English for Theater Students_Unit 3

According to the text, which of these statements is true about all ancient Greek actors?

• They were all men.

• They were all from Thespis.

• They only did comedies.

• They were all chorus singers.

The author gives the history of Greek theater.

What does the author do after?

• describes modern Greek theater

• questions the accuracy of the history

• describes important parts of the history

• gives the history of other forms of theater

Read this paragraph from the text.

All Greek actors were men. They wore masks and played the female roles as well as the male roles. One character could have several different masks. If the character was happy, the actor would wear a mask with a smiling face. If the character was angry, the actor would put on a mask with an angry face. One actor played many different roles in the same play. To change characters, he would just change masks.

Based on this evidence, what can you conclude about Greek dramas?

• Every character in a Greek drama had a separate actor to play the part.

• There were often more characters than actors in a Greek drama.

• Each actor in a Greek drama played the role of one male and one female.

• Female actors typically played the parts of men in Greek dramas.

What is this text mostly about?

• ancient Greek theater and what it was like

• the most famous actors in ancient Greece

• why men played all the roles in Greek theater

• what makes a tragedy different from a comedy

Read this sentence from the text.

In 534 B.C.E., in the city of Athens, a contest was held. Men competed to be the best actor in Greece.

As used in the sentence, what does the word "competed" mean?

• worked together as a team

• went to school

• tried to avoid

• took part in a contest

Choose the answer that best completes the sentence.

An actor named Thespis won an acting contest, and ________ actors are sometimes called "thespians" today.

• on the contrary

• also

• as a result

• before

Based on the text, who were most likely the most important performers in the very beginning of Greek theater?

• female musicians

• singers in choruses

• actors who wore masks

• actors who did not need masks

Most ancient Greek dramas were ... .

• comedies

• tragedies

• full of humor

• choruses

The following things were usually found in Greek tragedies, EXCEPT ...

• destruction

• death

• humor

• betrayal

The chorus in Greek dramas was usually made up of ... men.

• two

• three

• four

• five