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an accessible art form for all participants in Renaissance Spain, being both highly sponsored by the aristocratic class and highly attended by the lower classes.

Topic:

2.The most famous plays of the period are the philosophical drama Life Is a Dream by Calderón, the historical play Fuenteovejuna by Lope de Vega, and The Trickster of Seville (about the legendary lover, Don Juan) by Tirso de Molina. There are also great comedies, religious dramas, farces, and tragedies by these and other playwrights. Comedies by female playwrights (Sor Juana

Inés de la Cruz, Ana Caro, María de Zayas, and Angela de Azevedo) have recently been discovered and translated, as well.

Topic:

3. In turn, Spanish Golden Age theatre has dramatically influenced the theatre of later generations in Europe and throughout the world. Spanish drama had an immediate and significant impact on the contemporary developments in English Renaissance theatre. It has also had a lasting impact on theatre throughout the Spanish speaking world.

Topic:

4.The term 'Golden Age' (or Siglo de Oro in Spanish) is used to describe what is broadly the Early Modern period in Spain, a time of extraordinary artistic flowering. The period stretches from the mid sixteenth century to the death of the great playwright, Pedro Calderón de la Barca, in 1681. This is the period in which Miguel de Cervantes wrote the first modern novel, Don Quijote (1605 and 1615), when the 'painters' painter', Diego de Velázquez, was producing his astonishing canvases for the court.

Topic:

IV. SUPPORTING DETAILS

As you know, the sentences in a paragraph are all about one topic. Together they develop one main idea. To help you understand the main idea, the writer adds supporting details. The supporting details give more information about the topic. They are not as general as the main idea. After you identify the topic and the main idea, you should look for details that support it

Supporting ideascan be facts, examples, or reasons. Supporting details help you understand more about the main idea. They tell who, what, when, where, why, how, how much or how many

B. One sentence in each group below is the main idea. The other sentences are supporting. Read the following paragraphs. Identify the main idea and write it in the space provided. Then make a list of details that support the main idea.

1. The volume and variety of Spanish plays during the Golden Age was unprecedented in the history of world theatre, surpassing, for example, the dramatic production of the English Renaissance by a factor of at least four. Although this volume has been as much a source of criticism as praise for Spanish Golden Age theatre, for emphasizing quantity before quality, a large number of the 10,000 to 30,000 plays of this period are still considered masterpieces.

Main Idea

Supporting details

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2. Also noted for its variety, the theatre of Renaissance Spain was the only in Europe to simultaneously include secular and religious dramas. Additionally, state sponsored drama existed harmoniously alongside popular for-profit theatre, with many theatre artists contributing significantly to both. Stylistically, plays ranged from straight plays to operas and from bawdy comedies to epic tragedies. Spain also introduced its own forms and genres of theatre with the development of the Comedia nueva and the zarzuela.

Main Idea

Supporting details

3.The sources of influence for the emerging national theatre of Spain were as diverse as the theatre that nation ended up producing. Storytelling traditions originating in Italian Commedia dell'arteand the uniquely Spanish expression of Western Europe's traveling minstrel entertainments contributed a populist influence on the narratives and the music, respectively, of early Spanish theatre.

Main Idea

Supporting details

4. Major artists of the period included Lope de Vega, a contemporary of Shakespeare, often, and contemporaneously, seen his parallel for the Spanish stage, and Calderon de la Barca, inventor of the zarzuela and Lope's successor as the preeminent Spanish dramatist. Gil Vicente, Lope de Rueda, and Juan del Encina helped to establish the foundations of Spanish theatre in the midsixteenth centuries.

Main Idea

Supporting details

5. In its own time, this prolific production helped to contribute to theatre's accessibility in Spain. For modern theatre historians, however, it has contributed to the difficulty of researching theatre from this period in Spain, as the vast majority of plays remain virtually untouched, in terms of both production and scholarly analysis, since the seventeenth century. Combined with the error prone printing techniques that plagued the publication of Spanish plays, this has vastly undercut the study of Spanish Golden Age theatre.

Main Idea

Supporting details

TEXT VII.

GOLDEN AGE THEATRE

The term 'Golden Age' (or Siglo de Oro in Spanish) is used to describe what is broadly the Early Modern period in Spain, a time of extraordinary artistic flowering. The period stretches from the mid sixteenth century to the death of the great playwright, Pedro Calderón de la Barca, in 1681. This is the period in which Miguel de Cervantes wrote the first modern novel, Don Quijote (1605 and 1615), when the 'painters' painter', Diego de Velázquez, was producing his astonishing canvases for the court, when Spanish culture was spreading irresistibly to the New World and throughout the Old.

