The Creative Spirit An Introduction to Theatre 6th Edition by Arnold – Test Bank

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CHAPTER 5

THE DIRECTOR

MATCHING

1. Match the person with the most appropriate statement about him or her.

George II, duke of Saxe-Meiningen :: Established an aesthetic for the role of the director

in the late 19th century

Konstantin Stanislavsky :: Most famous and influential director of early realism

Jerzy Grotowski :: Founder of the Theater Laboratory in Poland who was committed to

the concept of a “poor theatre”

Anton Chekhov :: Author of The Seagull

Elizabeth LeCompte :: Founding member and director of the Wooster Group

Robert Wilson :: Director known for large scale works which emphasize spectacular

visual effects

Lloyd Richards :: Director of the original productions of many of August Wilson’s plays

Nancy Keystone :: Director of Apollo

Ping Chong :: Director who relies on all the resources of the theatre to lift audiences into

an otherworldly view of human existence

MULTIPLE CHOICE

2. How does Harold Clurman describe the role of the director?

A. The ringleader of the circus

B. The author of the stage action

C. The subtle mistress of the performers

D. The casual observer

Ans: B

Page: 134

3. When did the position of the director become a part of the theater?

A. There have been directors for as long as there have been performances.

B. During the development of the Beijing Opera

C. When plays became more complex during the period of Elizabethan drama

D. As there became an interest in realism during the 19th century

Ans: D

Page: 1354. Why was the position of director created in the theatre?

A. As texts became more complex, the actors and playwrights wanted to focus on their jobs

alone and not have to also stage the productions in which they were involved.

B. From nearly the beginning, there has been a need for someone who is not performing to stand

apart and guide the production.

C. With the advent of realism and a profusion of theatre styles that arose in response to realism,

new plays required a director to stage them.

D. Actors could make more money if they also took on the demands of directing other actors in a

production.

Ans: C

Page: 135

5. The Seagull failed in its first production. Why?

A. The rehearsal process allowed too much exploration.

B. No one had recognized that with this new type of play, changes in production methods were

necessary.

C. The text had not been fully developed.

D. The author was too sick and much of his interaction was reduced to correspondence.

Ans: B

Page: 137

6. Which is a way Konstantin Stanislavsky changed the acting style of his time?

A. By having actors act as an ensemble instead of melodramatically

B. By having actors use the external acting approach as opposed to the internal acting approach

C. By having actors improvise portions of the script if they felt the need as opposed to using only

the playwright’s words

D. By having the actors break the convention of the fourth wall

Ans: A

Page: 137

7. What did Stanislavsky mean when he referred to the spine of the play?

A. The main narrative

B. The central action or central idea that draws together all the smaller plot incidents and all the

separate character actions

C. The one character that is the main instigator of the whole plot

D. The playwright’s initial vision – the idea that motivated the playwright to create the play in

the first place.

Ans: B

Page: 137

8. Which theatre director sought to create an approach to acting that would maximize the

expressive power of the actor’s total instrument?

A. Jerzy Grotowski

B. Harold Clurman

C. Konstantin Stanislavsky

D. Duke of Saxe-MeiningenAns: A

Page: 139

9. Which is not characteristic of Grotowski’s approach to creating performance pieces?

A. He used puppetry techniques extensively.

B. He believed that the director should shape the stage space.

C. He freely adapted the works of different playwrights.

D. He did not use lavish high-tech production values.

Ans: A

Page: 141

10. Grotowski’s desire to avoid lavish auditoriums, have only necessary objects or costume

pieces for the actors, and not utilize available theatre technologies, gave his theatre what name?

A. The lonely theatre

B. The bare stage

C. The poor theatre

D. The only theatre

Ans: C

Page: 141

11. Which of the directors outlined in the text embraces puppets, intricate scenic arrangements,

projections and animations, along with live actors?

A. Konstantin Stanislavsky

B. Harold Clurman

C. Ping Chong

D. Jerzy Grotowski

Ans: C

Page: 145

12. Which of the following is not listed as a director’s responsibility?

A. To choose the play

B. To develop a “concept” for the production

C. To guide the work of the actors

D. To rewrite the playwright’s words to fit their “concept”

Ans: D

Page: 147

13. At what stage of the creative process does a director work to create a metaphor for a

production?

A. Usually well in advance of the work involving the actors

B. During the initial read-throughs and table talk discussions with the cast

C. During the blocking portion of rehearsal once the actors are on their feet

D. Just before opening night so it inspires the actors to new heights

Ans: A

Page: 14914. What was the central image or metaphor used in the Oregon Shakespeare Festival production

of Macbeth in 2002?

A. A spider web

B. The cliffs of Scotland

C. A pool of blood

D. Nightmares

Ans: C

Page: 151

15. The selection of certain actors because they have a certain physical appearance and

personality is called __________.

A. Color-blind casting

B. Pre-casting

C. Typecasting

D. Cross-gender casting

Ans: C

Page: 152

16. Which of the following is not true in terms of color-blind or non-traditional casting?

A. American directors prefer to avoid color-blind and non-traditional casting.

B. There is increasing participation in the theatre of actors and directors from diverse ethnic

groups.

C. Contemporary productions frequently combine actors from different racial backgrounds even

when playing members of the same family.

D. Directors utilize color-blind casting in an attempt to cast the best actor for the role.

Ans: A

Page: 152

17. Which is not a reason why directors keep rehearsals closed to the general public?

A. It is done in respectful consideration of the actor’s efforts and because of the vulnerability

inherent in the acting process.

B. It is done by the director in an attempt to create an atmosphere that is conducive to the

creative work for all involved.

C. Outside observers might make inappropriate commentary or inhibit the actor’s work by

making them feel that they are “performing” before they have completed their foundation work.

D. Directors don’t want actors to waste their best performances in rehearsal.

Ans: D

Page: 152

18. What is the process of guiding the audience’s attention to a specific actor or point on stage

called?

A. Blocking

B. Improvisation

C. Focus

D. Spatial Composition

Ans: CPage: 155

19. Which of the following is not a responsibility of a director in the theatre today?

A. Line memorization

B. Focus

C. Spatial composition

D. Rhythm and pacing

Ans: A

Page: 155-158

TRUE OR FALSE

20. The use of a director is as old as the theatre itself.

Ans: F

Page: 135

21. One of the reasons the Duke of Saxe-Meiningen became director of Meiningen court theatre

was to promote his actors as stars.

Ans: F

Page: 136

22. Stanislavsky defined the position of the director as one who interprets the playwright’s

creation.

Ans: T

Page: 139

23. A director decides how a play is to be interpreted, regardless of the time period it was

written.

Ans: T

Page: 138

24. Grotowski had a rigorous and athletic program for actor training.

Ans: T

Page: 140

25. Grotowski believed that the text must be the dominating force when creating a production.

Ans: F

Page: 141

26. Typecasting has always been avoided in the American theatre.

Ans: F

Page: 152

27. One of the functions of the director is to be the actor’s audience to confirm what is being

clearly communicated.

Ans: T

Page: 15328. Directors usually keep the majority of their focus and energy on the actors and their process

during the technical rehearsals and let the designers take responsibility for coordinating their

parts of the process into the production.

Ans: F

Page: 158