II. Learn Text в by heart. Act out this dialogue.

III. Retell Text с in your own words.

Speak on your favourite genre (opera, drama, ballet, comedy, musical, etc). Why do you like it?

IV. Translate the following into English:

Когда мы пришли, зал был уже полон. Через несколько минут за­навес поднялся, и все взгляды устремились на сцену. Декорации были очень простые, выдержанные в черных, белых и серых тонах. На этом фоне яркие костюмы действующих лиц выглядели очень эффектно.

Состав исполнителей был неплохой, а игра актера, исполняв­шего главную роль, была просто великолепна. Когда он был на сцене, внимание всего зрительного зала было сосредоточено на нем и его игре. Во время знаменитой сцены из третьего акта в зале стояла мертвая тишина. Зрители были потрясены. Многие плака­ли. К тому же, эта сцена была удачно освещена. Режиссер удачно использовал освещение, чтобы усилить впечатление от игры ак­тера.

Когда после заключительной сцены занавес опустился, насту­пила долгая пауза, а потом поднялась настоящая буря аплодисмен­тов.

V. Read the following and either agree or disagree with the state­ments.

1. The house is the part of the theatre where the mem­bers of the orchestra usually sit. 2. An auditorium is a build­ing or a part of a building in which the audience sit. 3. The audience include both spectators and actors. 4. When the audience is pleased it keeps silent. 5. We say "the house is full" when not all the seats in the auditorium are occupied. 6. The pit is nearer to the stage than the stalls. 7. You prefer seats in the gallery, don't you? 8. Wings are the sides of a stage with the scenery. 9. You wouldn't like to go behind the stage, I believe. 10. The cheapest seats are in the boxes. 11. The most expensive seats are in the orchestra stalls. 12. Students always buy seats in the orchestra stalls. 13. By the cast of the play we mean all the actors belonging to the theatrical company. 14, The role of the producer is not very important. 15. You don't know who Stanislavsky was, I be­lieve. 16. It doesn't take many people to produce a play. 17. I believe you clap to show your appreciation of the act­ing or the play as a whole.

Reminder. Beyond all doubt. I should think so. I won't deny it Most likely. I disagree with you. On the contrary. You are wrong. Just the other way round. Not me! By no means.

VI. A) Describe your impressions of a play (opera, ballet) you have seen. Follow the plan below:

1. Going to the theatre. (How did you get the tickets? Where were your seats? Was the house full?)

2. The play. (Was it interesting? What was interesting? What didn't you like about it?)

3. The acting. (Was the cast good? Whose acting im­pressed the audience? In what scenes?)

4. The production. (Did the production help the audience to catch the main idea of the play? In what points of the pro­duction did you feel the work of the producer? Did the gener­al spirit of the production satisfy the demand of the play?)

5. Designing. (Did you like the scenery? How were the light and sound effects used?)

6. The audience. (What kind of people did it consist of? How did they receive the performance?)

R e m i n d e r: if is surprising to meet a play about ordi­nary people caught up in ordinary events, the author shows a remarkable talent for writing dialogue which is entertaining and witty, the characters are pleasant (humorous, ordinary); one brief scene forms the climax of the play, the characters act out a fantasy, the audience is made to think: until almost the final curtain; splendid direction; it was one of the finest ren­derings of this part I've ever heard; I hear the scenery was planned and designed by...; his musical talent is quite excep­tional, his playing sometimes reminds me of...; the highlight of the evening was ...