Theatre History 2nd Exam

Concern for the worth of humanity and earthly life, not just preparation for eternity, an emphasis on justice, courtesy, magnanimity, integrity, loyalty, courage, duty to self and others, including developing one’s potential to the fullest, are examples of what post-medieval shift in thought?

What movement, beginning in the late fourteenth century and having its earliest and greatest impact in Italy, was an era of expansion, curiosity and adventure, where the goal of education was to develop the universal human being skilled in many fields?

What play, by Medwall, was the first Humanist drama in England, written in 1497 (and is also the oldest extant interlude)?

What Oxford trained graduate writes the first non-didactic interludes in England (he also aided in the establishment of an independent farce form)?

Who is the author of Ralph Roister Doister, c. 1534-1541, one of the best known early Tudor comedies which was based on a plot borrowed from Plautus’ Braggart Warrior?

Who is the author of Daman and Pythias, 1564, the first English play with a complex plot?

What was the best known play in English, c.1562-1563, which fuses subject matter and characters typical of medieval farce with Roman comic techniques, contains comic misunderstandings driven by a “fool” character, and was performed by students for members of the university and guests?

What were the places for law studies, but which included training in “graces” which were practiced in part through the presentation of plays, where graduates of Oxford and Cambridge continued studies for law?

What play, derived from legendary English history, is considered the first English tragedy and established the tradition of modeling plays on Seneca and was presented at The Inner Temple in 1561?

Who are the two authors of the play considered the first English tragedy?

What play, by George Gascoigne, performed in 1566 at Gray’s Inn, established prose as the medium for English comedy and set a fashion for Italian plots and settings?

What is the short version of the long title of the play written in 1561, comprised of Mythological, Allegorical, and English characters, mingling comic and serious scenes, ranging over a considerable period of time, changing place frequently and quickly, with all violence shown on stage, and 38 roles performed by 8 actors, showing the tastes of the audience of the day?

Who wrote Cambasis?

Who is the author of The Spanish Tragedy, the most popular play of the 16th century which established a vogue for revenge tragedy (Hamlet as an example), was written with Pseudo-Senecan development – all important events on stage, action ranges through time and place, using soliloquies, confidants, and division into acts?

What Elizabethan playwright wrote pastoral and romantic comedies for adult companies in the form of stories of love and adventure mingled with historical materials, using charming and resourceful heroines who undergo temptation and are then rewarded for their constancy?

What playwright was one of the most influential of the Elizabethan era, who is important for the development of the chronicle play, and whose plays are noted for protagonists whose motivations are illuminated by an episodic story?

What is the name given to the group of playwrights who bridged the gap between the educated and the popular audiences and established the tradition upon which Shakespeare built?

What type of play rearranges diverse historical events into coherent story, creating a causal relationship, and paved the way for Shakespeare's history plays?

Who was the Elizabethan playwright considered as the finest playwright of the day, who concentrated on the foibles of contemporary types, wrote according to a set of rules, wrote politically satiric comedies, followed neoclassical precepts and tempered the excesses of playwrights of his day, and was the first poet laureate of England?

What is the name ascribed to the type of play written by the above playwright, which was concerned with reforming human behavior?

What Elizabethan genre created a wide range of character types based on a scheme of bodily fluids as determinants of basic temperaments/behavior?

What era features plays with an early Point of Attack, chronological organization with all important episodes shown on stage, the short scene as the basic structural unit, plays which are essentially “placeless”, with locale specified in the dialogue, the major concern is for developing action, time and place shift rapidly, tone varies from serious to comic, moral order allows free will, but holds us responsible for our choices, and characters are caught in a struggle between good and evil?

What era features subtle changes in drama, with plays which reflect increasing cynicism and doubt, where tragicomedies become increasingly popular, where plots become increasingly pathetic or sensational (emotions or subjects) as substitutes for tragic emotions, where thrills and excitement replace significant insights or complex characterization, and technical skill increased?

Who is the post-Elizabethan playwright who wrote The Duchess of Malfi, 1613/14, The White Devil, 1609-12, whose tragedies are closest to Shakespeare, whose plays are admired for their well-drawn characters and powerful dramatic poetry, but were criticized for the obscurity of their action in which protagonists are surrounded by corruption which eventually destroys them, but don’t achieve any new insights, raising important issues without illuminating them?

