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






2. Book - music - and lyrics






3. Earliest form for photography






4. Attacked the evils and restrictions of society; tried to reveal the higher reality of the unconscious mind with fantastic imagery and contradictory images; performances were often violent and cruel as they tried to shock the audience into the realiza






5. 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






6. 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






7. Two types of traditional Japanese theatre






8. 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






9. Thought that inner truths could be hinted at only through symbols; sought to replace the specific and concrete with the suggestive and metaphorical; usually had little plot or action and tended to baffle the audience






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






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






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






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






14. Wooden clappers used in Kabuki






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






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






17. 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






18. 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






19. 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






20. The sung words






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






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






23. 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






24. 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






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






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






27. Writes the music






28. In Sigmund Romberg's play the king young heir to the throne sacrifices his personal happiness for the good of the kingdom when he sorrowfully pulls himself away from his true love in order to marry a princess whom he does not love






29. 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






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






31. 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






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






39. Highlights the insanity of life in a comical way






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






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






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






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






44. 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






45. 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






46. Goethe's most famous Romantic play






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






48. 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






49. Result of western influence - a toned down version of Kabuki - told stories of everyday life - particularly those of women - women played women's parts (whereas Kabuki was all male)






50. A repetition of the song - sometimes with new lyrics - sometimes with the same lyrics but with new meaning or subtext in order to make a dramatic point