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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 did the farmer go in the town in the hypothetical film of Chapter 5?
(a) The farmer's market.
(b) The seed store.
(c) The farm.
(d) The slaughterhouse.

2. What actress did Mamet mention in the footnotes of Chapter 5 as an actress who could truly act?
(a) Meryl Streep.
(b) Donna Reed.
(c) Mary Astor.
(d) Susan Sarandon.

3. After how many takes does Mamet say you can no longer remember what the scene was about, in Chapter 4?
(a) Six.
(b) Ten.
(c) Three.
(d) Five.

4. According to Mamet, who told us that it's good to have tools that are simple to understand and a very limited number?
(a) The Greeks.
(b) Sophocles.
(c) Aristotle.
(d) The Stoics.

5. The two essential elements of story, according to Aristotle, are surprise and what?
(a) Fate.
(b) Tragedy.
(c) Inevitability.
(d) Downfall.

Short Answer Questions

1. What was the man doing on the side of the road whom the farmer met in Chapter 5?

2. According to Mamet in Chapter 6, the "hope that God will intervene and save you" is what most people mean when they talk about what?

3. Mamet made the analogy in Chapter 4, "if the house is going to stand, the nail must do the work of ____."

4. According to Mamet in Chapter 6, the Stoics would advise adhering to the metaphor which relates to what?

5. What is the subheading of Chapter 4?

Short Essay Questions

1. What example did Mamet give of Humphrey Bogart's simplicity, in Chapter 4?

2. What did Mamet write in Chapter 4 of the director's instructions to the actor?

3. What does Mamet say regarding subconscious response in Chapter 4?

4. What is the Cult of Self which Mamet refers to in Chapter 6?

5. What scenario did Mamet present for the hypothetical film in Chapter 5?

6. What does Mamet say to give yourself over to in directing, in Chapter 5?

7. Who did the farmer meet in the hypothetical film in Chapter 5? How did this interaction play out?

8. What is the hierarchy of film? Why did Mamet suggest the actor cannot be a fallback for the film in Chapter 6?

9. What suggestions did the students give for the motivation of the protagonist in Chapter 5's scenario?

10. What does Mamet say regarding the training of film actors in today's world?

(see the answer keys)

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