Theatre Traditions Around the World · seed 1 · A4, ink-friendly. The answer key prints on its own page for grown-ups.

How theatre shows a story to a crowd

Arts & Music · Performing Arts · ages 14-16
Name ______________________   Date ____________

  1. What did Greek masks with bold expressions do for the audience?

    • They marked the best seats
    • Faces readable far away
    • They made voices louder

  2. Why did actors in Greek open-air theatres use large, clear gestures?

    • So the back row could follow
    • So the play would finish faster
    • So the masks would stay on

  3. What is a convention in theatre?

    • A prize for the best actor
    • A plan for building theatres
    • A shared agreement the audience accepts

  4. The stage is bare, yet the crowd treats it as a palace. What is working here?

    • A lighting fault
    • A convention
    • A rehearsal break

  5. A troupe moves from a hillside amphitheatre to a small indoor room. What can now work?

    • Quiet, subtle acting
    • Even bigger gestures
    • Louder masks

  6. What does a realistic set gain over a bare stage?

    • Faster scene changes
    • Fewer actors on stage
    • A detailed place the audience believes at once

  7. A new troupe plays myths for thousands outdoors at noon using soft speech and tiny gestures. Everyone will follow easily.

    Circle one:   True   False

  8. A director claims a bare stage can never show a palace. What is wrong with that claim?

    • Nothing is wrong with it
    • The audience can imagine the palace under a shared convention
    • Bare stages always need painted palaces behind them
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Answer key

For grown-ups. Fold this page away before handing over the rest.

How theatre shows a story to a crowd W1-mt_g9NGWncIy6-s1

  1. Faces readable far away · Bold mask faces could be read even from the very back row.
  2. So the back row could follow · The theatres held thousands with no microphones, so gestures had to travel.
  3. A shared agreement the audience accepts · A convention is something actors and audience agree to accept together.
  4. A convention · The audience agreed to accept the bare stage as a palace.
  5. Quiet, subtle acting · A small room lets the audience catch small voices and moves.
  6. A detailed place the audience believes at once · A realistic set shows the place in full detail right away.
  7. False · A giant outdoor space pushes actors toward bold voices and big movement.
  8. The audience can imagine the palace under a shared convention · Under a convention, the audience imagines each new place with you.
Worksheet · LightMySky