The most famous plays of the period are the philosophical drama Life Is a Dream by Calderón, the historical play Fuenteovejuna by Lope de Vega, and The Trickster of Seville (about the legendary lover, Don Juan) by Tirso de Molina. There are also great comedies, religious dramas, farces, and tragedies by these and other playwrights. Comedies by female playwrights (Sor Juana

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Inés de la Cruz, Ana Caro, María de Zayas, and Angela de Azevedo) have recently been discovered and translated, as well.

The three major forms of Golden Age theatre are the comedia, the auto sacramental, and the entremés. Autos sacramentales are one-act religious allegories, and entremeses are one-act farces originally performed between the acts of full-length comedia. Comedias are three-act dramas written in verse, which mix comic and serious elements in complex plots that often emphasize intrigue, disguises, music, and swordplay.

During its Golden Age, roughly from 1590 to 1681, Spain saw a monumental increase in the production of live theatre as well as in the importance of theatre within Spanish society. It was an accessible art form for all participants in Renaissance Spain, being both highly sponsored by the aristocratic class and highly attended by the lower classes. The volume and variety of Spanish plays during the Golden Age was unprecedented in the history of world theatre, surpassing, for example, the dramatic production of the English Renaissance by a factor of at least four. Although this volume has been as much a source of criticism as praise for Spanish Golden Age theatre, for emphasizing quantity before quality, a large number of the 10,000 to 30,000 plays of this period are still considered masterpieces. In its own time, this prolific production helped to contribute to theatre's accessibility in Spain. For modern theatre historians, however, it has contributed to the difficulty of researching theatre from this period in Spain, as the vast majority of plays remain virtually untouched, in terms of both production and scholarly analysis, since the seventeenth century. Combined with the error prone printing techniques that plagued the publication of Spanish plays, this has vastly undercut the study of Spanish Golden Age theatre.

Also noted for its variety, the theatre of Renaissance Spain was the only in Europe to simultaneously include secular and religious dramas. Additionally, state sponsored drama existed harmoniously alongside popular for-profit theatre, with many theatre artists contributing significantly to both. Stylistically, plays ranged from straight plays to operas and from bawdy comedies to epic tragedies. Spain also introduced its own forms and genres of theatre with the development of the Comedia nueva and the zarzuela.

Major artists of the period included Lope de Vega, a contemporary of Shakespeare, often, and contemporaneously, seen his parallel for the Spanish stage, and Calderon de la Barca, inventor of the zarzuela and Lope's successor as the preeminent Spanish dramatist. Gil Vicente, Lope de Rueda, and Juan del Encina helped to establish the foundations of Spanish theatre in the mid-sixteenth centuries, while Francisco de Rojas Zorrilla and Tirso de Molina made significant contributions in the later half of the Golden Age. Important performers included Lope de Rueda (previously mentioned among the playwrights) and later Juan Rana.

The sources of influence for the emerging national theatre of Spain were as diverse as the theatre that nation ended up producing. Storytelling traditions originating in Italian Commedia dell'arteand the uniquely Spanish expression of Western Europe's traveling minstrel entertainments contributed a populist influence on the narratives and the music, respectively, of early Spanish theatre. Neo-Aristotelian criticism and liturgical dramas, on the other hand, contributed literary and moralistic perspectives. In turn, Spanish Golden Age theatre has dramatically influenced the theatre of later generations in Europe and throughout the world. Spanish drama had an immediate and significant impact on the contemporary developments in English Renaissance theatre. It has also had a lasting impact on theatre throughout the Spanish speaking world. Additionally, a growing number of works are being translated, increasing the reach of Spanish Golden Age theatre and strengthening its reputation among critics and theatre patrons

V. Match the words with their definition

artistic	a) a rhetorical device in which characters or events in
	a literary visual or musical art form represent or
	symbolyse ideas and concepts
produce	b) an entertainment, consisting of comic skillsvariety
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	acts, dancing and music
entremes	c) a person who supports and give money to artists
allegory	d) lyric – dramatic genre that alternates between
	spoken and sung scenes, introduction to lyric theatre.
verse	e) dramatic genre of short plays on sacred or biblical
	subjects
swordplay	f) a short comic theatrical performance of one act
auto sacramental	g) to supervise and finance the making and public
	presentation
zarzuela	h) the art or skill of wielding a sword especially in
	fancing
minstrel	i) writing arranged in lines which have rhythm and
	which often rhymeat the end
patron	j) done with, showing skill and good judgement

