Homework - Worksheets

Dear Readers,

Worksheets, worksheets, worksheets. Oh how I love worksheets. You just give them out to students, they busy themselves, and then you get to stare out the window and pretend you're not at school.

After class is over, you collect the worksheets and see if the students answered the questions well enough to get some points for it.

Too bad worksheets don't go over very well if your students are monsters.

Maybe I should say, too bad worksheets don't go over very well if you're an awful teacher who can't discipline adolescents.

Anyway, I created and assigned these worksheets. They were generally associated with other stuff, you know- a reading assignment, a video. I realize it may seem funny to have these on Telemoonfa Time without context, without them being part of a larger unit, and without seeing the readings or videos these worksheets were based on.

Ha ha ha. I realize the funniness.

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Introduction to World Drama Worksheet - Pages 1 and 2

Instructions: Read pages 1 and 2 in our World Drama book. Then, answer the following questions. (Check for understanding questions can be clearly found in the book. Extension questions ask you for your own educated ideas and opinions.)

Check For Understanding Questions

1] Where did the first plays we know about in Western literature start?

2] What is the definition of “drama” given in the book?

3] In both the East and the West, how did the first dramas probably start?

4] What is a character?

Extension Questions

5] Why do you think almost all cultures have done drama?

6] Why do people tell each other stories?

7] Why do you think drama and religion have gone together in the past? Why do you think that drama began in religious ritual?

8] Why do playwrights write about non-human characters (like animals) that kind of act like humans? Why don’t they write about very realistic non-human characters?

Check for Understanding

9] Define the following terms. If the book doesn’t give a clear definition, then describe the term or give an example of the term.

Exposition

Action

Protagonist

Conflict

Antagonist

External conflict

Internal conflict

Rising action

Complications

Turning point

Suspense

Climax

Denouement

Resolution

Extension Questions

11] Who is the protagonist in the play you are in? (There may be more than one) Remember, the protagonist is the good guy, or the main character, in a play. The protagonist usually changes his attitude or learns something new about himself or the world.

12] Who is the antagonist in the play you are in? (There may not be a character who is clearly the antagonist, but there is always something that the protagonist is struggling against, like ignorance or boredom or nature or society.)

13] Why do you think so many stories follow this storyline format found on page 2?

14]Do you think a play would be very good if there was no conflict in it? Why or why not?

15] Do you like plays with happy endings or sad endings better?

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Directions: As we watch “Those Fabulous Folks on Mount Olympus” circle the letter of the correct answer.

1] Which statement about Greek and Roman gods is true?

A] They were all perfect and they never fought with each other.

B] They were weak.

C] They were all animals.

D] They were like humans- they fought, got jealous, fell in love, etc.

2] Greeks believed that

A] The Earth was a flat disc and Mount Olympus was the Center of the Universe

B] The Earth was round

C] The Universe was expanding

D] They lived on an outer edge of the Milky Way galaxy

3] What are the names in parenthesis? For example: Cronus and Rhea (Saturn and Ops)

A] Greek nicknames

B] Completely different gods

C] The names the Romans gave to the Greek gods

D] The children of Cronus and Rhea

4] What did Cronus do whenever his wife Rhea had a baby?

A] Wrapped it in a blanket

B] Gave it a present

C] Ate it

D] Trained it to be a soldier

5] Draw a line matching each god to his domain

Zeus Underworld

Poseidon Upper regions (above the ground)

Hades Seas

6] The Greeks worshipped Zeus as

A] The father of the gods and men

B] Sister of Athena

C] Nephew of the gods

D] Father of the Irish

7] Poseidon, the god of the seas, usually carried

A] A trident- a three-pronged fishing spear

B] A flashlight

C] A cell phone

D] A staff

8] Hades

A] Presided over trial and punishment of the wicked departed spirits

B] Collected stamps

C] Gave advice to living people

D] Traded with humans

9] Demeter was the god of

A] Architecture and buildings

B] Bowling

C] Agriculture and ordered society: health, birth, marriage

D] Sea

10] Athena was born

A] When a stork brought her to mount Olympus

B] When a cabbage patch suddenly sprouted her

C] When she mysteriously crawled out of a cave

D] When Zeus had a headache so he had his head split open with an axe, and then Athena came
out of Zeus’s head.

