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






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






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






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






5. 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






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






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






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






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

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






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






12. Spoken lines of dialogue as well as the plot






13. Peking Opera was dramatically altered when:






14. Wooden clappers used in Kabuki






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






16. 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






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






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






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






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






21. 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






22. 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






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






24. Estrangement; essentially the alienation effect






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






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






27. First female theatre manager in London; was also an actor and singer; managed first theatre to have a box set; Olympic Theatre in London






28. Studied the history of class conflict






29. Including operetta - developed out of intermezzi






30. Showed middle-class characters finding happiness and true love (Enlightenment)






31. 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






32. Type of theatre greatly influenced by Buddhism and Shinto; originates in ritual






33. Writes the lyrics






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






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






36. 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






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






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. Divided into fatalist - hilarious and existentialist






40. 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






41. What western theatre is often called:






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






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






44. 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






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






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






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






48. 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






49. 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






50. 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