VI. Read each of the sentences below. Try to explain the meaning of the underlined words. Do not use a dictionary.

1.The term 'Golden Age' (or Siglo de Oro in Spanish) is used to describe a time of extraordinary artistic flowering

2.The most famous play of the period are the philosophical drama

3. During its Golden Age, roughly from 1590 to 1681, Spain saw a monumental increase in the production of live theatre

4.A large number of the 10,000 to 30,000 plays of this period are still considered masterpieces.

5.Stylistically, plays ranged from straight plays to

6.In turn, Spanish Golden Age theatre has dramatically influenced the theatre of latergenerations

7.In its own time, this prolific production helped to contribute to theatre saccessibility in Spain

8.The vast majority of playsremain virtually untouched.

9.For modern theatre historians, however, it has contributed to the difficulty of researching theatre.

VII. Reread the text ―Renaissance‖ and complete the summary. Then compare your summary with a partner.

The term 'Golden Age' (or Siglo de Oro in Spanish) is used to describe what is broadly the ________ (1) in Spain, a time of extraordinary artistic flowering. The period stretches from the mid sixteenth century to the death of the great playwright, Pedro Calderón de la Barca, in

1681. This is the period in which Miguel de Cervantes wrote the first ___________ (2), Don Quijote (1605 and 1615), when the 'painters' painter', Diego de Velázquez, was producing his astonishing canvases for the court, when Spanish culture was spreading irresistibly to the New World and throughout the Old.

The three major forms of Golden Age theatre are the comedia, the auto sacramental, and the entremés. Autos sacramentales are ___________ (3) allegories, and entremeses are one-act farces originally performed between the acts of full-length comedia. Comedias are three-act dramas written in verse, which _____________ (4) and serious elements in complex plots that often emphasize intrigue, _______________ (5) music, and swordplay.

During its Golden Age, roughly from 1590 to 1681, Spain saw a monumental increase in the production of live theatre as well as in the importance of theatre within Spanish society. It was an accessible art form for all participants in Renaissance Spain, being both highly sponsored

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by the aristocratic class and highly attended by the lower classes. The sources of influence for the ______________ (6) of Spain were as diverse as the theatre that nation ended up producing.

VIII. Discuss these questions in small groups.

1.What does the term ―Golden Age‖ mean for you?

2.What playwrights and authors marked the golden age theatre?

3.What kind of lays were represented in the Golden age theatre? Have you read any of them? Is yes,analize one.

4.What were the three major forms of golden Age theatre? What did they mean?

5.What forms were introduced in Golden Age theatre?

6. What is life theatre in your understanding?

7.What was the influence of Spanish Golden Ageon the theatre of of later generations in Europe and in the whole world?

IX. Choose one of the questions above and write a paragraph about it

1. Reading for a purpose.

You are going to read the text about Comedia del‘arte. Commedia dell'arte is a form of theatre characterized by masked "types" which began in Italy in the 16th century, and was responsible for the advent of the actress and improvised performances based on sketches or scenarios. The closest translation of the name is "comedy of craft"; it is shortened from commedia dell'arte all'improvviso, or "comedy of the craft of improvisation". Here, arte does not refer to "art" as we currently consider the word, but rather to that which is made by artigiani (artisans)

Write as many questions as you’d like to ask about late Medieval theatre. Use only theatrical vocabulary.

II. Translate the following words and word combinations.

Commedia dell'arte, actress, performance, learned comedy, amateur, specific role, mask, theatre historians, professional form of theatre, temporary stages, drama, scenarios, carnival, troupes, to perform, individual actors.

III. Sharpen your Reading skills Main ideas

You know that good readers look for the topic of what they are reading. Good readers also look for the main idea. The main idea is the writer‘s most important point about the topic.

To find the main idea of a paragraph, ask yourself, ―What does the author want me to know about the topic?‖

How Do You Find the Main Idea of a Paragraph?

In order to find the main idea of a paragraph, first you need to find the topic. Then you need to ask yourself ―What does the author want me to know about the topic?‖ The answer is the main idea. Many times you will find the answer in one sentence. This is called the topic sentence. The topic sentence states the main idea of the paragraph. The topic sentence is often the first sentence of a paragraph, but sometimes it is the last sentence or a sentence in the middle of the paragraph.

