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. Studied the history of class conflict






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






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






5. In Sigmund Romberg's play the king young heir to the throne sacrifices his personal happiness for the good of the kingdom when he sorrowfully pulls himself away from his true love in order to marry a princess whom he does not love






6. 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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






14. French philosopher and playwright; The Flies (1943) & No Exit (1944)






15. 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






16. 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






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






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






19. Most famous Restoration-era woman to make her living by writing plays






20. 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)






21. This happened for the first time during the Restoration






22. Unstructured theatrical events on street corners - bus stops and anywhere else people gathered






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






24. 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






25. Two types of traditional Japanese theatre






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






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






28. 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)






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






30. 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






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






32. 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






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






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






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






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






37. 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






38. 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






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






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






41. Highlights the insanity of life in a comical way






42. Composed and produced by Bob Cole - lyrics by Billy Johnson; story of a con man and used minstrel stereotypes and spoofed Chinatown; in one scene a young black man sings about he and his date were denied entry to a nightclub cuz He was black and this






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






44. 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

Warning: Invalid argument supplied for foreach() in /var/www/html/basicversity.com/show_quiz.php on line 183


45. 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






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






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






48. 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)






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






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