Theatre from 1945 to 1975

Objectives

After studying this chapter, the student should be able to:

  • Identify the major artists active with the postwar experimental theatre.
  • Compare and contrast significant postwar realistic playwrights.
  • Discuss postwar developments in American musical theatre.
  • Trace the development of off-Broadway, off-off-Broadway, and regional theaters.
  • Discuss the continued growth of African-American Theatre in the postwar era.

Lecture Topics

What is the relationship between existentialism and theatre of the absurd?

What was Jerzy Grotowski’s concept of poor theatre?

What was a postwar “eclectic”?

Discussion Topics

Compare and contrast happenings and multimedia theatre.

What distinguishes environmental theatre from traditional theatre?

How was theatre used as a vehicle for promoting civil rights in the postwar era?

How did the use of technology change in the postwar theatre?

Multiple-Choice

Choose the answer that best completes each sentence.

1. ______, who wrote Waiting for Godot and Happy Days, is the most renowned of the absurdist playwrights.
A. Eugene Ionesco
B. Albert Camus
C. Harold Pinter
*D. Samuel Beckett

2. ______, such as Peter Weiss's The Investigation, are based on historical events.
*A. Documentary dramas
B. Environmental dramas
C. Happenings
D. Multimedia

3. This work, with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and book by Joseph Stein was said to mark the end of the "golden era of book musicals":
A. Kiss Me Kate
B. The King and I
*C. Fiddler on the Roof
D. The Sound of Music

4. A proponent of "poor theatre," ______argued that the only essential elements for theatre were the actor and the audience.
A. Peter Brook
B. Josef Svoboda
C. Vaclev Havel
*D. Jerzy Grotowski

5. The following actors made their debuts in off-Broadway theaters:
A. Meryl Streep, Lawrence Olivier, and Elisabeth Shue
*B. Jason Robards, Dustin Hoffman, and Al Pacino
C. Charlieze Theron, Matt Damon, and Ben Affleck
D. John Gielgud, Elizabeth Taylor, and Glenn Close

6. Which of the following designers is known for his use of multimedia on stage?
*A. Josef Svoboda
B. Jean-Louis Barrault
C. Amiri Baraka
D. Julian Beck

7. ______was the first Black woman playwright to have her play produced on Broadway.
A. Amiri Baraka
*B. Lorraine Hansberry
C. Anna Deavere Smith
D. Judith Malina

8. A type of play where the language is sparse, the plot moves in a circle, and little expository information is given about the characters is:
A. existentialist drama
*B. absurd drama
C. selective realism
D. documentary drama

9. A group of anti-establishment playwrights that dealt with the dissolving British empire, class conflict, and political disillusionment were the:
A. Negro Ensemble Company
*B. Angry Young Men
C. Angry Young Women
D. English Stage company

10. Julian Beck and Judith Malina founded:
A. The Open Theatre
B. The Performance Group
C. The Human Race
*D. The Living Theatre

11. By infusing allegory and lyricism into his depictions of racial unrest in America, ______changed the shape of protest drama.

A. Joseph Papp

*B. Amiri Baraka

C. August Wilson

D. Julian Beck

12. The Cafe La Mama was founded in 1961 by:
A. Joan Littlewood
*B. Ellen Stewart
C. Karen Rogers
D. Josef Svoboda

13. Peter Weiss, a documentary playwright wrote:
A. The Hostage
B. Three Tall Women
C. The Lesson
*D. The Investigation

14. ______is a philosophy in which there is little meaning to existence, that God does not exist, and that humanity is alone in an irrational universe.
A. Romanticism
*B. Existentialism
C. Monotheism
D. Polytheism

15. Many off-off-Broadway groups perform in ______, such as factory lofts, churches and warehouses.

*A. found spaces

B. thrust stages

C. proscenium arch theaters

D. none of the above

16. ______were nonstructured events that occurred with a minimum of planning and organization.
*A. Happenings
B. Multimedia plays

C. Environmental plays

D. None of the above

17.Joseph Svoboda’s work centers on the concept of ______, which means that his settings are dynamic and change throughout the performance according to the demands of the text.

A. biomechanics

B. poor theater

*C. kinetics

D. environmental theatre

18. Who is known for having the common theme of outsiders trapped in a hostile environment?
*A. Tennessee Williams
B. Edward Albee
C. Joseph Papp
D. Charles Ludlam

19. Artists around the world who experimented with a wide variety of techniques and defy easy catergorization are called:
A. kinetics
B. dada
*C. eclectics
D. mama

20. Several of Joseph Papp's shows moved to Broadway. He was an off-Broadway producer noted for:
A. The Long Wharf and Paradise Now
*B. The New York Shakespeare Festival and the Public Theatre
C. appearing at the opening of A Chorus Line in a suit of armor
D. using masks, stylized gestures and vocalizations, and theatrical conventions from the past

21. ______is known for focusing on failure, guilt, responsibility for one's own actions, and the effects of society on the individual.
A. Harold Pinter
B. Tennessee Williams
*C. Arthur Miller
D. Josef Svoboda

22. Eugene Ionesco was particularly concerned with:

A. the loss of civil liberties

B. promoting realism

C. promoting didactic drama

*D. the futility of communication

23. ______is based on the idea that the entire space is performance space.

A. Documentary drama

*B. Environmental theatre

C. Absurdist drama

D. Multimedia theatre

24. The acting style for Grotowski’s productions was

*A. externally based, focused on control of body and voice

B. based on inner emotions

C. focused on creating a realistic illusion

D. none of the above

25. ______is a style, which heightens certail details of action, scenery and dialogue, while omitting others.

A. Paratheatricalism

B. Symbolism

C. Expressionism

*D. Selective realism

True/False

Please choose whether the statement is true or false.

26. Happenings were generally repeated every day at the same time for seven days.

True

*False

27. The thirty years following World War II were marked by experimentation in the theatre.

*True

False

28. Existentialists believe that the only significant action an individual can take is to accept responsibility for one’s own actions.

*True

False

29. While the philosophy of existentialist plays was fairly traditional, their dramatic form was revolutionary.

True

*False

30. Careful exposition and cause-and-effect plot structure mark Harold Pinter’s work.

True

*False

31. Many historians believe that Jerzy Grotowski’s theories, rather than his practical work, have exerted the most influence on modern theatre.

*True

False

32. Most of the plays, which won the Pulitzer Prize in the United States between 1945 and 1975, were nonrealistic.

True

*False

33. The stage directions of Peter Weiss’s The Investigation require the actors to deliver testimony unemotionally so that the audience will focus on the facts.

*True

False

34 Peter Brook argued that the most important element was the end product, which justified any means in making a production successful.

True

*False

35. In the 1960s, off-off-Broadway replaced off-Broadway as the center for experimentation in New York City.

*True

False

Essays

36. Compare and contrast the work of one postwar realistic playwright with that of an absurdist playwright. Are their differences purely stylistic, or do they also differ as far as worldview is concerned?

37. Discuss the development of American commercial theatre from Broadway to off-Broadway to off-off-Broadway.