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






2. 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






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






4. 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)






5. Elaborate geometrical designs were used for these roles which included supernatural beings - warriors - and bandits; the color of the make-up indicated the character's personality






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. 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






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






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






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






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






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






13. Spoken lines of dialogue as well as the plot






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






15. Sarcastic label of Scribe's plays; the sympathetic protagonist suffers at the hands of an evil antagonist in the course of intense action - suspense - and contrived play devices; ending is always happy and the loose ends are neatly tied up






16. Peking Opera was dramatically altered when:






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






18. 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






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






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






21. One of the most important French philosophers of the Age of Reason - wrote and edited the first encyclopedia; was also a dramatist who penned books on the techniques of acting; authored The Paradox of Acting - a book that attached the pompous declama






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






23. '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






24. 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






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






26. 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






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


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






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






30. 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






31. Musicals that feature a particular band's songs






32. 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






33. Feature the work of a director-choreographer






34. 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






35. 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






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


37. The first theatre in the world to be lit with electric lights






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






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






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






41. '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






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






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






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






45. The men who play female roles are called:






46. 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)






47. Two types of traditional Japanese theatre






48. Studied the history of class conflict






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






50. Suggests we are trapped in an irrational universe where even basic communication is impossible