why is period movement important in acting?

It helps convey social class, era, and character through movement (e.g., how one uses a fan or sword).

What must an actor learn about their voice?

To control speaking muscles and resonance, and to project clearly without strain.

Why do actors often need to “unlearn” habits?

Most people breathe shallowly; actors must relearn deep, controlled breathing to sustain projection and emotion.

What exercises help strengthen an actor’s voice?

Breath control, vocal relaxation, articulation, and dialect work.

What is the purpose of articulation exercises?

To make every word clear and understandable to the audience.

How do actors train their imagination?

Through playful, childlike games that rekindle creativity and spontaneity.

What do creative exercises teach actors?

To release embarrassment and inhibition, essential for emotionally or physically vulnerable scenes.

What are image exercises?

Actors visualize mental pictures to build characters and memories around simple objects or prompts.

Who founded the Group Theater Company?

Lee Strasberg, Harold Clurman, and Cheryl Crawford.

When and why was the Group Theater founded?

In 1931 — to create a more natural, disciplined form of American theater.

What was the Group Theater’s impact on American acting?

It established the foundation of the American Acting Technique, based on Konstantin Stanislavski’s system.

Who was Konstantin Stanislavski?

A Russian actor/director who developed a system for training actors through psychological and emotional realism.

According to Stanislavski, what must an actor analyze?

• Given circumstances

• Motivation (why a character acts/speaks)

• Objective (goal of a scene)

• Super-objective (goal across the entire play; the “through-line”)

What is the Meisner Technique?

Acting method by Sanford Meisner (Group Theater member) emphasizing “the reality of doing” and truthful reaction to surroundings.

What’s the goal of the Meisner Technique?

To get the actor out of their head and make them live truthfully under imaginary circumstances.

Who studied the Meisner Technique?

James Franco, Sebastian Stan, and many others.

Who created Method Acting?

Lee Strasberg, considered the “father of method acting.”

What is Method Acting?

A technique that connects the actor to their character using personal experiences, emotions, and memories (“affective memory”).

How does a Method actor approach a role?

By imagining themselves with the character’s thoughts and emotions, producing a lifelike performance.

Give examples of actors known for Method Acting.

Jared Leto, Dustin Hoffman, Christian Bale.