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. Elaborate geometrical designs were used for these roles which included supernatural beings - warriors - and bandits; the color of the make-up indicated the character's personality






2. 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






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






4. 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






5. 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






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






7. The first theatre in the world to be lit with electric lights






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






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






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






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






12. Russian playwright whose play The Lower Depths (1902) took look at people living in cellar of Moscow flophouse






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






14. 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






15. Three parts of a Noh play






16. 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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17. Russian playwright whose play The Lower Depths (1902) took look at people living in cellar of Moscow flophouse






18. 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)






19. Term used to describe performances that mix theatre - visual arts - music - dance - gesture and rituals; often use multimedia effects - sounds and lighting effects to make a point and allow the audience to understand its deeper implications; often re






20. First part of a Noh Play - usually a chance meeting between two characters - introductions are made and the characters engage in a question-and-answer sequence that reveals the protagonist's concern






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






22. 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






23. All lines are sung - usually to grand classical music; Madama Butterfly (1904)






24. 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






25. Brought Western-style theatre to Africa to dramatize Bible stories in order to win converts






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






27. 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






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






29. 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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30. 'The Father of Realism'; was initially a Romantic writer and his early plays were verse dramas largely based on Norwegian history and folk literature; plays presented complex - sometimes distrubing - views of human society; A Doll's House (1879) - Gh






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






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






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






34. Built in Venice in 1637






35. Only cost a nickel






36. 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






37. 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






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






39. The first theatre in the world to be lit with electric lights






40. 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






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






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






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






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






45. 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






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






47. 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






48. Writes the music






49. 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






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