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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Where had Mother Courage first been produced?
(a) Dresden.
(b) Munich.
(c) Zurich.
(d) New York.

2. After the moral and material collapse of Germany, the country had a vague appetite for _____.
(a) Classicism.
(b) Aleatoric elements.
(c) Novelty.
(d) Drama.

3. The actor masters his character by paying critical attention to its _____.
(a) Mannerisms.
(b) Manifold utterances.
(c) Patterns of speech.
(d) Dialectic inflections.

4. Laughton gave readings of _____ at Brecht's house.
(a) Goelik.
(b) Stanislavski.
(c) Goethe.
(d) Shakespeare.

5. The stylization by which an actor's performance becomes art must not destroy _____ in the process.
(a) Naturalness.
(b) Bleakness.
(c) The plot.
(d) The setting.

Short Answer Questions

1. When asked if Katzgraben is a play with a message, Brecht replies that _____ is a play with a message.

2. The attitude of chasing away a fly is _____.

3. _____ with a character should be treated as just another method of observation in rehearsals.

4. In terms of aesthetics, Galileo spoke of the elegance of certain _____.

5. Speech of outstanding _____ is discouraged in epic theatre.

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Brecht see as the reasons for lifeless and stereotyped portrayals of characters by actors?

2. What is Brecht's view on rehearsal of details?

3. What role does observation play in acting?

4. Why does Brecht complain about the use of Volkstumlich in the German language?

5. Compare the modern playwright's relationship with his audience with the tradesman's relationship with his customers.

6. How does Brueghel deal in contradictions?

7. How did Neher and Brecht agree and disagree with Aristotle in the style of presentation of Antigone?

8. What is Brecht's description of how academic critics treat folk plays and why does he think this?

9. What is Brecht's view on costumes and masks?

10. How was performance kept subordinate to the story in Antigone?

(see the answer keys)

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