Skip to main content

Study Guide

Sample Selected-Response Questions
Field 49: Theater

Practice Questions

Expand All | Collapse All

Subarea I–Playwriting, Performance, and Direction of Dramatic Works

Objective 0001: Understand principles of playwriting and dramatic structure.

1. Most playwrights include exposition primarily to:

  1. help restrict the scope of the play to a manageable size.
  2. provide audiences with essential information and background material.
  3. help actors find an effective stimulus for sense-memory work.
  4. adhere to a consistent and timehonored method of beginning a play.
Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
Correct Response: B.
Objective 0002: Understand principles of acting.

2. An actor can most effectively use the elements of physical gesture and voice by:

  1. combining them in an appropriate interpretation of the meaning of the text.
  2. gesturing during pauses in the vocal narrative to maintain audience interest.
  3. presenting words and gestures with equal emphasis throughout the performance.
  4. devising a precise vocabulary of gestures to reinforce the meaning of the spoken words.
Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
Correct Response: A.
Objective 0002: Understand principles of acting.

3. When dividing a scene into beats, an actor should look primarily for the moments when:

  1. a character's action or objective changes.
  2. questions are asked.
  3. a character expresses intense emotions.
  4. plot information is revealed.
Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
Correct Response: A.
Objective 0003: Understand principles of directing.

4. A director who auditions actors using cold readings should provide actors with:

  1. a detailed synopsis of the play.
  2. partners who have memorized the scenes.
  3. a choice of several props.
  4. sufficient time to look over the scenes.
Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
Correct Response: D.
Objective 0003: Understand principles of directing.

5. A director is staging a farce and is concerned that the cast of student actors will be caught off guard by the audience's response. Primarily which of the following techniques should the director use to prepare the actors for opening night?

  1. sitting close to the actors and reacting loudly to surprising moments
  2. asking the sound board operator to randomly insert a laugh track cue during technical rehearsals
  3. encouraging the actors to pause after any lines that are likely to get laughs
  4. allowing the cast and crew to invite a small group of friends to watch the dress rehearsals
Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
Correct Response: D.

 

Subarea II–Design, Production, and Management of Dramatic Works

Objective 0004: Understand principles of producing and managing theatrical performances.

6. Notating blocking in the prompt book is typically the responsibility of the:

  1. stage manager.
  2. director.
  3. producer.
  4. choreographer.
Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
Correct Response: A.
Objective 0004: Understand principles of producing and managing theatrical performances.

7. Which of the following would be most likely to affect a play's licensing fee for a community theater production?

  1. the number of actors in the cast
  2. the intended audience
  3. the size of the performance venue
  4. the time of year
Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
Correct Response: C.
Objective 0005: Understand set, costume, and lighting design and execution.

8. The most common use of a cyclorama is to:

  1. provide a picture frame for the set.
  2. isolate the auditorium from the stage during fires.
  3. mask the sides of the stage.
  4. surround the set with the illusion of an open sky.
Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
Correct Response: D.
Objective 0005: Understand set, costume, and lighting design and execution.

9. A costume designer is using color to capture the archetypal qualities of a play's characters. For this purpose, shades of red would be the best fit for a character described as:

  1. pure, melancholy, and youthful.
  2. cool, confident, and soothing.
  3. affectionate, intense, and aggressive.
  4. dignified, stately, and elegant.
Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
Correct Response: C.

 

Subarea III–Theater History and Dramatic Literature

Objective 0006: Understand the history of drama and theater.

10. In the mid-twentieth century, the Soviet government advocated the theatrical style of Socialist Realism because such theater:

  1. distracted citizens from economic hardships.
  2. kindled appreciation for traditional Russian aesthetic ideals.
  3. provided inexpensive public entertainment.
  4. idealized life within the Soviet system.
Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
Correct Response: D.
Objective 0006: Understand the history of drama and theater.

11. Aristotle's understanding of a tragic hero is best described as:

  1. a renowned character who meets catastrophe due to a misjudgment or weakness.
  2. a villainous character who overcomes adversity by unethical means.
  3. an average character who sacrifices individual happiness for the common good.
  4. a virtuous character who succumbs to vice after being wrongfully accused of a crime.
Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
Correct Response: A.
Objective 0007: Understand British and other European dramatic literature from ancient times through the present.

12. Which of the following plays is an example of a romantic comedy?

  1. Romeo and Juliet
  2. As You Like It
  3. Antony and Cleopatra
  4. Measure for Measure
Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
Correct Response: B.
Objective 0007: Understand British and other European dramatic literature from ancient times through the present.

13. The names of characters in Restoration comedies were used primarily to convey information about each character's:

  1. job type.
  2. social status.
  3. personality traits.
  4. ethnic background.
Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
Correct Response: C.
Objective 0008: Understand the dramatic literature of the United States.

14. Which of the following is a primary concern of Lillian Hellman's plays?

  1. the appearance of symbolic characters who cause the realism of the stage space to collapse
  2. an exploration of her characters' memories and a blurring of the line between truth and illusion
  3. highly sensitive characters who struggle to understand seemingly random actions and dialogue
  4. the moral positions of her characters and their inability to respond to situations effectively
Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
Correct Response: D.
Objective 0008: Understand the dramatic literature of the United States.

15. Which of the following theatrical innovations was introduced by the experimental theater movement of the 1960s?

  1. video designs that allowed actors to interact with a moving image
  2. environmental staging that eliminated the distinction between the actors' and the audience's space
  3. revolving stages that could accommodate three or more settings
  4. performance techniques that emphasized physical and emotional reflexes over internal motivation
Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
Correct Response: B.
Objective 0009: Understand dramatic literature from other cultural traditions.

16. The oppositional and revolutionary drama of Latin American countries in the 1970s and 1980s was a response to primarily which of the following?

  1. the development of indigenous theatrical performances
  2. dictatorships and widespread political violence
  3. the absence of realistic acting styles
  4. low wages and poor working conditions
Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
Correct Response: B.
Objective 0009: Understand dramatic literature from other cultural traditions.

17. The performances of a griot serve which of the following purposes in western African culture?

  1. passing music and oration skills on to the next generation
  2. educating the public about health issues at a grassroots level
  3. preserving the genealogies and oral history of the community
  4. connecting people from a variety of social classes
Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
Correct Response: C.

 

Subarea IV–Theater Education

Objective 0010: Understand principles of theater education for children and adolescents.

18. Talk-backs are a valuable addition to a children's theater performance because they:

  1. introduce rules of conduct for both the performers and the audience.
  2. provide a natural transition back to a classroom setting.
  3. encourage children to question and comment on the theater experience.
  4. allow the children to be coached by professional actors.
Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
Correct Response: C.
Objective 0010: Understand principles of theater education for children and adolescents.

19. Which of the following continuums reflects current views on the theater education of children?

  1. dramatic play → creative drama → formal theater
  2. monologues → scenes → plays
  3. puppet shows → theater for young → audiences participation theater
  4. writing → devising → improvising
Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
Correct Response: A.
Objective 0011: Understand the interdisciplinary nature of theater.

20. A background in still photography would best help a theater director with which of the following tasks?

  1. drawing the audience's attention to the subtleties of a script
  2. leading actors in movement exercises that help develop their characters
  3. communicating a production concept to the design team
  4. blocking scenes to create dynamic stage compositions
Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
Correct Response: D.