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Section 5: CSET: Theatre Subtest  1 
Sample Multiple-Choice Questions

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Creating

1.1 Generate and Conceptualize Artistic Ideas and Work

1. Contemporary fringe theatre is best described in which of the following ways?

  1. experimental, small-scale productions that generally present edgy and unconventional stories and themes
  2. self-conscious political theatre that crosses the fourth wall to emphasize audience reaction and reflection
  3. unconventional theatrical settings and plots that solicit audience interaction to shape the narrative flow
  4. dramas of inaction that explore the human condition through the exaggeration of events and consequences
Enter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded
Correct Response: A. Fringe theatre is a type of theatre that is not in the mainstream and is characterized by small and often public performance spaces, theatrical experimentation, and a wide variety of theatrical types or forms (e.g., performance art, comedy).

1.2 Organize and Develop Artistic Ideas and Work

2. Participation in guided drama is likely to contribute to an actor's development primarily by helping the actor:

  1. understand that setting and costumes are used to support character goals.
  2. improvise with others in story development.
  3. interpret and respond in character to the goals of scripted dramas.
  4. analyze the dramatic arc and themes of plays.
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Correct Response: B. Guided drama is a process-centered theatrical exercise, typically improvisational, in which a leader guides participants through the process.

1.3 Refine and Complete Artistic Work

3. During rehearsals for a play, a director is most likely to evaluate pace to assess how effectively the performance will:

  1. link characters' motivations with the blocking chosen for their actions.
  2. present the relationship between the central protagonist and primary antagonist.
  3. maintain audience interest and encourage understanding of the action.
  4. reveal the thematic intent of the script and connect it with characters' goals.
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Correct Response: C. Pace in theatre refers to the rate or speed with which performances and the entire production unfolds. Pace can vary depending on the story. A pace that is too slow or too fast is likely to result in flagging audience interest and could also diminish the audience’s understanding of the plot.

1.4 Collaboration

4. Which of the following strategies would help a group of actors be most effective when starting work on a devised piece?

  1. engaging in a series of ensemble-building exercises
  2. brainstorming to discover the theme to be explored
  3. improvising short scenes before committing to any scripting
  4. creating an outline of the story's beginning, middle, and end
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Correct Response: A. Devised theatre refers to the creation of an original performance by an ensemble. Engaging in ensemble-building exercises when starting to work on a devised piece would likely help build a sense of cohesion among the actors.

Performing

2.1 Directing and Design

5. Which of the following structural elements reveals events that are important to the story of a play but that took place before the story of the play begins?

  1. exposition
  2. denouement
  3. complication
  4. point of attack
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Correct Response: A. The exposition stage of the dramatic arc or dramatic structure refers to important information conveyed to the audience that has happened outside the present moment of the play, often for the purpose of introducing background events that occurred before the story of the play begins.

2.2 Acting

6. Vocal exercises involving plosives are most important for developing an actor's:

  1. range of verbal pitch.
  2. breath control and ability to project.
  3. rhythms of speech.
  4. articulation skills and verbal clarity.
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Correct Response: D. Plosives are speech sounds of consonants in which air flow is stopped initially and then released. The release of air can result in a lack of clarity to the ear, so exercises that involve plosives can help actors improve their articulation skills and deliver clear lines.

2.3 Presentation and Production

7. Which of the following considerations is most important in conducting a talkback for a play in development?

  1. allowing audience members who do not wish to stay for the talkback time to leave, and asking those who remain to move in closer
  2. announcing a specific time limit for the talkback before it begins out of respect for the company's and the audience's time
  3. creating a list of clear and specific questions and prompts to give the talkback a definite focus and to elicit deeper responses
  4. repeating the respondents' questions or comments during the talkback so that they are clearly heard and understood by all
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Correct Response: C. In theatre, a talkback refers to audience members informally discussing a play with the actors and director, and sometimes the playwright and designers, after they have seen the play. It is important for the audience’s questions and comments to be clearly heard by all participants in the talkback.

