Question1-

This discussion question is based on pages 3-57 of The Essential Theater, 10th ed., by Oscar G. Brockett and Robert J. Ball. (Please see syllabus for complete bibliographic information.)

Topics you should know before answering this question:

1. The Basic Elements of Theater (pp. 6-10)
    Includes: play, performance, audience.
2. Art vs. Entertainment (pp. 10-18)
3. Censorship (pg.11)
4. Special Qualities of Theater (pp. 19-23)
    Includes: lifelikeness, ephemerality, objectivity, complexity of means, and immediacy.
5. Audience (pp. 27-37)
6. The Play (pp. 39-57)
    Includes: plot (episodic, climactic), dramatic action, subtext, character, exposition, point of attack,inciting
    incident, rising action, complication, discoveries, development, climax, resolution, four levels of
    characterization, theme, point of view, soliloquy, chorus, allegory, diction, music, spectacle, and form

Your textbook discusses the nature of theater, the audience, and the play (Ch. 1,2,3) by using two major dramatic examples: Sophocles Oedipus Rex and Ibsen’s A Doll’s House. Using ONLY YOUR TEXTBOOK for reference, explain some of the differences between these two plays in terms of audience, characterization plot, style, form, thought, etc.

Question 2 –

This discussion question is based on pp. 61-132 of The Essential Theater, 10th ed., by Oscar G. Brockett and Robert J. Ball. (Please see syllabus for complete bibliographic information).

Topics you should know before answering this question:

1. The definitions of festival theater and professional theater  (p. 61, 99-101)
2. The connection between religion/myth and festival theater (pp. 61-66, 76-77, 83-89)
3. The layouts of Greek, Roman, Medieval, English (Shakespearean), French and Italian theaters and the functions they served (pp. 64-75, 77-81, 87-89, 101-105, 111-115, 123-130)
4. Performers, performing, and costumes in each of the theaters in #3
5. Funding for each kind of theater
6. The way in which theater reflects the values of and changes in society

What is the difference between Festival Theater and Professional theater? When did these two forms of theater flourish and why? Give specific examples.

Question 3-

This discussion question is based on pp. 61-132 of The Essential Theater, 10th ed., by Oscar G. Brockett and Robert J. Ball. (Please see syllabus for complete bibliographic information).

Answer the following question in your response. Each student should then respond to at least two of your fellow classmates’ posts.

As a playwright, would you prefer to be writing plays during the era of Ancient Greek Festival Theater or during the Renaissance for professional theater in England?  Why?  What are the advantages and disadvantages for a playwright in each type of theater?

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