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. 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






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






3. Type of Islamic theatre - religious drama of Iran which allowed for actors - both professional and amateur - and has been performed in open-air playing spaces and on some occasions in specially constructed indoor stages for hundreds of years

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4. 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






5. 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






6. The men who play female roles are called:






7. Highlights the insanity of life in a comical way






8. Peking Opera was dramatically altered when:






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






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






11. 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






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






13. 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






14. 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






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






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






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






18. Grew up in poverty and put himself through medical school and set up free clinics in Russia to help the poor; The Seagull (1896) - Uncle Vanya (1899) Three Sisters (1901) & The Cherry Orchard (1904); placed on stage the lazy chaos of lives crushed by






19. 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






20. Light opera - differs from 'grand opera' because it has a frivolous - comic theme - some spoken dialogue - a melodramatic story - and usually a little dancing; The Mikado (1885)






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






22. One of the most important French philosophers of the Age of Reason - wrote and edited the first encyclopedia; was also a dramatist who penned books on the techniques of acting; authored The Paradox of Acting - a book that attached the pompous declama






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






24. 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






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






26. 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






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






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






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






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






31. 'The Father of Realism'; was initially a Romantic writer and his early plays were verse dramas largely based on Norwegian history and folk literature; plays presented complex - sometimes distrubing - views of human society; A Doll's House (1879) - Gh






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






33. 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)






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






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






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






37. 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)






38. 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






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






40. 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






41. Writes the book






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






43. 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






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






45. Including operetta - developed out of intermezzi






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






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






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






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






50. 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