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






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

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3. Term used to describe performances that mix theatre - visual arts - music - dance - gesture and rituals; often use multimedia effects - sounds and lighting effects to make a point and allow the audience to understand its deeper implications; often re






4. One of the most influential thinkers of the Enlightenment - French poet - essayist - and playwright whose writing often got him in trouble with the church; built a theatre on his own estate so he could freely present his plays






5. Three parts of a Noh play






6. Wooden clappers used in Kabuki






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






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






9. Writes the music






10. The men who play female roles are called:






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






12. 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






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






14. What western theatre is often called:






15. A program of unrelated singing - dancing and comedy numbers






16. This happened for the first time during the Restoration






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






19. The audience remains alienated from the performance so they could critically consider the play's themes






20. Earliest form for photography






21. The first 'talkie' movie; featured white actor Al Jolson in blackface performing in a minstrel show






22. Earliest form for photography






23. 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'






24. Divided into fatalist - hilarious and existentialist






25. First part of a Noh Play - usually a chance meeting between two characters - introductions are made and the characters engage in a question-and-answer sequence that reveals the protagonist's concern






26. 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)






27. Writes the lyrics






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






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






30. Africa's greatest living playwright; born in Nigeria; plays combine symbolism - mysticism - beautiful dialogue - and they make strong political points; plays are deeply rooted in African myths - dance - and rituals but also influenced by Western dram






31. One of the most famous Sanskrit dramas - a love story in seven acts written by the playwright Kalidasa






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






33. 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






34. 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






35. 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






36. Writes the lyrics






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






38. Estrangement; essentially the alienation effect






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






40. 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






41. The first theatre in the world to be lit with electric lights






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






43. 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






44. 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






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






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






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






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






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






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