Commonly linked with another playwright, what playwright wrote Knight of the Burning Pestle 1607, a burlesque of middle-class taste in theatre, and has a collection of 50 plays attributed to him published in 1647, which helped to establish the tone and technique of Jacobean drama and a trend toward sensationalism?

Who was one of the most successful dramatists of his day, commonly linked with the above playwright, who replaced Shakespeare as principal dramatist for his company, knew how to shape every element for dramatic effect, and whose plays were more frequently performed during the Restoration than Shakespeare?

Who is the playwright who often collaborated with Fletcher, and replaced Fletcher as principal writer for the King’s Men, wrote A New Way to Pay Old Debts, 1621/22, one of his best-known plays, in which is found the character Sir Giles Overreach, a favorite with actors for 200 years?

Who is the playwright whose plays exemplify the decadence typical of Caroline drama, as exemplified in his play, is Pity She’s a Whore, 1629-33, demonstrating an ability to illuminate evil by associating it with ordinary human beings?

What work was the first major statement of the neoclassic ideal in English, answering critics of drama by arguing that literature
(theatre) is the most effective instrument for teaching morality and moving people to virtuous action?

Who wrote "Defense of Poesy"?

To mitigate the growing controversy and opposition to theatre, Elizabeth expanded powers and in 1581 made the Master of Revels licensor of all companies and playhouses. This eventually led to what “system” which influenced the development of English theatre until 1843?

What acting company was established in London in 1583, when the Master of Revels was ordered to form an all-star company to perform for the Queen and to create a monopoly over theatre in London, resulting in the largest company in London and starting a vogue for large cast plays, and consequently raised the standards for acting in England?

What acting company was formed by the Burbage family and a group of actors, including Shakespeare, and was renamed the King’s Men in 1603, when James I comes to power?

What acting company was led by Edward (Ned) Alleyn, and backed by Philip Henslowe, who left a diary with detailed information about theatre of this era)

What is the term that describes the organization of acting companies who divide risks and profits among its members who had to buy into the company to become a member, and, in Elizabethan times, had to commit to the company for three years?

Elizabethan and later playwrights were sometimes paid a fee for the 2nd or 3rd performance of their plays, based on receipts, and once paid, the play belonged to the company, and not the playwright marked the beginnings of what system that will remain prevalent to the middle of the 19th century?

Who was the Elizabethan actor often considered the first great tragic actor in England, creating the roles of Marlowe’s Faustus and Tamburlaine?

What actor was the leading man for Shakespeare’s company who created the roles of Richard III, Hamlet, Lear, Othello, and was acknowledged as the greatest actor of his day?

What is the name of the first known playhouse in England, built by John Brayne?

What is the name of the playhouse built by James Burbage in 1576 with the backing of Brayne, whose timbers were used to build The Globe in 1599?

What is the name of the playhouse built by Philip Henslowe as the first home of the Admiral’s Men, whose foundations were discovered in 1988-89?\

What is the name of the dramatic form seen at royal courts, usually presented to honor a noble or royal, which used an allegorical story that suggested parallels between the person being honored and some mythological personage or event, in which the story and its symbolism were conveyed primarily through visual means, and scenery, props, costumes, pantomime and dance were primary elements?

What form, created by Ben Jonson, utilized as a contrast to the main story, a chaotic situation that the main masque would resolve, introducing humorous or grotesque characters and dances, and giving designers ample opportunity to create startling transformations?

Who was the first important English scene designer, responsible for bringing the Italianate style to England and who was the most influential English artist of his day and exerted an enormous influence before and after his death?

Popular from the 5th to 8th Century, a singer and teller of tales about deeds of Teutonic heroes of Northern Europe and the principal preserver of the tribe’s history and chronology

Lengthened Musical passages originally on the last syllable of Alleluia, with one syllable for each note to aid in their
memorization when those extended melodies become so complex that words were added.

Latin Name of the oldest extant trope, dating from c. 925 CE

English translation of the name of the oldest extant trope

Earliest extant pyalet is found in what collection/rule book?

Name of person who wrote the “rule book” between 965 and 973.

