The Theatre Experience 13Th Edition By Edwin Wilson – Test Bank

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Chapter 05 – The Director and the Producer

Chapter 05

The Director and the Producer

Multiple Choice Questions

1. The emergence of the director as a separate creative figure can partly be attributed to the

A. production elements demanded by nonrealistic drama.

B. insistence by playwrights that someone take control of the rehearsal process.

C. rise of the Broadway producing organization in the 1920s.

D. increase in numerous forms of communication, which opened up a world of other cultures

to examine and bring to life on stage.

2. Which of the following is NOT a responsibility of the director?

A. choosing a script

B. establishing the “spine” of the play

C. raising money for the production

D. establishing the style of the production

3. The fundamental action or conflict of the play is called the

A. spine.

B. skeleton.

C. metaphor.

D. theme.

4. The way in which a play is presented, the “manner in which the spine is articulated,” is

called the

A. through line.

B. main action.

C. circle of attention.

D. style.

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McGraw-Hill Education.Chapter 05 – The Director and the Producer

5. A controlling idea, vision, or point of view that the director feels is appropriate to the play

is called a directorial

A. concept.

B. image.

C. symbol.

D. run-through.

6. Which of the following is NOT a responsibility of the dramaturg?

A. reading new plays

B. identifying significant plays from the past that have been overlooked

C. researching criticism and interpretations of plays from the past

D. designing the program

7. When a performer closely resembles in real life the character to be enacted, this is known

as

A. casting against type.

B. typecasting.

C. fashion casting.

D. form casting.

8. ________ is when a director decides where and when performers move and position

themselves on the stage, this is called.

A. Set up

B. Visual manipulation

C. Blocking/staging

D. Shifting

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McGraw-Hill Education.Chapter 05 – The Director and the Producer

9. A ________ is a performance in front of an audience prior to the “official” opening of the

play, when the director and the performers discover which parts of the play are successful and

which are not.

A. dress rehearsal

B. preview

C. technical rehearsal

D. None of these answers is correct.

10. A ________ is a rehearsal where the performers are onstage with scenery, lighting, and

sound for the first time and the primary focus is the mechanical and physical aspects of

production.

A. dress rehearsal

B. preview

C. technical rehearsal

D. None of these answers is correct.

11. A ________ is a rehearsal where all the elements are put together, and the play is

performed as if the audience were present, with no stops or interruptions and with full lights,

scenery, costumes, and sound.

A. dress rehearsal

B. preview

C. technical rehearsal

D. None of these answers is correct.

12. Which of the following is NOT the responsibility of the producer?

A. supervising the advertising

B. raising money to finance the production

C. arriving at a central metaphor for the play

D. securing the rights to the script

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McGraw-Hill Education.Chapter 05 – The Director and the Producer

13. In the nonprofit theatre, the person or group with the responsibilities of the producer is

called the

A. board of directors.

B. manager.

C. coordinator.

D. CEO.

14. In the nonprofit theatre, which of the following is NOT a front-of-house responsibility?

A. securing ushers

B. printing programs

C. raising money to finance the production

D. maintaining the auditorium

15. The movement, pace, and rhythm of a play are NOT affected by the

A. director.

B. actors.

C. audience.

D. producer.

16. ________ is the representation of an abstract theme or subject through the symbolic use of

characters, actions, or other elements of a production.

A. Naturalism

B. Heightened realism

C. Allegory

D. Expressionism

17. ________ is the term for when characters and their activities are intended to resemble life,

but a certain license is allowed.

A. Naturalism

B. Heightened realism

C. Allegory

D. Expressionism

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McGraw-Hill Education.Chapter 05 – The Director and the Producer

18. The Crucible by Arthur Miller represents

A. naturalism.

B. theatrical style.

C. allegory.

D. expressionism.

19. ________ was at its height during the first quarter of the twentieth century; it gave

outward expression to inward feelings.

A. Naturalism

B. Heightened realism

C. Allegory

D. Expressionism

20. Which of the following is sometimes called “slice-of-life” drama?

A. naturalism

B. heightened realism

C. allegory

D. expressionism

21. A medieval morality play is an example of

A. naturalism.

B. heightened realism.

C. allegory.

D. expressionism.

22. Attempts to put onstage as exact a copy of life as possible, down to the smallest detail, are

an example of

A. naturalism.

B. heightened realism.

C. allegory.

D. expressionism.

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McGraw-Hill Education.Chapter 05 – The Director and the Producer

23. ________ is a kind of superrealism.

