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






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






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






4. First black woman playwright to be producted on Broadway; Raisin in the Sun based of her actual childhood






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






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






7. 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






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






9. 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






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






11. Feature the work of a director-choreographer






12. 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






13. Book - music - and lyrics






14. Earliest form for photography






15. '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






16. French Enlightenment playwright; was an inventor and thinker who spent countless hours at the leading intellectual salons of France; most famous plays are The Barber of Seville - and The Marriage of Figaro - his plays reflect the attitudes of the Enl






17. Comic interludes performed during the intermissions of opera






18. The German equivalent to Diderot; was a playwright - critic - and Enlightenment philosopher Who wrote tragedies and comedies about the middle-class; his greatest play was Nathan the Wise






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






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






21. 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






22. French philosopher often called the Father of the Romantic movement; argued that people could find happiness in a 'state of nature' and that they should learn from nature rather than the artificial and corrupted teachings of society






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






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






25. 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






26. Most famous American expressionist playwright who won Nobel Prize for Literature (1936); A touch of the Poet (1935) - The Iceman Cometh (1939) - A Long Day's Journey into Night (1956) & A Moon for the Misbegotten (1952); The Hairy Ape (1952)

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27. One of the most influential thinkers of the Enlightenment - French poet - essayist - and playwright whose writing often got him in trouble with the church; built a theatre on his own estate so he could freely present his plays






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






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






30. 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






31. 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'






32. 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






33. 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






34. 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






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






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






37. Only cost a nickel






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






39. 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






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






41. Studied the history of class conflict






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






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






44. Spoken lines of dialogue as well as the plot






45. Divided into fatalist - hilarious and existentialist






46. A period of licentious gaudiness inspired by the elaborate styles that Charles II brought with him from the French Court






47. Built in Venice in 1637






48. Peking Opera was dramatically altered when:






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






50. 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






Can you answer 50 questions in 15 minutes?



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