Responding

3.1 Perceive and Analyze Artistic Work

8. A theatre company is putting on a new production of William Shakespeare's Hamlet that is set in twenty-first-century Los Angeles. Which of the following actions by the director would most influence the director's vision for the production concept?

  1. conducting a marketing survey to determine audience interest in adaptations
  2. asking for input from designers and dramaturge
  3. using lines from the original play that have been translated into modern English
  4. reviewing productions of the play from the past
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Correct Response: B. In theatre, the production concept refers to the overall look and feel of the production. Directors often collaborate with designers to get their thoughts and ideas about design. Doing so would help contribute to the director’s vision for the production concept and unify the design elements.

3.2 Interpret Intent and Meaning in Artistic Work

9. When an actor's partner in an improvisation scene makes an offer that is surprising or confusing, which of the following responses by the actor is most likely to allow the scene to continue smoothly?

  1. asking a question to clarify the intent of the offer
  2. accepting the offer and building on it
  3. encouraging the audience to respond to the offer
  4. ignoring the offer and changing the subject
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Correct Response: B. Making an offer during improvisation refers to one actor saying or doing something for another actor to respond to. Offers should almost always be accepted in order to advance the scene.

3.3 Apply Criteria to Evaluate Artistic Work

10. Which of the following statements explains the most important role the audience plays in theatre?

  1. The energy of the cast during a performance can be affected by the audience's reaction as the performance unfolds.
  2. Marketing algorithms inform playwrights about the types of audiences they can and should write their plays to.
  3. The success of productions depends on meeting preconceived notions that audiences have before they arrive in the theatre.
  4. Audiences generally follow unwritten rules of decorum, such as when to applaud, that make theatregoing experiences consistent.
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Correct Response: A. Live theatre is interactive in the sense that audience reaction during a production often affects the actors. The cast uses information from the audience, such as silence after a line that was intended to be funny, to adjust their acting during the performance as well as possibly for future performances.

Connecting

4.1 Self, Community, and Culture

11. In Augusto Boal's Invisible Theatre, actors stage scenes that encourage the active involvement of passersby who have no knowledge that the actors are performing. This type of theatre is most likely designed to serve which of the following purposes?

  1. inspiring individuals to recognize the value of theatrical performance as a source of entertainment
  2. influencing individuals to adopt specific viewpoints through scripted dialogue and actions
  3. drawing an audience of individuals who support and enjoy theatre as an expressive art
  4. inviting participation by individuals who introduce a range of perspectives related to a specific issue
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Correct Response: D. Augusto Boal's Invisible Theatre was created with the intent of engaging unsuspecting people in order to promote awareness of issues. The range of perspectives of the audience-participants, whom Boal called “spect-actors”, was intended to create greater discussion and awareness about the issue presented by the actors.

4.2 History, Society, and Ethics

12. Producing a play without paying royalty fees to the author of the script is an infringement of:

  1. patent.
  2. copyright.
  3. trademark.
  4. contract.
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Correct Response: B. Copyright law generally requires royalty fees to be paid to the author of a script if the script is used to produce a play.

4.3 Literary Adaptation and Cross-Cultural Storytelling

13. To effectively adapt a nonfiction story as a dramatic script for a play, it would be most important to present which of the following elements authentically?

  1. the timeline of the events that shape the narrative
  2. the central conflict or problem illuminated by events
  3. the presence and relationships of individuals involved
  4. the various settings in which the story unfolded
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Correct Response: B. The central problem or conflict of a nonfiction story typically should be part of an adaptation of the story into a script for a play. While the setting and key individuals of the nonfiction story are likely to be part of the adaptation, retaining the central conflict is most important because it drives the meaning and impact of the play.

4.4 Research

14. Research can be useful in the process of creating a devised theatre work primarily because it helps theatre artists:

  1. broaden ideas as the work develops.
  2. fact-check ideas as they arise in improvisation.
  3. establish a rough plot before work starts.
  4. determine an initial textual point of departure.
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Correct Response: A. Research into the issue or issues, central conflict, or themes explored in a devised theatre work can help expand participants’ understanding of the piece, as can activities such as brainstorming and improvising.
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