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Key Facts: Cantabria PAU Performing Arts II Exam
90 Minutes
Exam time duration
Universidad de Cantabria (UNICAN)
EUR 71.09
Base registration fee
Universidad de Cantabria
0–10 Scale
Grading scale for Bachillerato and PAU exams
Spanish Ministry of Education
6 Core Blocks
History, Composition/Semiotics, Staging, Acting, Dance, Production/Reception
LOMLOE 2º Bachillerato Syllabus
100 Questions
Practice bank size in OpenExamPrep
OpenExamPrep
Master the Cantabria PAU Performing Arts II exam with 100 practice questions covering theatrical history, dramatic composition and semiotics, staging and scenography, acting and interpretation theory, dance and movement, and production roles. This English-language multiple-choice bank is a study adaptation of the written-analysis and theory knowledge tested on the official Spanish-language exam — it does not simulate the official written format or the practical performance component.
Sample Cantabria PAU Performing Arts II Practice Questions
Try these sample questions to review concepts for the Cantabria PAU Performing Arts II exam. Each question includes a detailed explanation. Start the interactive quiz above for the full 100+ question experience with AI tutoring.
1Which figure is traditionally credited as the first actor in Western theatre, stepping out of the chorus in Ancient Greece to speak as an individual character?
2In his Poetics, which concept did Aristotle use to describe the emotional purging or release that tragedy produces in its audience?
3Which Roman playwright is best known for tragedies written primarily for private reading or recitation rather than public performance, later influencing Renaissance revenge tragedy?
4Medieval European liturgical drama, performed inside churches to dramatize biblical episodes, is generally understood to have grown out of which short sung dialogue embedded in the Easter Mass?
5What term describes the short comic bits of stage business, such as pratfalls or sight gags, improvised by masked servant characters in Commedia dell'Arte?
6Which stock character of Commedia dell'Arte is portrayed as a greedy, jealous old Venetian merchant, typically dressed in a red vest, black cloak, and slippers?
7Which Spanish Golden Age playwright authored the treatise 'Arte nuevo de hacer comedias en este tiempo' (1609), breaking from classical unities to establish the three-act 'comedia nueva' formula?
8Pedro Calderón de la Barca's philosophical drama 'La vida es sueño' centers on which imprisoned prince who questions the boundary between dream and reality?
9What term describes the public, open-air commercial playhouses of Golden Age Spain, such as Madrid's Corral del Príncipe, built in courtyards between buildings?
10Which London playhouse, built in 1599 for the Lord Chamberlain's Men and associated with William Shakespeare, was a polygonal open-air theatre with a thrust stage surrounded by standing 'groundlings'?
About the Cantabria PAU Performing Arts II Exam
Comprehensive preparation guide and question bank for the PAU Artes Escénicas II (Performing Arts II) exam for 2º Bachillerato in Cantabria, administered by the University of Cantabria (UNICAN) PAU Organising Commission (2026). Covers theatrical history and traditions, dramatic composition and semiotics, staging and scenography, acting and interpretation theory, dance and movement arts, and production roles.
Exam sponsor: University of Cantabria (UNICAN) PAU Organising Commission. The requirements and fees below concern the certification or admission exam, separate from our free practice resources.
Assessment
Written 90-minute standardized exam typically structured in three parts: commentary on a fragment chosen from a set dramatic text (contextualizing it by style, historical period, and type of spectacle, situating it within the full work, and analyzing its dramatic units, themes, or a character), brief open-ended theory questions on acting and staging methodologies and theorists (for example Stanislavski, the Actor's Studio, Grotowski, Brecht, or Eugenio Barba), and analysis and commentary of a photograph of a staged scene from a real production (contextualization within the work, summary, scenography and character analysis, personal opinion). Exact part weightings and question choices vary by convocation. Practice items on this page are an English-language study adaptation of the official Cantabria PAU written paper.
Time Limit
90 minutes (1.5 hours)
Passing Score
Marked on a 0–10 scale. Minimum 4.0 required in Access Phase to combine with Bachillerato GPA (60% Bachillerato + 40% PAU Access Phase >= 5.0 to pass).
Exam / Certification Fees
EUR 71.09 base registration fee for PAU Access Phase (ordinary sitting, set by Universidad de Cantabria).
Exam sponsor websiteFees, eligibility, and exam policies can change. Confirm them with the exam sponsor before applying or paying.
Our practice resources: topics covered
We aim to reflect publicly available exam outlines and topic information in our study resources. Coverage, format, and difficulty may differ from the actual exam, and we cannot guarantee that every detail is accurate or current. Confirm exam requirements, fees, and policies with the official exam sponsor.
