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






2. Comic operas that mixed popular songs of the day with spoken dialogue






3. Including operetta - developed out of intermezzi






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






5. 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






6. Said that the free enterprise system is seriously flawed and is a cause of great human misery because it exploits the poor






7. 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






8. 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






9. 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)






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






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






12. '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






13. 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






14. 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






15. Goethe's most famous Romantic play






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






17. Musicals that are mostly singing and have less spoken dialogue; similar to operattas - but thier tone is often much darker and more dramatic






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






19. 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






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






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






22. Estrangement; essentially the alienation effect






23. The sung words






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






25. 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






26. 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






27. 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






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






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






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






31. Feature the work of a director-choreographer






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






33. What western theatre is often called:






34. No protagonist; deals with a family of characters who tell many stories at once; the fact that characters on stage take no action may inspire audience members to be motivated for the opposite in real life






35. '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






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






37. Plays without music






38. A medley of the show's songs played as a preview; usually the beginning of a traditional musical; lets the audience know that it's time to stop talking because the performance is about to begin






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






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






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






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






43. An extreme form of realism; an acurate 'documentary' of everyday life - including its seamy side






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






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






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






47. 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






48. 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






49. 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






50. Only cost a nickel