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. 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






2. 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






3. 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






4. Divided into fatalist - hilarious and existentialist






5. 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'






6. 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






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






8. 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






9. 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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10. Form of theatre that mixed traditional African ritual theatre and Western-style drama; encouraged African nationalism - glorified Africa's past - and advanced African customs - rituals - and culture; also dealt with serious political themes and appla






11. Kabuki borrowed many of these movements to make Kabuki acting highly stylized and almost puppet-like






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

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






14. One of the most well-known Muslim Playwrights - who uses her plays not only to express herself but also to prompt discussions about such topics as violence against women - religious fanaticism - and female sexual desire






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






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






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






18. 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






19. Musicals that feature a particular band's songs






20. 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






21. Only cost a nickel






22. Feature the work of a director-choreographer






23. Comic interludes performed during the intermissions of opera






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






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






26. Spoken lines of dialogue as well as the plot






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






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






29. 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






30. Named new 'photographic' realism NATURALISM and his phrase 'slice of life' is quoted description of it






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






32. Form of theatre that mixed traditional African ritual theatre and Western-style drama; encouraged African nationalism - glorified Africa's past - and advanced African customs - rituals - and culture; also dealt with serious political themes and appla






33. 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






34. Built in Venice in 1637






35. The want for more 'genuine' sets - more 'honest' acting - and dialogue to be modeled after everyday speech - influenced by ideas of CHarles Darwin - Sigmund Freud and Karl Marx






36. 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






37. 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)






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






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






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






41. Plays without music






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






43. Peking Opera was dramatically altered when:






44. Only cost a nickel






45. 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






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






47. 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






48. Book - music - and lyrics






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






50. French physicist - mathematician - and philosopher - expressed the essence of Romanticism