Read the paragraph. Find the topic of each paragraph. Then underline the sentence that tells the main idea

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1. Commedia dell'arte is a form of theatre characterized by masked "types" which began in Italy in the 16th century, and was responsible for the advent of the actress and improvised performances based on sketches or scenarios. The closest translation of the name is "comedy of craft"; it is shortened from commedia dell'arte all'improvviso, or "comedy of the craft of improvisation". Here, arte does not refer to "art" as we currently consider the word, but rather to that which is made by artigiani (artisans).

Topic:

2.The performers played on outside, temporary stages, and relied on various props in place of extensive scenery. The better troupes were patronized by nobility, and during carnival period might be funded by the various towns or cities, in which they played. Extra funds were received by donations (essentially passing the hat) so anyone could view the performance free of charge. Key to the success of the commedia was the ability of the performers to travel to achieve fame and financial success.

Topic:

3.Plays did not originate from written drama but from scenarios, which were loose frameworks that provided the situations, complications, did not originate from written drama but from scenarios and outcome of the action, around which the actors would improvise. The plays utilized stock characters, which could be divided into three groups: the lovers, the masters, and the servants.

Topic:

4. The role of master was normally based on one of three stereotypes: Pantalone, an elderly Venetian merchant; Dottore, Pantalone's friend or rival, a pedantic doctor or lawyer who acted far more intelligent than he really was; and Capitano, who was once a lover character, but evolved into braggart who boasted of his exploits in love and war, but was often terrifically unskilled in both.

Topic:

SUPPORTING DETAILS

As you know, the sentences in a paragraph are all about one topic. Together they develop one main idea. To help you understand the main idea, the writer adds supporting details. The supporting details give more information about the topic. They are not as general as the main idea. After you identify the topic and the main idea, you should look for details that support it

Supporting ideascan be facts, examples, or reasons. Supporting details help you understand more about the main idea. They tell who, what, when, where, why, how, how much or how many

B. One sentence in each group below is the main idea. The other sentences are supporting. Read the following paragraphs. Identify the main idea and write it in the space provided. Then make a list of details that support the main idea.

1. In fact, the term arte was coined much later, for in the early period the term used in contemporary accounts is commedia all'improviso. This was to distinguish the form from commedia erudita or learned comedy that was written by academics and performed by amateurs. A troupe typically consisted of 13 to 14 members. Most actors were paid by taking a share of the play's profits roughly equivalent to the size of their role. The style of theatre was in its peak from 1575 to 1650.

Main Idea

Supporting details

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2. The performers played on outside, temporary stages, and relied on various props (robbe) in place of extensive scenery. The better troupes were patronized by nobility, and during carnival period might be funded by the various towns or cities, in which they played. Extra funds were received by donations (essentially passing the hat) so anyone could view the performance free of charge.

Main Idea

Supporting details

3. Key to the success of the commedia was the ability of the performers to travel to achieve fame and financial success. The most successful troupes performed before kings and nobility allowing individual actors, such as Isabella Andreini, her daughter-in-law Virginia RamponiAndreini, and Dionisio Martinelli, to become well known.

Main Idea

Supporting details

4.The characters of the commedia usually represent fixed social types, stock characters, such as foolish old men, devious servants, or military officers full of false bravado. Characters such as Pantalone, the miserly Venetian merchant; Dottore Gratiano, the pedant from Bologna; or Arlecchino, the mischievous servant from Bergamo, began as satires on Italian ―types‖ and became the archetypes of many favorite characters the European theatre.

Main Idea

Supporting details

5.By the end of the 1570s, Italian prelates attempted to ban female performers; however, by the end of the 16th century, actresses were standard on the Italian stage. The Italian scholar Ferdinando Taviani has collated a number of church documents opposing the advent of the actress as a kind of courtesan, whose scanty attire and promiscuous lifestyle corrupted young men.

Main Idea

Supporting details

TEXT VIII.

COMEDIA DELL’ARTE

Commedia dell'arte is a form of theatre characterized by masked "types" which began in Italy in the 16th century, and was responsible for the advent of the actress and improvised performances based on sketches or scenarios. The closest translation of the name is "comedy of craft"; it is shortened from commedia dell'arte all'improvviso, or "comedy of the craft of improvisation". Here, arte does not refer to "art" as we currently consider the word, but rather to

that which is made by artigiani (artisans). In fact, the term arte was coined much later, for in the early period the term used in contemporary accounts is commedia all'improviso. This was to distinguish the form from commedia erudita or learned comedy that was written by academics and performed by amateurs. Commedia dell'arte, conversely, was performed by professional actors who perfected a specific role or mask.

