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. Filled with characters who cannot resist an argument about social issues; no character is exempt from talking politics and theorizing about moral - artistic or religious reform






2. Founded in 1946 by Julian Beck and Judith Malina; dedicated itself to contemporary social issues and highly political - easthetically radical plays






3. 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






4. Musicals that feature a particular band's songs






5. Spoken lines of dialogue as well as the plot






6. Proclaimed 'God is dead...and we have killed him.'; felt taht absence of God was a tragedy - but believed human beings needed to accept the tragedy and move forward in a world that was unjust and meaningless






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






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






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






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






12. Grew out of the theatre of Thespis in Ancient Greece; passed from the Athenians to the Romans to the medieval Europeans






13. 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






14. Book - music - and lyrics






15. 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)






16. Play by Wole Soyinka; celebrates Nigerian independence but also warns against returning to Nigeria's violent past






17. Exposed the squalid living conditions of the urban poor and explores scandalous topics like poverty - venereal disease and prostitution; 'Sordid Realism'






18. Records of this type of theatre are fragmentary - but we do know that it grew out of regional religious rituals related to Confucianism - Taoism - and Buddhism - and ritual dances performed during the Shang dynasty






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






20. Would be removed in the box set to give audience a real life look into the scene






21. The artist imposes his own internal state onto the outside world itself; expressionism is a subjective account of an objective perception; expressionist plays use deliberate set distortion






22. Spoken lines of dialogue as well as the plot






23. Instead of learning how to conjure real emotions - actors of Sanskrit drama studied for many years to learn representations of emotions through:






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






25. Includes all other forms of drama - from the ancient ritual theatre of Africa to the traditional theatre of Asia to the shadow and puppet theatre of Muslim lands






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






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






28. 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






29. History plays about major political events of the past - domestic plays about the loves and lives of merchants and townspeople - and dance-dramas about the world of spirits and animals






30. 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






31. 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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32. 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






33. Goethe's most famous Romantic play






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






35. 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






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






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






38. Romanian-born French playwright best categorized as a hilarious absurdist; The Bald Soprano (1949) & Rhinoceros (1959)






39. 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






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






41. Based off the idea that before a problem can be solved - society must first understand that the problem exists; 'attack the message - not the messenger'






42. 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






43. The first all-black show to pay at a top Broadway theatre






44. Includes all other forms of drama - from the ancient ritual theatre of Africa to the traditional theatre of Asia to the shadow and puppet theatre of Muslim lands






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






46. Filled with characters who cannot resist an argument about social issues; no character is exempt from talking politics and theorizing about moral - artistic or religious reform






47. 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






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






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






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