Name: _______________________________________________________
Theatre Knowledge Pre-Test
Fill in the terms missing below. This is a pretest. It is okay if you leave
some answers blank. Please fill in the answers you know.
Label the parts of the bird’s eye theatre below. Use the clues underneath the
picture for help (1 point each).
1. Where the actors perform for the audience.
2. Where the audience sits to watch the performance.
3. This can be brought across the stage to hide the performance from the audience.
4. The area that is outside the view of the audience.
5. The section that extends forward into the audience, performance also occurs here.
6. The place where musicians perform for the production.
7. The sides behind the performance area where performers wait to enter from.
8. The area above the performance space where sometimes backgrounds come in.
9. These long black curtains hide part of the performance area from the audience.
10. Metal pipes suspended above the performance area that can hold sets for
the performance.
Name: _______________________________________________________
12. Write nine parts of the stage below (9 points):
BIRD’S EYE VIEW OF STAGE
AUDIENCE
Fill in blank below (1 point each blank):
13. The process of learning and practicing a play/musical is called a
_______________. The book we use for the musical contains
______________ (words characters say), _________________ (words from
songs characters sing), and ___________________ ______________
(actions in italics).
14. This book all together is called a _______________. It contains main
sections (usually 2-3) called ______________. These 2-3 sections are then
divided into __________________ which usually happens in a different
setting for each one. During a performance, long plays/musicals usually
have a _______________ in the middle so the audience can stretch and
sometimes get treats from a concession stand.
15. The performance area in view of the audience is called
________________; anything outside the view of the audience is
________________.
Name: _______________________________________________________
16. ________________ __________________ are where the performers
change in and out of costume. The _________________ _______________
is where the performers rest and wait for their scenes away from the stage.
17. There are three levels where the audience can sit the lowest level,
closest to the stage is called _______________ ________________, the 2nd
or middle level is called the _________________ and the 3rd level is called
the _______________.
18. The _______________ are large painted paper, cloth or other material
that hang behind the acting areas representing different locations, sometimes
these locations are represented with wooden frames with material stretched
across them called _______________.
19. The set and stage is lit by ________________ which hang from the area
in the ceiling and are controlled by a ________________ ______________.
However, _______________ follow a performer moving across the stage.
20. The microphones that hang from the ceiling in our theatre are called
_________________ __________________ _________________. These
mics help to pick up the voices of many performers. _______________
mics are portable microphones that are strapped to the performers’ bodies.
All of these mics are controlled by a _______________ ________________.
Performers are able to hear themselves and sometimes the music through a
special speaker called a ________________.
21. Name the jobs in musical theatre (8 jobs/points total):
______________ ______________ ______________ ______________
______________ ______________ ______________ ______________
Name: _______________________________________________________
22. Every performer is assigned a _______________ in the musical. Some
performers are picked to be the ________________ which are the main
characters of the musical.
23. Where and when a performer moves on stage is called
_______________, the director usually provides these movements for the
performers. The action a performer does, especially when they are
the supporting character is called _______________ ______________.
How a performer interprets his/her lines is called ______________
______________. The performer learns _________________which are
dances in the musical. The directors will give _________________ at the
end of a rehearsal to let the performers know how the performance looks to
the audience.
24. When the show is rehearsed in its entirety it is called a ____________
_______________. The actors try on their costumes and show the directors
to approve for the final show. This is called a _______________
________________. When the performers rehearse in costume it is called a
________________ ___________________. When the performers rehearse
with the lights, sound, props, and set, it is called a _________________
________________. The _________________ __________________ are
what the bows that the performers and tech crew do at the end of the
play/musical.
25. Performers will be _________________ when they are first learning
their part, meaning they can use their scripts onstage. However towards the
end of the practice time for the play the performers will be asked
to perform _______________ which means they have to say their lines by
memory. During some late rehearsals, the stage manager may help them by
_________________ their lines, but come performance time, the performers
must have their lines memorized completely.
Wanda Jenkins 10/2011