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. 1. theatre has an actor who plays a character - theatre is artificial - and 2. theatre usually has a story with a conflict - conflict is key to all drama






2. Plays without music






3. 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






4. Estrangement; essentially the alienation effect






5. Sigmund Freud's book which analyzes the character of Oedipus and Hamlet






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






7. Sigmund Freud's book which analyzes the character of Oedipus and Hamlet






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






9. Islam's holy book - contains a warning about 'graven images' similar to the one in the Bible - prohibition applies to dolls - statues - portraits - and people playing a character






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






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






12. 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






13. 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)






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






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






16. 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






17. Musicals that feature a particular band's songs






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






19. The artist imposes his own internal state onto the outside world itself; expressionism is a subjective account of an objective perception; expressionist plays use deliberate set distortion






20. Islam's holy book - contains a warning about 'graven images' similar to the one in the Bible - prohibition applies to dolls - statues - portraits - and people playing a character






21. 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






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






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






24. 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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25. 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






26. Earliest form for photography






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






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






29. 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






30. Have become living traditions that are handed down from father to son

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31. Records of this type of theatre are fragmentary - but we do know that it grew out of regional religious rituals related to Confucianism - Taoism - and Buddhism - and ritual dances performed during the Shang dynasty






32. 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






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






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






35. Including operetta - developed out of intermezzi






36. 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






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






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






39. 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






40. 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






41. 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






42. 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






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






44. The men who play female roles are called:






45. 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)






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






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






48. Wooden clappers used in Kabuki






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






50. Book - music - and lyrics