Italian theatre historians, such as Roberto Tessari, FerdinandoTaviani, and Luciano Pinto believe commedia developed as a response to the political and economic crisis of the 16th century and, as a consequence, became the first entirely professional form of theatre.

Plays did not originate from written drama but from scenarios, which were loose frameworks that provided the situations, complications and outcome of the action, around which the actors would improvise. The plays utilized stock characters, which could be divided into three

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groupsthe lovers, the masters, and the servants. The lovers had different names and characteristics in most plays and often were the children of the master. The role of master was normally based on one of three stereotypes: Pantalone, an elderly Venetian merchant; Dottore, Pantalone's friend or rival, a pedantic doctor or lawyer who acted far more intelligent than he really was; and Capitano, who was once a lover character, but evolved intobraggart who boasted of his exploits in love and war, but was often terrifically unskilled in both. He normally carried a sword and wore a cape and feathered headdress. The servant character had only one recurring role: Arlecchino (also called Harlequin). He was both cunning andignorant, but an accomplished dancer and acrobat. He typically carried a wooden stick with a split in the middle so it made a loud noise when striking something. This "weapon" gave us the term "slapstick".

The performers played on outside, temporary stages, and relied on various props (robbe) in place of extensive scenery. The better troupes were patronized by nobility, and during carnival period might be funded by the various towns or cities, in which they played. Extra funds were received by donations (essentially passing the hat) so anyone could view the performance free of charge. Key to the success of the commedia was the ability of the performers to travel to achieve fame and financial success. The most successful troupes performed before kings and nobility allowing individual actors, such as Isabella Andreini, her daughter-in-law Virginia Ramponi-Andreini, and Dionisio Martinelli, to become well known.

A troupe typically consisted of 13 to 14 members. Most actors were paid by taking a share of the play's profits roughly equivalent to the size of their role. The style of theatre was in its peak from 1575 to 1650, but even after that time new scenarios were written and performed.

The characters of the commedia usually represent fixed social types, stock characters, such as foolish old men, devious servants, or military officers full of false bravado. Characters such as Pantalone, the miserly Venetian merchant; Dottore Gratiano, the pedant from Bologna; or Arlecchino, the mischievous servant from Bergamo, began as satires on Italian ―types‖ and became the archetypes of many of the favorite characters of 17thand 18th-century European theatre.

Commedia dell'arte is notable in that female roles were played by women, documented as early as the 1560s, In the 1570s, English theatre critics generally denigrated the troupes with their female actors (some decades later, Ben Jonson referred to one female performer of the commedia as a "tumbling whore"). By the end of the 1570s, Italian prelates attempted to ban female performers; however, by the end of the 16th century, actresses were standard on the Italian stage.

V. Match the words with their definition

masked	a) a skilled craft worker who makes or creates things
	by hand e.g. decorative arts
sketch	b) a public festival with music, procession and dancing
scenario	c) a pretense of bravery
artisan	d) a person who strictly adheres to information
	without using common sence
amateur	e) a synoptical collage of an event or series of events
	and actions
carnival	f) causing or intended to cause harm
recur	g) happens more then once
bravado	h) someone who does a particular activity as a hobby
	not as a job
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pedant	i) disguised or concealed
mischievous	j) a short humorous piece of acting usually forming
	part of a comedy show

VI. Read each of the sentences below. Try to explain the meaning of the underlined words. Do not use a dictionary.

1.The closest translation of the name is "comedy of craft".

2.Plays did not originate from written drama but from scenarios, which were loose frameworksthat provided the situations.

3.The role of master was normally based on one of three stereotypes.

4.Arlecchino was both cunning andignorant, but an accomplished dancer and acrobat. 5.The performers played on outside, temporary stages.

6.Commedia dell'arte, conversely, was performed by professional actors who perfected a specific role or mask.

7.The better troupeswere patronized by nobility

8.Most actors were paid by taking a share of the play's profits.

9.The characters of the commedia usually represent fixed social types, stock characters.