Theatrical History & Traditions
Greco-Roman drama, medieval liturgical and religious theatre, Commedia dell'Arte, Spanish Golden Age theatre (Lope de Vega, Calderón de la Barca, Tirso de Molina), Elizabethan drama, Neoclassicism, Romanticism, Realism/Naturalism, 20th-century Spanish and European avant-garde, Eastern theatrical traditions (Noh, Kabuki, Peking Opera), and postdramatic theatre.
Dramatic Composition & Theatrical Semiotics
Dramaturgical elements (plot, character, conflict, space, time), Freytag's pyramid, open vs closed dramatic forms, Tadeusz Kowzan's 13 theatrical sign systems, the theatrical pact, the fourth wall, character analysis by situation/action/conflict/objectives, and dramatic genres.
Staging, Scenography & Production Design
Stage typologies (proscenium, thrust, arena, traverse, black box, street), scenographic design, stage machinery, lighting instruments and design, sound design and acoustics, costume design, stage management, and typologies of scenic spectacle including happening, performance, video-theatre, and dance-theatre.
Acting & Interpretation Theory
Stanislavski's system (emotional memory, super-objective), Meyerhold's Biomechanics, Brecht's Epic Theatre and the alienation effect, Grotowski's Poor Theatre, the Actor's Studio Method, Decroux's corporeal mime, Boal's Theatre of the Oppressed, vocal and physical training, and character construction.
Dance & Movement Arts
Classical ballet history and technique, modern dance pioneers (Duncan, Graham, Humphrey, Cunningham), Pina Bausch's Tanztheater, postmodern dance and contact improvisation, flamenco and Spanish traditional dance, and Laban's movement concepts.
Production Roles, Reception & Cultural Context
Performing-arts professions and production roles (director, dramaturg, scenographer, lighting designer, costume designer, stage manager, choreographer), audience reception, critical analysis methodology, intellectual property rights (SGAE), and the production process from rehearsal to performance.
Preparing for the Cantabria PAU Performing Arts II Exam
What You Need to Know
- Passing score: Marked on a 0–10 scale. Minimum 4.0 required in Access Phase to combine with Bachillerato GPA (60% Bachillerato + 40% PAU Access Phase >= 5.0 to pass).
- Assessment: Written 90-minute standardized exam typically structured in three parts: commentary on a fragment chosen from a set dramatic text (contextualizing it by style, historical period, and type of spectacle, situating it within the full work, and analyzing its dramatic units, themes, or a character), brief open-ended theory questions on acting and staging methodologies and theorists (for example Stanislavski, the Actor's Studio, Grotowski, Brecht, or Eugenio Barba), and analysis and commentary of a photograph of a staged scene from a real production (contextualization within the work, summary, scenography and character analysis, personal opinion). Exact part weightings and question choices vary by convocation. Practice items on this page are an English-language study adaptation of the official Cantabria PAU written paper.
- Time limit: 90 minutes (1.5 hours)
- Exam / certification fees: EUR 71.09 base registration fee for PAU Access Phase (ordinary sitting, set by Universidad de Cantabria). Official sources
Using Our Practice Resources
- Work through all 100 available questions
- Review every answer and explanation
- Track weak areas and revisit them
- Use our AI tutor for tough concepts
Cantabria PAU Performing Arts II: Suggested Study Strategy
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this practice bank in the same format as the real Cantabria PAU Performing Arts II exam?
No, and it is important to know the difference. The official Cantabria PAU Artes Escénicas II paper is a 90-minute examination sat in Spanish that, in recent convocations, has combined a written commentary on a fragment of a dramatic text chosen from set works (such as Calderón de la Barca's 'La vida es sueño' or Shakespeare's 'Romeo y Julieta'), brief open-ended theory questions on acting and staging methodologies (for example Stanislavski, the Actor's Studio, Grotowski, Brecht, or Eugenio Barba), and analysis and commentary of a photograph of a staged scene from a real production — it contains no multiple-choice section, and it cannot assess live performance or staging skill through a written test. This bank is an English-language multiple-choice study adaptation of the same underlying 2º Bachillerato syllabus — not an official translation, not a past paper, and not a simulation of the exam's written-response format. Use it to drill theatrical history, terminology, and theory quickly, then practise writing extended commentaries in Spanish on the set works and rehearsing your practical work separately, because that is what examiners and instructors actually assess.
What is the fee for the PAU Performing Arts II exam in Cantabria?
The base registration fee is EUR 71.09 for the PAU Access Phase (ordinary sitting), set by the Universidad de Cantabria.
What passing score is required on the PAU Performing Arts II paper?
Marked on a 0–10 scale. A minimum of 4.0 is required in the Access Phase to combine with the Bachillerato GPA (60% Bachillerato + 40% PAU Access Phase must equal 5.0 or higher to pass).
How long is the PAU Performing Arts II examination?
The examination duration is 90 minutes (1.5 hours).
Which body administers the PAU in Cantabria?
The exam is administered by the University of Cantabria (UNICAN) PAU Organising Commission.