A. Naturalism

B. Heightened realism

C. Allegory

D. Expressionism

24. Which of the following serves as a parable or lesson?

A. naturalism

B. heightened realism

C. allegory

D. expressionism

25. The Adding Machine by Elmer Rice is an example of

A. naturalism.

B. heightened realism.

C. allegory.

D. expressionism.

26. Select the response that places the directing activities in the proper order.

A. dress rehearsal, casting, developing a concept, blocking/staging, technical rehearsal

B. developing a concept, casting, blocking/staging, dress rehearsal, technical rehearsal

C. casting, developing a concept, blocking/staging, technical rehearsal, dress rehearsal

D. developing a concept, casting, blocking/staging, technical rehearsal, dress rehearsal

27. Which of the following is NOT the responsibility of the stage manager?

A. taking meticulous notes regarding actors’ movement and placement during

blocking/staging rehearsals

B. distributing rehearsal notes after each rehearsal to all members of the production team

indicating any new production changes, questions, or needs

C. discovering promising new plays and working with playwrights on developing their scripts

D. after the official opening, maintaining consistency of the director’s vision

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McGraw-Hill Education.Chapter 05 – The Director and the Producer

28. Which of the following is a major responsibility of the stage manager?

A. alters the text and dialogue to make certain that the script serves his or her professional

vision

B. identify ways in which previous directors have approached the same script or how they

have approached production solutions

C. maintain the lighting/sound/scene designer’s and director’s vision of rhythm and pace

through the proper and consistent calling of all cues during the run

D. All of these answers are correct.

29. The dramaturg serves an increasingly important function particularly in regional theatre

or period pieces, since their work encompasses research related to

A. previous productions of the same play.

B. discovering promising new plays.

C. the social and historical details surrounding the period in which a play takes place.

D. All of these answers are correct.

30. Which of the following is NOT the responsibility of the producer?

A. reviewing all union contracts related to production

B. raising money to finance the production

C. arriving at a central metaphor for the underlying meaning of the play

D. supervising the advertising

31. The starting point and foundation for this type of director is the script.

A. auteur director

B. postmodern director

C. traditional director

D. stage director

32. Auteur is a French word that means:

A. author

B. artist

C. director

D. high art

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McGraw-Hill Education.Chapter 05 – The Director and the Producer

33. This director takes responsibility for shaping every element of production including the

script.

A. auteur director

B. postmodern director

C. traditional director

D. stage director

True / False Questions

34. Prior to 1874, when George II, the duke of Saxe-Meiningen, began supervising every

element of his theatrical productions, the function of the director did not exist.

FALSE

35. When a new play is being given its first production, the director will have a series of

meetings with the playwright to iron out problems in the script.

TRUE

36. When a play goes into dress rehearsals, last-minute changes are no longer possible.

FALSE

37. After a play has had several previews, it often will go back into rehearsal prior to

opening.

FALSE

38. Although the business of theatre has a distinctly different organization between

professional “for profit” and professional “not for profit” theatre entities, the actual artistic

structure and process are very similar.

TRUE

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McGraw-Hill Education.Chapter 05 – The Director and the Producer

39. An auteur director adheres closely to the playwright’s intent in the form of text and

sequence of events.

FALSE

Essay Questions

40. Imagine that you are directing one of the plays read during the semester. Describe the

director’s responsibilities in preparing the play for performance. Trace the process by which a

director selects and rehearses actors and actresses before public performances.

Answers will vary

41. The auteur director uses the play text as raw material for his or her own vision. The text

may be altered or radically reinterpreted to fit the auteur director’s vision. Discuss whether

this approach to directing is ethical. Should the director be able to distort an author’s work? Is

rearrangement or reinterpretation distortion? What if the result is a brilliant work of art in

itself? Are there boundaries beyond which an auteur director should not go?

Answers will vary

42. While the director is very important to the success of a production, his or her work is not

easily identified by audiences. Discuss how a critic or a reviewer might be able to evaluate a

director’s contribution.

Answers will vary

43. It is important for the director to be true to the spirit of the play as well as the author’s

intent. In the case of an author who is dead, how might the director go about doing this?

Answers will vary

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McGraw-Hill Education.Chapter 05 – The Director and the Producer

44. The text indicates that several “spines” are possible for a given play. How can this be?

Answers will vary

45. Both the critic and the director “stand in” for the audience during various phases of the

production process. Discuss similarities and differences between the two jobs. Do you think a

director would be a good critic? Would a critic be a good director?

Answers will vary

46. Compare the roles of director, performers, producer, and stage manager with roles in

business or other arts. For instance, is there a job in a corporation that is similar to that of the

director? Is there such a job in a symphony orchestra? Discuss the other roles in these terms as

well.

Answers will vary

47. Casting is an important aspect of the director’s job, since it has such an effect on the way

the play is perceived by an audience. Directors frequently cast according to type in order to

make the audience’s perception easier. Is this good for the play? The actors? The theatre as a

whole?

Answers will vary

48. A dramaturg serves many functions. Which are particularly useful to the director of a

classic play as she begins to develop a concept for the spine of the production?

Answers will vary

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