11] Ares (Mars) was the god of

A] War

B] Peace

C] Plants

12] Apollo used a

A] bow and arrow

B] Trident

C] Spear

D] Gun

13] Hermes (Mercury) was the god of

A] Commerce

B] Wine

C] Animals

D] The sky

14] Dionysus (Bacchus) was the god of

A] Commerce

B] Wine and fertility

C] Sports

D] Asparagus

15] Hercules was

A] Very athletic

B] Spent all his time reading books

C] Spent all of his time in church

D] humble and quiet

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The Storytelling Tradition worksheet

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Directions: Read pages 44 -47. Answer the following questions in thoughtful, complete sentences.

1] According to the folklorist Stith Thompson, why do people like listening to stories?

2] What kind of acting techniques do storytellers use?

3] What came first, the art of speaking dramatically or the art or writing?

4] What two epic poems did Homer write down?

5] How do you think the arrival of print media, such as books and newspapers, has affected the oral tradition of a culture?

6] What is a griot?

7] How did a griot make a living?

8] What were some of the important things a griot did for his culture?

9] Do you think it would be hard to be a griot? What are some of the challenges that a griot would most likely face?

10] How is the audience supposed to act while a griot tells a story?

11] Why has the tradition of the griot nearly died out by the middle of the 20th century?

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The Still Alarm worksheet

Directions: Answer the questions. Use complete sentences. The numbers in parenthesis after the questions will help you know what page number the answer is on.
Doing this assignment will help you understand how to read a script, and will help you learn some drama vocabulary. Here are some vocabulary words to help you understand the questions:

Playwright: A person who writes plays.

Setting: Where and when a play takes place.

Characters: The people in a play. Characters are not the actors; rather, characters are the people who the actors pretend to be.

Stage directions: Words that indicate action, usually in italics and/or in parenthesis. Stage directions are not spoken when the play is performed.

Dialogue: The lines a character says.

1] What is the title of the play? (173)

2] Who is the playwright (author) of the play? (173)

3] Name one other play that George Kaufman has helped to write. (in the middle of 172)

4] What is the setting of “The Still Alarm”? (near the top of 173)

5] The playwright, George S. Kaufman, gives advice on how the actors are supposed to perform the play. What advice does he give? (near the top of 173)

6] Who are the five characters in the play? One of them does not have any lines. (skim the whole play)

7] What is Bob going to build? (near the top of 174)

8] What important message does the Bellboy have for Bob and Ed? (middle of 174)

9] Why can’t Bob and Ed just jump out the window to escape the fire? (bottom of 175)

10] What is the first fireman carrying when he enters? (bottom of 176)

11] What is the second fireman carrying when he enters? (bottom of 176)

12] How does the play end? (top of page 179)

13] Copy down one stage direction that Bob is supposed to do. (any page. Example: remembering something)

14] Copy down one stage direction that Ed is supposed to do. (any page. Example: enters.)

15] Copy down one line of the Bellboy’s dialogue. (174-175)

16] Copy down one line of First Fireman’s dialogue. (176-179)

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The Proposal Worksheet

Directions: Answer the questions, using complete sentences. Use The Proposal script to look for the answers.

1] Who is the playwright?

2] Where is the setting of the play?

3] How many characters are there in the play? What are their names?

4] How are Stepan Stepanovich Chubukov and Natalya Stepanova related?

5] What happens in the beginning of the play?

6] Why has Lomov come to visit Chubukov and Natalya?

7] Name at least two physical problems or ailments that Lomov complains about.

8] Name at least two reasons why Lomov feels that he should marry Natalya. (bottom of right hand column, page 192)

9] What do Natalya and Lomov start arguing about on page 193?

10] Why does Natalya want Chubukov to bring back Lomov on page 196?

11] After Lomov comes back, who apologizes for arguing? (bottom of left hand column, page
197)

12] What do Natalya and Lomov start arguing about on page 197?

13] What happens at the end of the play?

14] What do the arguments between Lomov and Natalya tell you about what they think is important? What do Lomov and Natalya really care about?

15] Do you think Lomov and Natalya will have a happy marriage? Why or why not?

16] Imagine that Lomov and Natalya have been married for one year. Where are they now? What are they doing with their lives?

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The Lottery Worksheet

Directions: Answer the questions, using complete sentences.

1] What is the setting of the Lottery?

2] What does the stage look like in the beginning of the play?

3] Name at least 5 characters in the play.

4] Copy down one stage direction that Martin has.

