Test your basic knowledge |

Theatre Basics

Subject : performing-arts
Instructions:
  • Answer 50 questions in 15 minutes.
  • If you are not ready to take this test, you can study here.
  • Match each statement with the correct term.
  • Don't refresh. All questions and answers are randomly picked and ordered every time you load a test.

This is a study tool. The 3 wrong answers for each question are randomly chosen from answers to other questions. So, you might find at times the answers obvious, but you will see it re-enforces your understanding as you take the test each time.
1. Exposed the squalid living conditions of the urban poor and explores scandalous topics like poverty - venereal disease and prostitution; 'Sordid Realism'






2. Most famous English actress - born into poverty - started out singing in taverns and selling oranges in theatres - became the King's mistress






3. Including operetta - developed out of intermezzi






4. Characterized by a light-hearted - fast-moving comic story - whose dialogue is interspersed with popular music; Guys and Dolls (1950)






5. Goethe's most famous Romantic play






6. The first modern musical; a melodrama about black magic staged in NYC in 1866






7. French physicist - mathematician - and philosopher - expressed the essence of Romanticism






8. Plays about the issues of the day that were in Manhattan neighborhoods






9. The first theatre in the world to be lit with electric lights






10. Wrote 'high comedies' which were cerebral socially relevant plays that had an intellectual scope so vast they forced audiences to reassess their values; Man and Superman (1903) & The Quintessence of Ibsenism (1891)






11. Would agitate the masses - attack the spectators' sensibilities and purge people of their destructive tendencies; wanted stylized - ritualized performances - not realism - which they felt restricted the theatre to the study of psychological problems






12. Contemporary form of Sanskrit Theatre - dramatized version of the Hindu epic poems Ramayana and Mahabharata






13. By Swedish Playwright August Strindberg; fourteen-act play that follows the disconnected logic of a dream






14. During the Enlightenment there were revolutions in: ... which had a profound effect on theatre






15. Nigerian playwright that was executed for trying to protect the Ogoni people against encroachments of Shell oil company






16. Characters were not individuals but types; standard roles included scholar - lover - hero - maiden - old woman - coquette - virtuous wife - and acrobatic warrior-maiden






17. One of the most influential thinkers of the Enlightenment - French poet - essayist - and playwright whose writing often got him in trouble with the church; built a theatre on his own estate so he could freely present his plays






18. Play that takes place in a mental institution - the audience sits on the stage with the actor-patients






19. Bandits discuss rival systems of goverment while waiting for an attack






20. Theatre was not seen as being of value to society - so plays were not an important part of:






21. Known for life-like sets that used hand-painted screens and gas-powered lighting effects to stage realistic sunrises and storm clouds; invented the DAGUERREO-TYPE - which was an early form of photography






22. A synthesis of music - dance - acting - and acrobatics; it was first performed by strolling players in markets - temples - courtyards - and the streets






23. Uses rock music - the rock and roll of the 1950s (Grease) - the psychedelic rock of the 1960s (Hair) or contemporary pop and rock (Rent)






24. Musicals with a particularly well-developed story and characters






25. The orchestrated melodies






26. One of the most famous Sanskrit dramas - a love story in seven acts written by the playwright Kalidasa






27. Where more experts agree that human beings came into existence






28. Closely tied to ritual - and it uses color - dance - song - and movements to exaggerate - stylize - and symbolically represent life






29. Brought Western-style theatre to Africa to dramatize Bible stories in order to win converts






30. Winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature (2005); The Dumb Waiter (1957)






31. 'The Father of Realism'; was initially a Romantic writer and his early plays were verse dramas largely based on Norwegian history and folk literature; plays presented complex - sometimes distrubing - views of human society; A Doll's House (1879) - Gh






32. Musicals with a particularly well-developed story and characters






33. Named new 'photographic' realism NATURALISM and his phrase 'slice of life' is quoted description of it






34. First female theatre manager in London; was also an actor and singer; managed first theatre to have a box set; Olympic Theatre in London






35. A robust and spectacular version of Noh; named after the characters for 'song' - 'dance' - and 'skill'; created by a woman named Okuni - owner of a brothel






36. A repetition of the song - sometimes with new lyrics - sometimes with the same lyrics but with new meaning or subtext in order to make a dramatic point






37. Africa's greatest living playwright; born in Nigeria; plays combine symbolism - mysticism - beautiful dialogue - and they make strong political points; plays are deeply rooted in African myths - dance - and rituals but also influenced by Western dram






38. More serious plot and theme; West Side Story (1957)






39. A dialogue that captures the incoherence - broken language - and pauses of modern speech; usually marked by surreal distortion and impending danger; from writing of Franz Kafka






40. A medley of the show's songs played as a preview; usually the beginning of a traditional musical; lets the audience know that it's time to stop talking because the performance is about to begin






41. Term used to describe performances that mix theatre - visual arts - music - dance - gesture and rituals; often use multimedia effects - sounds and lighting effects to make a point and allow the audience to understand its deeper implications; often re






42. A German poet - director and playwright who challenged traditional ideas about theatre; became a communist after watching policement shoot 4 unarmed civilians; The Life of Galileo (1938) - Mother Courage and her Children (1939) & The Caucasian Chalk






43. One of the most valuable historical records of Indian theatre; an encyclopedic book of dramatic theory and practice; has 37 chapters and covers every aspect of classical Indian drama - also a treatise on dramatic theory and philosophy - states that t






44. Book - music - and lyrics






45. Type of theatre greatly influenced by Buddhism and Shinto; originates in ritual






46. Second part of a Noh play - protagonist performs a dance that expresses his or her concern






47. Including operetta - developed out of intermezzi






48. Type of Islamic theatre which is created by lighting two-dimensional figures and casting their shadows on a screen; the audience watches the silhouettes while a narrator tells a story






49. A program of sketches - singing - dancing and songs pulled from previous sources






50. Earliest form for photography