VII. Reread the text ―Renaissance‖ and complete the summary. Then compare your summary with a partner.

_______________ (1) is a form of theatre characterized by masked "types" which began in Italy in the 16th century, and was responsible for the advent of _______________ (2) and improvised performances based on sketches or scenarios. The closest translation of the name is

____________ (3)"; it is shortened from commedia dell'arte all'improvviso, or "comedy of the craft of improvisation". The performers played on outside, temporary stages, and relied on various props (robbe) in place of______________ (4). The better troupes were patronized by nobility, and during carnival period might be funded by the various towns or cities, in which they played. Extra funds were received by donations (essentially passing the hat) so anyone could view ____________ (5) free of charge. Key to the success of the commedia was the ability of the performers to travel to achieve ______________ (6) and financial success. A troupe typically consisted of 13 to 14 members. Most actors were paid by taking a share of _____________ (7) roughly equivalent to the size of their role.

VIII. Discuss these questions in small groups.

1.What was Commedia dell‘ Arte characterized by?

2.What was the nain characteristic of Comedia dell‘arte, and who performed in it?

3.Can you name the representatives of Commedia dell‘arte?

4.When and how did Commedia dell‘arte appear?

5.Can you remember the traditions of commedia dell'arte?

6.Where is Commedia dell‘arte played?

7.What is the influence of commedia dell‘arte on the modern theatre?

IX. Choose one of the questions above and write a paragraph about it

UNIT II. BRITISH AND AMERICAN FAMOUS DRAMA THEATRES

TEXT I.

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AMERICAN THEATRE

The American theatre is over two hundred years old, but American drama became American only in the 20th century when such prominent playwrights as Eugene O‘Neill, Robert

Sherwood and others began their creative work. The centre of the American theatrical world is in a section of New York City on and near Broadway. It is the aim of every talented actor, producer and playwright to get to Broadway. Success on Broadway guarantees success elsewhere.

Broadway is a wide avenue cutting through New York‘s Manhatten Island as a diagonal.

Broadway is a mass of glittering lights and advertising signs. This centre of theatrical life still keeps its leading position but the taste of the audience has changed. People show more interest about entertaining shows, musicals, comedies than about serious drama. Experimental plays have not been successful on Broadway. Young actors and playwrights without any employment on Broadway began Off-Broadway productions in the late 1940s and early 1950s

Theatre-goers come mostly from the society who can afford the price of the ticket. A visit to Broadway has become a sign of prestige. Unlike other countries, there is no national subsidized theatre in the United States. The Broadway theatre is a truly commercial enterprise and to ensure success the producer must get a big famous star under contract. As usual, Broadway welcomes theatrical productions from abroad. Few would deny that Broadway remains the prima donna of the American theatrical experience, a powerful magnet for the country‘s finest performers. But in the short period of few decades something has changed.

Regional theatres across the United States have slowly challenged the might of Broadway regularly sending the best of their seasons to New York. There are 200 regional theatres in 40 states operate under the contracts from the theatrical unions. Approximately 200professional theatres in the United States are devoted to children‘s productions.

America‘s most important playwrights are considered to be Eugene O‘Neill, Lilian Hellman, Tennessee Williams, Arthur Miller, Adwars Albee. Eugene O‘Neill was the first important American playwright of serious, nonmusical drama. He received theNobel Prize in Literature in 1936, and he was the only dramatist to win the Pulitzer Prize in drama four times.

At the age of Enlightenment folk dramas, carnivals were very popular. The genre of tragedy is the oldest of all but later comedies, operettas, variety shows appeared on the stage. Two important developments in recent years are the "theatre of absurd" and the "black theatre". There are also some experiments with music and lighting, body movements to replace spoken words in expressing ideas, and spontaneous audience participation in some performances.Often they wanted to perform in new and experimental plays. By keeping production costs down and by using unknown casts instead of star performers, producers have been able to offer interesting theatre at low prices. Many theatre groups are active outside New York. Some of them follow repertory schedules: different plays are performed several times by the same groupof actors within a period of a few weeks or months.

I. Read the following sentences write the correct word in the space provided using the definitions below. If you need more help read the sentences in the text where the word appears and think about how it is used

1. American drama became American only in the 20th century when prominent _________began their creative work.

2. The centre of the American ________is in a section of New – York city.

3.People show more interest about ________musicals, comedies, then about serious drama.

4.________come mostly from the society who can afford the price of ticket.

5.Broadway remains __________ofthe American theatrical experience.

6.At the age of Enlightenment ____________ carnivals were very popular.

7.Two important developments in recent years are ____________ and the «black theatre».

a)Someone who thinks of that they are very good at what they do and demands a lot of attention and prays from other people

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