5] Copy down one line of dialogue that Hutchison has.

6] What are Tommy and Dickie doing at the beginning of the play?

7] What are some of the things that Martin and Delacroix talk about on page 102?

8] What are some of the things that Mrs. Dunbar and Mrs. Watson talk about on page 103?

10] Why is Tessie late to the Lottery? (page 111)

11] What are some of Old Man Warner’s complaints about the way that the Lottery is currently
being run? (109, other pages)

12] What does the person who “wins” the Lottery get?

13] What did you think the lottery was at the beginning of the play? How do you react to the ending?

14] Joe says, “The Lottery has got to be taken serious. People get set in a way of doin’ things and you can’t change ‘em. It’s human nature.” Do you agree with Joe’s statement? Why or why not?

15] The men and the women in the play do different jobs at home and in the community. What are some of those different things that the men and the women do?

16] Why do you think the town does the lottery every year?

17] Why do you think many cultures in the past have done human sacrifice?

18] Are there traditions in your family or community that you wish would stop? If so, what are they?

19] If you could make up a new tradition that everybody followed, what would it be?

20] What do you think is the moral, or the main point, of “The Lottery”?

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Spartacus Worksheet

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Directions: Now that we have finished watching Spartacus, answer these questions about the movie.

1] Did you like the movie? Why or why not?

2] If you could change something about the movie, what would you change?

3]Who was your favorite character? Why?

4] Who was your least favorite character? Why?

5] Who is the protagonist?

6] How does Spartacus change during the movie? What do you think Spartacus learns about
himself or the world?

7] Who is the antagonist?

8] How does Crassus change during the movie? What do you think Crassus learns about himself or the world?

9] Why did so many captured slaves stand up and say, “I’m Spartacus!”

10] Crassus says that he not only wants to kill Spartacus, but he wants to kill the legend of Spartacus. What do you think that means?

11] If there were a Spartacus 2, what would happen in it?

12]What are some examples of conflict in the movie?

13] Could Spartacus be an inspirational story? What could it inspire people to do or believe in?

14] The movie version of Spartacus is not completely historically accurate. What parts of the movie do you think the screenwriter (the person who wrote the script for the movie) made up or changed?

15] There are rarely characters that are 100% good or 100% evil. Can you think of any good qualities that Crassus has? What are they? Can you think of any bad qualities that Spartacus has? What are they?

16] How were the lives of the slaves and the lives of the Roman Senators and military generals different?

17] Today most everybody thinks that watching gladiators kill each other for sport is wrong. But the thrill of watching violence remains with us. How is watching a violent movie different than watching gladiators fight to the death? How is watching a boxing match different than watching gladiators fight?

18] Why do you think people like watching violence?

19] Do you think Spartacus and his slave army should have kept fighting against the Roman Empire, even if they knew the chances of winning were slim?

21] How is Spartacus different than many movies made today?

22] Could the Spartacus story be made into a play? What changes would need to be made to adapt Spartacus from the screen to the stage?

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Kabuki worksheet

Directions: Read pages 296 to 298 on your handout. Answer these questions.

1] What are the three main traditional types of theatre in Japan?

2] What is the name of Japanese puppet theatre?

3] How did Kabuki theatre start? When did Kabuki theatre start?

4]How is the Kabuki stage different than the stage in our cafeteria?

5] What is a hanamichi?

6] What is a samisen?

7] What is a kimono?

8] Describe the makeup and costumes that are used in Kabuki theatre.

9] In kabuki makeup, what do red lines mean, and what does the color blue mean?

10] How is Kabuki theatre different from theatre that you are used to?

Directions, read pages 299 – 305 and answer the questions. It is important to remember that you are not reading the whole play. You are only reading the first scene in “The Zen Substitute” by Okamura Shiko.

11] What are the names of the two main characters in the scene?

12] Lord Ukyo tells his wife that he is going to spend the whole night in meditation. But what does he really want to do?

13] What does Lord Ukyo want his servant to do?

14] The Kabuki chorus is like a narrator in a play, who talks directly to the audience. But a Kabuki chorus is very different from a narrator because the Kabuki chorus has several members, and they sing everything. What does the chorus sing about on pages 300-301?

14] Why is Tarokaja afraid of Lady Tamanoi?

15] How does Lord Ukyo finally convince Tarokaja to act like he’s meditating all night?

