Example
Work in pairs. In most lines of the following text there is one wrong word. It is either grammatically incorrect or does not fit in with the sense of the text. For each numbered line 1-21, find this word. Some lines may be correct. The exercise begins with two examples (0 and 00).
Match the types of plays with their definitions
People in a play. Match the professions on the left with a definition on the right.
| 1. cast | a) the main bad character in a play |
| 2. ham | b) a set of actors in a play |
| 3. hero | c) a company of dancers, members of a circus |
| 4. heroine | d) the most important male part in a play |
| 5. stand-in | e) a famous actor or actress |
| 6. star | f) an actor who learns an important part in a play so as to be able to take the place of the actor who plays that part if necessary |
| 7. stunt man | g) a person who takes the part of an actor at dangerous points in a film |
| 8. troupe | h) the most important female part in a play |
| 9. understudy | i) a person who does dangerous acts in a film so that the actor does not have to take risks |
| 10. villain | j) an actor who acts artificially, unnaturally |
| a) a comedy | 1) a theatrical art form using dancing, music, and scenery to convey a story, theme, or atmosphere |
| b) a satire | 2) is a humorous play in which the characters become involved in complicated and unlikely situations |
| c) a farce | 3) musical drama similar to opera, usually with a romantically sentimental plot, employing songs, dances, and orchestral interludes interspersed with spoken dialogue |
| d) a ballet | 4) employs wit in the form of irony or outright derision to expose human wickedness and folly. |
| e) an operetta | 5) a universal form of expression and a major dramatic genre that is intended to amuse. It is associated with humorous behavior, wordplay, pleasurable feeling, release of tension, and laughter. Of all dramatic genres, it is the most widely performed. |
| f) a vaudeville | 6) a dramatic work in one or more acts that is set to music for singers and instrumentalists. |
| g) a tragedy | 7) comic imitation of a piece of writing. For the ancient Greeks it was a comic imitation of a serious poem. The term has come to be applied also to the comic imitation of history, fiction, scientific writing, or any other prose. |
| h) a musical comedy | 8) a light often comic theatrical piece frequently combining pantomime, dialogue, dancing, and song. |
| i) an opera | 9) is a type of play or film that has singing and dancing as part of the story and that is humorous and entertaining, especially one written before the middle of the twentieth century |
| j) a parody | 10) dramatic genre that presents the heroic or moral struggle of an individual, culminating in his or her death. |
| Playwrights | |
| - |
| Actors and actresses bring to life characters created by playwritersand scriptwriters. A lot of | |
| their working life is spent rehearsing, for stage, TV or film productions. They also have | |
| to research on their characters and learn lines. Finding the next job is a major part of an actor's | |
| life, so they spend a lot of time preparing for and attending the auditions. Skills such as singing and | |
| dancing can hardly make finding work easier. Actors' working hours can be long and irregular, and | |
| may include evenings and weekends. They work indoor in theatres and TV or film studios, but | |
| filming also can involve outdoor work. Actors often spend time away from home, around the | |
| UK or abroad. Actors need to be talented and determine, physically fit, with good stamina and a | |
| strong, trained voice, lively and creative, good team workers, adaptivity and versatile. | |
| There is work for actors in theatre, television and film - any actor's prospects dependent on talent, | |
| self-discipline, and luck. Most actors make full professional training at drama school. Entry is | |
| very competitive. Candidates usually need to be at least 18, but most drama schools welcome | |
| adults up to the age of 30. Candidates have to take one or more auditions. They should also having | |
| evidences of an interest in acting, for example belonging to an amateur dramatic or community | |
| drama group. Courses give students many stage skills, and well as the chance to take part in | |
| productions and demonstrate their skills to agents and casting directors. Actors can progress in to | |
| larger parts if they given consistently good performances. Some go into other work, such as | |
| directing, writing or teaching. The most recognizable figures in theatre are the directors, | |
| playwrights and actors, but theatre is a highly collaborating endeavor. Plays are usually produced | |
| by a production team that common includes a scenic or set designer, lighting designer, | |
| costume designer, sound designer, dramaturge, stage manager, and production manager. The all | |
| artistic staff are assisted by technical theatre personnel who scarcely handle the creation and | |
| executing of the production. |
16. Work in pairs. Write out from the text above the words and word combinations belonging to the following categories:
Artistic staff:playwright, ...
Actors should be:talented, …
Conditions to become an actor:do full professional training at drama school, ...