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. The time period that glorified humans' power to reason and analyze - a period of great philosophical - scientific - technological - political - and religious revolutions






2. The orchestrated melodies






3. Included comic scenes - dance interludes and sentimental ballads all based on white stereotypes of black life in the South






4. '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






5. Most famous surrealist and was a French writer and director; studied Asian religions - mysticism - and ancient cultures; declared theatre should should wake the nerves and heart; argued that proscenium arch theatres create a barrier between the audie






6. French Enlightenment playwright; was an inventor and thinker who spent countless hours at the leading intellectual salons of France; most famous plays are The Barber of Seville - and The Marriage of Figaro - his plays reflect the attitudes of the Enl






7. A period of licentious gaudiness inspired by the elaborate styles that Charles II brought with him from the French Court






8. Improved the daguerreotype and created modern photography; was also an English physicist






9. Holds that human beings are naturally alone - without purpose or mission - in a universe that has no God






10. Form of drama that dominated theatre in India for a thousand years; named for the ancient Indian language in which its plays are performed; combine the natural and the supernatural - the believable and unbelievable






11. French philosopher often called the Father of the Romantic movement; argued that people could find happiness in a 'state of nature' and that they should learn from nature rather than the artificial and corrupted teachings of society






12. A big production number that usually receives a torrent of applause that literally stops the show






13. French philosopher and playwright; The Flies (1943) & No Exit (1944)






14. Most famous of the absurdist playwrights; best considered a fatalist - although work is sometimes hilarious and can ask existential questions; Endgame (1957) Krapp's Last Tape (1958) and Happy Days (1961); Waiting for Godot (1953)






15. Type of Islamic theatre - religious drama of Iran which allowed for actors - both professional and amateur - and has been performed in open-air playing spaces and on some occasions in specially constructed indoor stages for hundreds of years

Warning: Invalid argument supplied for foreach() in /var/www/html/basicversity.com/show_quiz.php on line 183


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






17. First black woman playwright to be producted on Broadway; Raisin in the Sun based of her actual childhood






18. Studied the history of class conflict






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






20. Sell over $1billion worth of tickets annually - majority of those are for musicals






21. Greatest of the Sturm und Drang playwrights; was also a critic - journalist - painter - biologist - statesman - poet - novelist - philosopher - scientist - and the manager of the Duke of Weimar's playhouse






22. Feature the work of a director-choreographer






23. Book - music - and lyrics






24. Studied the history of class conflict






25. Result of western influence - a toned down version of Kabuki - told stories of everyday life - particularly those of women - women played women's parts (whereas Kabuki was all male)






26. Showed middle-class characters finding happiness and true love (Enlightenment)






27. Any artist or work of art that is experimental - innovative or unconventional; some styles would be symbolism - expressionism - futurism - Dadaism - surrealism - and absurdism






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






29. Big-time vaudeville who performed a series of lavish musical reviews on Broadway






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






31. Writers who felt science was not adequate to describe the full range of human experience - and their writings stressed instinct - intuition - and feeling






32. Staged inexpensive - noncommercial productions of artistically significant plays in small - out-of-the-way theatres






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






34. Kabuki borrowed many of these movements to make Kabuki acting highly stylized and almost puppet-like






35. Type of theatre that grew out of ritual - incorporated acting - music - storytelling - poetry - dance - costumes - and lots of masks to create a theatre that combined ritual and ceremony with drama






36. Most popular type of theatre during the Restoration; often featured great wit and wordplay and told stories about sexual gratification - bedroom escapades - and humankind's unrefined nature when it comes to sex






37. 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






38. Writes the book






39. Argued that the prime function of playwrights is to expose the social and moral evils of their time






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






41. A sudden - striking pose (often with their eyes crossed - chin sharply turned - and big toe pointed towards the sky) in Kabuki accompanied by several powerful beats of wooden clappers






42. 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






43. A true-to-life interior containing a room or rooms with the fourth wall removed so that the audience has the feeling of looking in on the characters' private lives






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






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






46. The realism of the play is expressed through lyrical language






47. Developed from the dance-prayers of Buddhist priests; has five possible subjects: the deities - the deeds of heroic samurai - women - insanity - and famous legends






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






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






50. Earliest form for photography