16] How is the stage assistant supposed to act when he comes on stage to bring props to the actors? (See the left sidebar on page 302.)

17] How do the actors interact with the stage assistant?

17] What does Tarokaja ask Lord Ukyo to do on the top of page 304?

18] Is this a tragedy or a comedy? What makes you think so?

19] Summarize this scene from “The Zen Substitute.”

20] What do you think will happen in the play next? (Remember, you read only the first scene of “The Zen Substitute.”)

21] Did you like the play? How did the play make you feel? What parts were interesting? Write at least 3 complete sentences.

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A Mad Tea Party Worksheet

This worksheet will help you use the vocabulary words we have learned. It will also help you think about how to design costumes and sets. To “design” means “come up with plans for.” This worksheet might also get you excited to see the new Alice in Wonderland movie, coming to theatres everywhere on March 5th. (Tim Burton is paying me to market his film in this drama class. J/k lol :)

Directions: Answer the questions in thoughtful, complete sentences. Refer to A Mad Tea Party, from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, dramatized by Mara Rockliff, found on pages 113 to 120 in our book, Famous Stories for Performance. Not all the answers will be in the script. Use your imagination to come up with the answers.

1] Who are the four characters?

2] Briefly describe all four characters. What do they look like? What do they act like?

3] What is the setting?

4] Copy down one line of Alice’s dialogue.

5] Copy down one stage direction for the Hatter.

6] What does the March Hare do with his watch on page 115?

7] What song does the Hatter sing on page 117?

8] The Hatter and the Dormouse and the March Hare all talk about crazy things and do crazy things. What are some of the crazy things they say and do?

9] On pages 118-120, the Dormouse tells a story to the guests at the tea party. What is the Dormouse’s story about?

10] Summarize the play in at least 5 complete sentences.

11] What is Alice’s objective, or goal, in the play?

12] What do you think the Mad Hatter’s objective is?

13] Draw a picture of the Hatter’s costume. (Remember, the costumes can come from information in the script, but if the scritp doesn’t tell you exactly what the costume looks like, then you can make it up from your imagination.)

14] Make a list of the things the Hatter would wear.

15] Draw a picture of the Dormouse’s costume.

16] Make a list of the things the Hatter would wear.

17] Draw a picture of Alice’s costume.

18] Make a list of the things that Alice would wear.

19] Draw a picture of the March Hare’s costume.

20] Make a list of the things the March Hare would wear.

21] Imagine you are in charge of designing the set for this play. Draw a picture of the set on the
back of this paper.

22] What props would you need to put this play on? Read through the script and list as many as props as you can find. (Example: watch, tea cups, etc.)

23] How is this version different than the other versions of Alice in Wonderland you have seen and read?

24] What did you like about the play?

25] What did you dislike about the play?

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Introduction to World Drama Worksheet – Pages 3 - 5

Instructions: Read pages 3, 4, and 5 in our World Drama book. Then, answer the following questions. (Check for understanding questions can be clearly found in the book. Extension questions as you for your own educated ideas and opinions.)
Check for Understanding – page 3

1] What are the two main types of drama?

2] What two old Greek tragedies are included in our anthology, World Drama?

3] What could be an example of a “tragic flaw in character” in a protagonist in a tragedy?

4] Name at least 3 differences between comedies and tragedies.

Extension – page 3

4]Why do you think people like to see comedies?

5] Why do you think people like to see tragedies, if they know it’s going to make them sad?

6] Would you rather see a tragedy or a comedy? Why?

Check for Understanding – page 4

7] Are all plays either a tragedy or a comedy?

8] What does a “farce” involve?

9] What is a “realistic drama” like? What play is an example of a realistic drama?

10] What is “social protest”?

Extension – page 4

11] The book says that writers “experiment all the time with the basic forms of drama.” Why do you think that playwrights don’t always stick to the same play format?

12] Do you think plays or movies can have a big impact on the world? What kind of changes can plays or movies bring about?

13] Do you think plays or movies can change people’s opinions about things? Tell of a time when watching a movie or seeing a play has changed your opinion about something or helped you to learn something new, or has helped you to look at the world differently.

Check for understanding – page 5

14] What playwright wrote the lines “Sit and see/ Minding true things by what their mockeries be.”?

15] Who are some of the “people who help to bring the play to life”?

Extension – page 5

16] What is the power of the theatre?

17] Why do you think that people still like to see plays, even though we have movies now?