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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. 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






2. 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






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






4. Used giant puppets and actors to enact parables denouncing the Vietnam War and materialism






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






6. People who dismissed Traditional African Theatre because it was so unlike anything they knew






7. Form of theatre that mixed traditional African ritual theatre and Western-style drama; encouraged African nationalism - glorified Africa's past - and advanced African customs - rituals - and culture; also dealt with serious political themes and appla






8. 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






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






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






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






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






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






14. 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






15. 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)






16. Holds that human beings are naturally alone - without purpose or mission - in a universe that has no God; not a negative - for without God humans can create their own existences - purpose and meaning






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






18. 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






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






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






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






22. 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






23. French director who stage play The Butchers (1888) with real sides of beef infested with maggots






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






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






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






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






28. 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






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






30. French director who stage play The Butchers (1888) with real sides of beef infested with maggots






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






32. Three parts of a Noh play






33. 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






34. Smaller - less expensive alternative experimental theatres; flourished in lofts - basements - coffeehouses and any found space usable






35. Have become living traditions that are handed down from father to son

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36. Used giant puppets and actors to enact parables denouncing the Vietnam War and materialism






37. 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






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






39. One of the most well-known Muslim Playwrights - who uses her plays not only to express herself but also to prompt discussions about such topics as violence against women - religious fanaticism - and female sexual desire






40. 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






41. Book - music - and lyrics






42. 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'






43. Comic interludes performed during the intermissions of opera






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






45. What western theatre is often called:






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






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






48. Feature the work of a director-choreographer






49. Three parts of a Noh play






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