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






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






3. Sell over $1billion worth of tickets annually - majority of those are for musicals






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






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






6. Uses rock music - the rock and roll of the 1950s (Grease) - the psychedelic rock of the 1960s (Hair) or contemporary pop and rock (Rent)






7. 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






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






9. Two types of traditional Japanese theatre






10. 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






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






12. First female theatre manager in London; was also an actor and singer; managed first theatre to have a box set; Olympic Theatre in London






13. 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)






14. This happened for the first time during the Restoration






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






16. Set out to break all the neoclassical rules - attacked the three unities






17. Divided into fatalist - hilarious and existentialist






18. Musicals that feature a particular band's songs






19. Second part of a Noh play - protagonist performs a dance that expresses his or her concern






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






21. 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






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






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






24. Set out to break all the neoclassical rules - attacked the three unities






25. Writes the music






26. '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






27. Highlights the insanity of life in a comical way






28. Where more experts agree that human beings came into existence






29. A sudden - striking pose (often with their eyes crossed - chin sharply turned - and big toe pointed towards the sky) in Kabuki accompanied by several powerful beats of wooden clappers






30. Built in Venice in 1637






31. 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






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






33. Uses rock music - the rock and roll of the 1950s (Grease) - the psychedelic rock of the 1960s (Hair) or contemporary pop and rock (Rent)






34. 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






35. 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






36. 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






37. Peking Opera was dramatically altered when:






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






39. Play by Wole Soyinka; celebrates Nigerian independence but also warns against returning to Nigeria's violent past






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. 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






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






43. 1. theatre has an actor who plays a character - theatre is artificial - and 2. theatre usually has a story with a conflict - conflict is key to all drama






44. 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)






45. First female theatre manager in London; was also an actor and singer; managed first theatre to have a box set; Olympic Theatre in London






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






47. Developed from the dance-prayers of Buddhist priests; has five possible subjects: the deities - the deeds of heroic samurai - women - insanity - and famous legends






48. 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






49. 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






50. 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