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






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






3. 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






4. Grew out of the theatre of Thespis in Ancient Greece; passed from the Athenians to the Romans to the medieval Europeans






5. 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






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






7. People who dismissed Traditional African Theatre because it was so unlike anything they knew






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






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






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






11. Grew out of the theatre of Thespis in Ancient Greece; passed from the Athenians to the Romans to the medieval Europeans






12. 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






13. Two types of traditional Japanese theatre






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






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






16. 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






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






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






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






20. 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'






21. 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






22. Play by Wole Soyinka; celebrates Nigerian independence but also warns against returning to Nigeria's violent past






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






24. 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






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






26. Holds that human beings are naturally alone - without purpose or mission - in a universe that has no God; not a negative - for without God humans can create their own existences - purpose and meaning






27. 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)






28. Comedies forced Victorian society to reexamine its hypocrisies; Lady Windermere's Fan (1892) - A WOman of No Importance (1893) - An Ideal Husband (1894); advocated 'art for art's sake'; The Importance of Being Ernest






29. 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






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






31. 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






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






33. 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






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






35. 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






36. A synthesis of music - dance - acting - and acrobatics; it was first performed by strolling players in markets - temples - courtyards - and the streets






37. Writes the lyrics






38. Grew up in poverty and put himself through medical school and set up free clinics in Russia to help the poor; The Seagull (1896) - Uncle Vanya (1899) Three Sisters (1901) & The Cherry Orchard (1904); placed on stage the lazy chaos of lives crushed by






39. 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






40. Comedies forced Victorian society to reexamine its hypocrisies; Lady Windermere's Fan (1892) - A WOman of No Importance (1893) - An Ideal Husband (1894); advocated 'art for art's sake'; The Importance of Being Ernest






41. Writers who felt science was not adequate to describe the full range of human experience - and their writings stressed instinct - intuition - and feeling






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






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






44. 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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45. Wrote plays about the rugged lives of Irish peasants using their dialect; Riders to the Sea (1904) & The Playboy of the Western World (1907)






46. A robust and spectacular version of Noh; named after the characters for 'song' - 'dance' - and 'skill'; created by a woman named Okuni - owner of a brothel






47. Earliest form for photography






48. 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






49. 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






50. Plays without music







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