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






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






3. 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






4. Six characters take on life of their own when the playwright fails to complete the play in which they were supposed to appear






5. 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






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






7. Plays without music






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






9. Wrote plays about the rugged lives of Irish peasants using their dialect; Riders to the Sea (1904) & The Playboy of the Western World (1907)






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






11. A production of British actor Charles Kean; had realistic costumes - set and props that he had researched to make sure they were historically correct

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12. The German equivalent to Diderot; was a playwright - critic - and Enlightenment philosopher Who wrote tragedies and comedies about the middle-class; his greatest play was Nathan the Wise






13. Peking Opera was dramatically altered when:






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






15. Comic interludes performed during the intermissions of opera






16. Most famous American expressionist playwright who won Nobel Prize for Literature (1936); A touch of the Poet (1935) - The Iceman Cometh (1939) - A Long Day's Journey into Night (1956) & A Moon for the Misbegotten (1952); The Hairy Ape (1952)

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17. First part had musical numbers with little comic dialogue; second part was full of songs - dance and standup routines; third part featured a one-act play






18. 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






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






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






21. In Sigmund Romberg's play the king young heir to the throne sacrifices his personal happiness for the good of the kingdom when he sorrowfully pulls himself away from his true love in order to marry a princess whom he does not love






22. Two types of traditional Japanese theatre






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






24. 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






25. 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






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. A form of musical entertainment featuring bawdy songs - dancing women - and sometimes striptease






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






29. Attacked the evils and restrictions of society; tried to reveal the higher reality of the unconscious mind with fantastic imagery and contradictory images; performances were often violent and cruel as they tried to shock the audience into the realiza






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






31. 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






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






33. Two types of traditional Japanese theatre






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






35. 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






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






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






38. 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






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






40. 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






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






42. 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






43. Comedies forced Victorian society to reexamine its hypocrisies; Lady Windermere's Fan (1892) - A WOman of No Importance (1893) - An Ideal Husband (1894); advocated 'art for art's sake'; The Importance of Being Ernest






44. Told stories about common people who felt grand emotions and suffered devastating consequences (Enlightenment)






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






46. Earliest form for photography






47. 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






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






49. A blend of melody and drama and refers to the background music often played during these performances






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