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. Brought Western-style theatre to Africa to dramatize Bible stories in order to win converts






2. 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)






3. Two types of traditional Japanese theatre






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






5. 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






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






7. Divided into fatalist - hilarious and existentialist






8. Uses rock music - the rock and roll of the 1950s (Grease) - the psychedelic rock of the 1960s (Hair) or contemporary pop and rock (Rent)






9. Book - music - and lyrics






10. Spoken lines of dialogue as well as the plot






11. Exposed the squalid living conditions of the urban poor and explores scandalous topics like poverty - venereal disease and prostitution; 'Sordid Realism'






12. 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






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






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






15. Nigerian playwright that was executed for trying to protect the Ogoni people against encroachments of Shell oil company






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






17. 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






18. 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






19. Studied the history of class conflict






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






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






22. 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






23. Highlights the insanity of life in a comical way






24. Would agitate the masses - attack the spectators' sensibilities and purge people of their destructive tendencies; wanted stylized - ritualized performances - not realism - which they felt restricted the theatre to the study of psychological problems






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






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






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






28. Writes the music






29. An extreme form of realism; an acurate 'documentary' of everyday life - including its seamy side






30. 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






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






32. Comic operas that mixed popular songs of the day with spoken dialogue






33. '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






34. 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






35. 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






36. A true-to-life interior containing a room or rooms with the fourth wall removed so that the audience has the feeling of looking in on the characters' private lives






37. Founded in 1946 by Julian Beck and Judith Malina; dedicated itself to contemporary social issues and highly political - easthetically radical plays






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






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






40. Staged inexpensive - noncommercial productions of artistically significant plays in small - out-of-the-way theatres






41. 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






42. Filled with characters who cannot resist an argument about social issues; no character is exempt from talking politics and theorizing about moral - artistic or religious reform






43. 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






44. 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






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






46. 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






47. Writes the lyrics






48. Built in Venice in 1637






49. 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






50. First part had musical numbers with little comic dialogue; second part was full of songs - dance and standup routines; third part featured a one-act play