The Night the Scenery Stayed Put

B2 First Reading and Use of English — Part 5

Multiple-choice reading

Read the article about a volunteer at a community theatre. For questions 31–36, choose the answer (A, B, C or D) that best fits according to the text.

The Night the Scenery Stayed Put

When I volunteered at our community theatre, I pictured myself painting scenery in a quiet room. Instead, the stage manager asked me to help move it during a performance. I considered asking for a different job. It wasn’t the weight of the scenery that worried me. I had never worked in a theatre, and I couldn’t imagine finding my way around in the dark while an audience waited on the other side of the curtain. Nevertheless, I accepted, partly because everyone else seemed to have a job already.

At our first rehearsal I paid close attention to the written instructions. They told me which section of the set to move, where to put it and how to signal when I was done. I felt reassured until the actors arrived. One paused much longer than expected before delivering a line that was supposed to be my cue. I nearly started moving the set too early. After that, I stopped treating the instructions as a timetable and started listening to what was actually happening on stage.

By opening night I could recognise the cue without thinking. This turned out to be less useful than I had hoped. When my moment came, one of the wheels on a large painted wall refused to turn. For an instant I thought of pulling harder. Then I remembered a rehearsal in which a loose piece of scenery had nearly fallen. I signalled to the stage manager instead. She made a small movement with her hand, telling me to leave the wall where it was.

I expected the actors to stop when they found the wall still in place. One of them simply opened a door that was normally used in another scene and invited the other actor through it. From where I stood, it looked as if the action had been designed that way. Afterwards, a friend in the audience commented on how cleverly the door had been used. I almost explained what had happened, but decided I rather liked her version of events.

Until then, I had assumed that being good backstage meant completing every job exactly as planned. I still think careful preparation matters. Without it, the actors wouldn’t have known where the extra door led, and I wouldn’t have known whom to signal. What changed was my idea of what the planning was for. It gave each of us enough knowledge of the production to make sensible choices when something went wrong.

I now help train new volunteers. When we practise moving a set, I sometimes ask one person to leave a piece of scenery in the wrong place. Everyone has to work out how to respond. The first time I tried this, a volunteer asked how I could expect them to get it right without telling them what would happen. I told her that this was the bit of training I wished I’d had.

Questions:

31. What worried the writer about the first assignment?

A. The other volunteers might be unwilling to help.

B. The scenery would have to be painted in a hurry.

C. The pieces of scenery would be too heavy.

D. The unfamiliar conditions would make the job difficult.

32. What did the writer learn from the first rehearsal?

A. The timing of a cue depended on how the scene was performed.

B. The instructions failed to mention an important signal.

C. The actors needed clearer written instructions.

D. The scenery needed to be moved earlier in the scene.

33. Why did the writer signal to the stage manager instead of pulling harder?

A. The stage manager had asked for a signal before every move.

B. One of the actors had already opened another door.

C. Something that had happened in rehearsal made the writer aware of the risk.

D. The writer could see that the wheel had broken off.

34. What does the friend’s comment suggest?

A. The friend had noticed the problem with the scenery.

B. The change on stage looked as though it had been planned.

C. The audience was confused by the way the scene ended.

D. The actors had made the same change in rehearsal.

35. How has the writer’s view of planning changed?

A. The writer now believes a plan should anticipate every possible problem.

B. The writer now considers planning more useful for the crew than for actors.

C. The writer now thinks preparation mainly benefits new volunteers.

D. The writer now sees preparation as a way to help people adapt.

36. Why does the writer deliberately create a problem during practice?

A. To see how quickly volunteers can move the scenery.

B. To show volunteers where each piece of scenery belongs.

C. To give volunteers practice in dealing with an unexpected situation.

D. To find out which volunteers have paid attention to the instructions.