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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. Writes the music






2. A true-to-life interior containing a room or rooms with the fourth wall removed so that the audience has the feeling of looking in on the characters' private lives






3. The men who play female roles are called:






4. 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






5. Musicals that feature a particular band's songs






6. A German poet - director and playwright who challenged traditional ideas about theatre; became a communist after watching policement shoot 4 unarmed civilians; The Life of Galileo (1938) - Mother Courage and her Children (1939) & The Caucasian Chalk






7. Only cost a nickel






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






9. 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






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






11. 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






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






13. 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






14. 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






15. All lines are sung - usually to grand classical music; Madama Butterfly (1904)






16. A permanent - professional theatre outside NYC; founded in 1947 by Margo Jones; stage new plays alongside commercial hits and historical plays; appeal to the intellectual audiences that Hollywood seldom serves






17. 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'






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. Known for life-like sets that used hand-painted screens and gas-powered lighting effects to stage realistic sunrises and storm clouds; invented the DAGUERREO-TYPE - which was an early form of photography






20. 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






21. 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)






22. A program of sketches - singing - dancing and songs pulled from previous sources






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






24. 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






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






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






27. 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






28. Writes the lyrics






29. French physicist - mathematician - and philosopher - expressed the essence of Romanticism






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






31. Feature the work of a director-choreographer






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






33. The first all-black show to pay at a top Broadway theatre






34. A repetition of the song - sometimes with new lyrics - sometimes with the same lyrics but with new meaning or subtext in order to make a dramatic point






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






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






37. 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






38. Three parts of a Noh play






39. 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'






40. Improved the daguerreotype and created modern photography; was also an English physicist






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






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






43. Comic interludes performed during the intermissions of opera






44. 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






45. 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






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






47. 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






48. Plays without music






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






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







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