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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. Most famous of the absurdist playwrights; best considered a fatalist - although work is sometimes hilarious and can ask existential questions; Endgame (1957) Krapp's Last Tape (1958) and Happy Days (1961); Waiting for Godot (1953)






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






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

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4. Developed from the dance-prayers of Buddhist priests; has five possible subjects: the deities - the deeds of heroic samurai - women - insanity - and famous legends






5. Recorded conversations of slum dwellers in Dublin and used their words verbatim in his plays

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






7. 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






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






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






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






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






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






13. The orchestrated melodies






14. 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






15. Type of Islamic theatre - religious drama of Iran which allowed for actors - both professional and amateur - and has been performed in open-air playing spaces and on some occasions in specially constructed indoor stages for hundreds of years

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16. Highlights the insanity of life in a comical way






17. Writes the book






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






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






20. 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






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






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






23. A program of sketches - singing - dancing and songs pulled from previous sources






24. 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






25. First black woman playwright to be producted on Broadway; Raisin in the Sun based of her actual childhood






26. Big-time vaudeville who performed a series of lavish musical reviews on Broadway






27. 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






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






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






30. 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






31. Estrangement; essentially the alienation effect






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






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






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






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






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






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






38. A program of unrelated singing - dancing and comedy numbers






39. Writes the lyrics






40. 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






41. 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






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






43. 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)






44. Three parts of a Noh play






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






46. Told stories about common people who felt grand emotions and suffered devastating consequences (Enlightenment)






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






48. Set out to break all the neoclassical rules - attacked the three unities






49. The men who play female roles are called:






50. Plays without music







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Can you answer 50 questions in 15 minutes?


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