Test Information Guide

Field 45: Theater
Sample Multiple-Choice Questions

Expand All | Collapse All

Playwriting, Performance, and Direction of Dramatic Works

Objective 0001
Understand principles and fundamental skills related to playwriting and principles of dramatic structure.

1. A playwright is working on a courtroom drama about a woman wrongfully accused of a crime. Which of the following resolutions to the play would be an example of a deus ex machina?

  1. A jury dismisses the case against the woman after failing to reach a unanimous decision.
  2. The judge sentences the woman to life in prison.
  3. A mystery witness appears on the last day of the trial to clear the woman's name.
  4. The woman has a mental breakdown while waiting for the verdict.
Answer
Correct Response: C.

Correct Response: C.


Objective 0002
Understand principles and fundamental skills related to acting.

2. Actor training based on the work of Viola Spolin would most likely focus on:

  1. group discussions about script and character analysis.
  2. workshop staging of classical texts.
  3. physical exercises that push the body to its limits.
  4. theater games designed to unleash creativity.
Answer
Correct Response: D.

Correct Response: D.


Objective 0002
Understand principles and fundamental skills related to acting.

3. Neutral mask training is used typically to help actors develop which of the following abilities?

  1. finding a keener awareness of themselves and their surroundings
  2. making choices that are grounded in the given circumstances of a script
  3. using exaggerated gestures and body language to bring a character to life
  4. anticipating the needs of other performers on stage
Answer
Correct Response: A.

Correct Response: A.


Objective 0003
Understand principles and fundamental skills related to directing.

4. A director can best draw an audience's attention to a particular actor by placing the actor in which of the following blocking positions?

  1. in the middle of a straight line
  2. at the vertex of a triangle
  3. as part of a cluster with at least three other performers
  4. in the upstage left corner of a square
Answer
Correct Response: B.

Correct Response: B.


Design, Production, and Management of Dramatic Works

Objective 0004
Understand principles and fundamental skills related to producing and managing theatrical performances.

5. A major regional theater company runs performances concurrently on three different stages. Which of the following staff members would most likely be responsible for maintaining the rehearsal and performance schedules for this company?

  1. production manager
  2. managing director
  3. stage manager
  4. artistic director
Answer
Correct Response: A.

Correct Response: A.


Objective 0005
Understand principles and fundamental skills related to set, costume, makeup, lighting, and sound design.

6. A theatrical production uses which of the following three categories of sound design?

  1. analysis, research, and implementation
  2. miking, mixing, and amplifying
  3. frequency, intensity, and pitch
  4. music, effects, and reinforcement
Answer
Correct Response: D.

Correct Response: D.


Theater History and Dramatic Literature

Objective 0007
Understand significant British and other European dramatic literature from ancient times to the present.

7. Which of the following scenic designs exemplifies the "new stagecraft" of Edward Gordon Craig and Adolphe Appia?

  1. a three-dimensional setting that favors evocation over literal representation
  2. a simple unit set used to represent the different rooms of a domestic space
  3. a painted backdrop that can be changed from one scene to another
  4. a rectangular carpet laid in the middle of an otherwise empty stage
Answer
Correct Response: A.

Correct Response: A.


Objective 0008
Understand significant dramatic literature of the United States.

8. Which of the following playwrights is known for taking playful and imaginative approaches to subjects frequently considered taboo?

  1. Anna Deavere Smith
  2. David Mamet
  3. Paula Vogel
  4. John Patrick Shanley
Answer
Correct Response: C.

Correct Response: C.


Objective 0009
Understand significant dramatic literature from other global cultural traditions.

9. The works of Argentine playwright Griselda Gambaro and Argentine-Chilean playwright Ariel Dorfman share which of the following themes?

  1. political repression and violence
  2. folklore and mythology
  3. childhood and pop culture
  4. sports and competition
Answer
Correct Response: A.

Correct Response: A.


Theater Education

Objective 0010
Understand principles and fundamental skills related to theater education for children and adolescents.

10. A high school theater teacher would like to introduce students to the concept of sense memory. Which of the following exercises would provide the most effective introduction to this acting technique?

  1. interviewing students about an unresolved emotional event from their lives as the rest of the class takes notes on changes in each student's voice and body language
  2. asking students to mime carrying a series of different objects (e.g., snake, dirty diaper, handful of ice cubes) that evoke a strong physical and mental response
  3. having students perform short scenes with pebbles in their shoes and then discussing how this obstacle affected their performances
  4. playing excerpts from several different pieces of classical music and asking students to make a list of the images and feelings that each selection evokes
Answer
Correct Response: B.

Correct Response: B.