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






2. 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






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






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






5. Divided into fatalist - hilarious and existentialist






6. Used giant puppets and actors to enact parables denouncing the Vietnam War and materialism






7. Named new 'photographic' realism NATURALISM and his phrase 'slice of life' is quoted description of it






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






9. What western theatre is often called:






10. 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






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






12. French director who stage play The Butchers (1888) with real sides of beef infested with maggots






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






14. Form of drama that dominated theatre in India for a thousand years; named for the ancient Indian language in which its plays are performed; combine the natural and the supernatural - the believable and unbelievable






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






22. Earliest form for photography






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






24. The time period that glorified humans' power to reason and analyze - a period of great philosophical - scientific - technological - political - and religious revolutions






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






26. 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






27. Attacked the evils and restrictions of society; tried to reveal the higher reality of the unconscious mind with fantastic imagery and contradictory images; performances were often violent and cruel as they tried to shock the audience into the realiza






28. Included comic scenes - dance interludes and sentimental ballads all based on white stereotypes of black life in the South






29. Life has no purpose and they confused and antagonized audiences by refusing to adhere to a coherent set of principles - mirroring the madness of the world






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






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






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






33. 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






34. Play that takes place in a mental institution - the audience sits on the stage with the actor-patients






35. 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






36. Estrangement; essentially the alienation effect






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






38. 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






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






40. 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






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






42. This happened for the first time during the Restoration






43. The sung words






44. 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'






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






46. This happened for the first time during the Restoration






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






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






49. Including operetta - developed out of intermezzi






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