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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. A popular form of stage entertainment from the 1880s to the 1940s; included a dozen or so slapstick comedy routines - song-and-dance numbers - magic acts and juggling or acrobatic performances






2. Highlights the insanity of life in a comical way






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






4. The want for more 'genuine' sets - more 'honest' acting - and dialogue to be modeled after everyday speech - influenced by ideas of CHarles Darwin - Sigmund Freud and Karl Marx






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






6. 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






7. Sigmund Freud's book which analyzes the character of Oedipus and Hamlet






8. Musicals that are mostly singing and have less spoken dialogue; similar to operattas - but thier tone is often much darker and more dramatic






9. Russian playwright whose play The Lower Depths (1902) took look at people living in cellar of Moscow flophouse






10. Thought that inner truths could be hinted at only through symbols; sought to replace the specific and concrete with the suggestive and metaphorical; usually had little plot or action and tended to baffle the audience






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






12. 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






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






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






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






16. No spoken dialogue - entirely sung; comes from the Latin word 'work' and may have originally meant 'works in music' or 'musical works for the stage'; first operas were in Italy in late 1500s






17. Sarcastic label of Scribe's plays; the sympathetic protagonist suffers at the hands of an evil antagonist in the course of intense action - suspense - and contrived play devices; ending is always happy and the loose ends are neatly tied up






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






19. One of the most popular Kabuki and Bunraku playwrights - who - like Shakespeare - wrote crowd-pleasing plays that combined poetry and prose in dramatic tales of comedy - tragedy - love - and war






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






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






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






23. Wooden clappers used in Kabuki






24. A permanent - professional theatre outside NYC; founded in 1947 by Margo Jones; stage new plays alongside commercial hits and historical plays; appeal to the intellectual audiences that Hollywood seldom serves






25. Three parts of a Noh play






26. Life has no purpose and they confused and antagonized audiences by refusing to adhere to a coherent set of principles - mirroring the madness of the world






27. All lines are sung - usually to grand classical music; Madama Butterfly (1904)






28. This happened for the first time during the Restoration






29. 1. theatre has an actor who plays a character - theatre is artificial - and 2. theatre usually has a story with a conflict - conflict is key to all drama






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






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






33. 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






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. Comic operas that mixed popular songs of the day with spoken dialogue






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






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






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






39. The sung words






40. Third part of a Noh play - the protagonist appears as a new self - and the cause of torment is resolved






41. Highlights the insanity of life in a comical way






42. Writes the music






43. Islam's holy book - contains a warning about 'graven images' similar to the one in the Bible - prohibition applies to dolls - statues - portraits - and people playing a character






44. Spoken lines of dialogue as well as the plot






45. Writes the lyrics






46. Elaborate geometrical designs were used for these roles which included supernatural beings - warriors - and bandits; the color of the make-up indicated the character's personality






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






48. The orchestrated melodies






49. A permanent - professional theatre outside NYC; founded in 1947 by Margo Jones; stage new plays alongside commercial hits and historical plays; appeal to the intellectual audiences that Hollywood seldom serves






50. Sigmund Freud's book which analyzes the character of Oedipus and Hamlet







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