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. 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






2. An early form of theatre; it used theatrical techniques such as song - dance - and characterization - but it was still firmly rooted in religion






3. Three parts of a Noh play






4. 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






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






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






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






8. Writes the music






9. Writers who felt science was not adequate to describe the full range of human experience - and their writings stressed instinct - intuition - and feeling






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






11. 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






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






13. 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






14. Elmer Rice; about a man named Mr. Zero Who is fired from his job and replaced by an adding machine






15. 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






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






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






18. Winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature (2005); The Dumb Waiter (1957)






19. 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






20. 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






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






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






23. No spoken dialogue - entirely sung; comes from the Latin word 'work' and may have originally meant 'works in music' or 'musical works for the stage'; first operas were in Italy in late 1500s






24. Romanian-born French playwright best categorized as a hilarious absurdist; The Bald Soprano (1949) & Rhinoceros (1959)






25. Wooden clappers used in Kabuki






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






27. Studied the history of class conflict






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






29. Light opera - differs from 'grand opera' because it has a frivolous - comic theme - some spoken dialogue - a melodramatic story - and usually a little dancing; The Mikado (1885)






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






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






32. 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)






33. The first modern musical; a melodrama about black magic staged in NYC in 1866






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






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






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






37. 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






38. Comedies forced Victorian society to reexamine its hypocrisies; Lady Windermere's Fan (1892) - A WOman of No Importance (1893) - An Ideal Husband (1894); advocated 'art for art's sake'; The Importance of Being Ernest






39. 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






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






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






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






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






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






45. Plays without music






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






47. 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






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






49. 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






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