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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. 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






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






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






4. A production of British actor Charles Kean; had realistic costumes - set and props that he had researched to make sure they were historically correct

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






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






7. Feature the work of a director-choreographer






8. What western theatre is often called:






9. 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






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






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






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






13. Plays without music






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






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






16. 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)






17. 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






18. 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






19. 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






20. One of the most famous Sanskrit dramas - a love story in seven acts written by the playwright Kalidasa






21. Estrangement; essentially the alienation effect






22. Highlights the insanity of life in a comical way






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






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






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






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






27. 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






28. 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






29. 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






30. Writes the book






31. During the Enlightenment there were revolutions in: ... which had a profound effect on theatre






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






33. Book - music - and lyrics






34. Spoken lines of dialogue as well as the plot






35. The audience remains alienated from the performance so they could critically consider the play's themes






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. Kabuki borrowed many of these movements to make Kabuki acting highly stylized and almost puppet-like






38. 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'






39. Musicals that feature a particular band's songs






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






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






42. 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






43. Writes the music






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






45. 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






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






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






48. 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)






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






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







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