The first female dramatist and first named/known western dramatist following the classical era who wrote six plays modeled on Terence, that tell stories about the chastity of Christian virgins

Type of drama that was first to appear after the fall of Rome and was widespread by the end of the 10th century

Type of medieval plays based on lives of saints

Type of medieval plays based on stories from the Bible

Surviving collection of medieval music and drama containing two crucifixion plays

Name of small scenic structures which served to locate the scene, house properties, and aid in reveals for early medieval plays

Sedes, loci or domi are other names for these small scenic structures used to locate the scene in medieval plays

Name of the generalized acting area in front of/adjacent to the Mansions

One of the three standard scenic locations in medieval plays, often using the choir loft, represented this location

One of the three standard scenic locations in medieval plays, which utilized the crypt and was elaborately decorated and represented this location

Festival significant to development of comedy, where lesser clergy were allow to ridicule their superiors and church life, by singing out of tune and ringing bells improperly

Festival created in 1264, stimulated the development of a cosmic drama covering events from the creation of the world until the end of it, in which secular groups were given a role in the celebrations

Name for the groups of plays covering events from the creation of the world to the end of it, which were a result of the Feast of Corpus Christi

Extant cycle play that is said to have been written by a “master” writer, and contains 32 plays

Name of the cycle play that is a collection of fragments from other cycles and contains 42 plays

Name of extant cycle play made of 24 plays, the fewest number of any of the cycle plays

Name of extant cycle play made of 48 plays, the largest number of any of the cycle plays

Medieval form containing dramas that are episodic, have little cause to effect the relationship of events, little attempt to individual stories together within a cycle, little sense of precise chronology, and which all dealt with the same subject matter

Groups, whose members were mostly laymen who undertook charitable deeds which included supporting festivals and plays, took over the presentation of plays once they were removed from inside the church.

Individuals hired to supply everything needed for the staging of cycle plays except the wagon and the costumes, who functioned as a stage manager and director rolled into one

Name of devices used in Corpus Christi processions to carry mansions for a playlet in a cycle play

Divisions in the presentation of cycle plays separated by this, from one hour to 24 hours

The name for the entrance to hell, often portrayed as a fortified city, made to look as terrifying as possible, often shaped like the head of a monster, which belched fire, smoke, noise and screams

Mansions of this place were less elaborate, with curtains to conceal or reveal, were sometimes elevated, were either square, rectangular, or hexagonal, and were often furnished with beds, tables, benches, altars or thrones

The “machinist” who was second in importance to the director, and created many effects which required skill and ingenuity

Typically short medieval form, written in verse, utilizing rapid and simple action, few characters, no complicated exposition, is cynical in tone, which shows the imperfections of humanity with typical subjects such as marital infidelity, quarreling, cheating and hypocrisy

Play written by Adam de la Halle, oldest medieval secular drama

Play that is one of the oldest farces (c. 1280) to survive

French farce (c. 1470) that is considered to be a minor masterpiece.

Costume typical of fool characters, worn in a sub-form of “farce”, thinly disguised political, social, or religious satires.

Sub form of farce which was essentially a burlesque performed by “companies of fools” fighting to preserve the Feast of Fools

Type of play from Germany, originating from farce that grew out of revels preceding Lent and was associated with the apprentice revels as part of pre-Lenten carnival.

German Author (Who was also a singer and a shoemaker) that was the best known writer of Shrovetide plays, authoring 64 farces.

In England, farce did not emerge as an independent form
until the 16th century and is aided in it’s establishment through
the writings of this English Writer

Secular form closest in tone to the cycle plays, which were didactic, first appearing in the 14th century as religious plays, using characters whose names embodied their characteristics.

Type of characters whose names embodied their characteristics.

Oldest extant morality play c. 1350

Name of societies which originated in the 14th century in the Netherlands and surrounding area, concerned with poetry, music,
and drama, who performed plays in the form of allegorical dramas closely related to the moralities that were answers to some question posed as a competition.

Name for plays presented indoors, usually between parts of some other event, which are associated with the rise of the professional actor.

Name associated with professional actors from the 11th century on, who nobles and clergy sought for their entertainment

Title of the oldest extant interlude, written in 1497

Author of oldest extant interlude, written in 1497

The two notable authors of the form of morality play which underwent change in the 16th century as the Renaissance dawned
as subjects begin to secularize, classical subjects were introduced, and the plays became philosophical, educational and informative