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






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






3. Wooden clappers used in Kabuki






4. 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






5. Writes the music






6. Used giant puppets and actors to enact parables denouncing the Vietnam War and materialism






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

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






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






10. Built in Venice in 1637






11. 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






12. Peking Opera was dramatically altered when:






13. 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






14. Characterized by a light-hearted - fast-moving comic story - whose dialogue is interspersed with popular music; Guys and Dolls (1950)






15. 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






16. 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






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






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






19. Goethe's most famous Romantic play






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






21. Writes the book






22. 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






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






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






25. The men who play female roles are called:






26. One of the most popular Kabuki and Bunraku playwrights - who - like Shakespeare - wrote crowd-pleasing plays that combined poetry and prose in dramatic tales of comedy - tragedy - love - and war






27. Spoken lines of dialogue as well as the plot






28. Two types of traditional Japanese theatre






29. 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






30. 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)






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






32. 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






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






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






35. Result of western influence - a toned down version of Kabuki - told stories of everyday life - particularly those of women - women played women's parts (whereas Kabuki was all male)






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






37. 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






38. More serious plot and theme; West Side Story (1957)






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






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






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






42. Known for life-like sets that used hand-painted screens and gas-powered lighting effects to stage realistic sunrises and storm clouds; invented the DAGUERREO-TYPE - which was an early form of photography






43. Spoken lines of dialogue as well as the plot






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

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45. Including operetta - developed out of intermezzi






46. 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'






47. Most famous English actress - born into poverty - started out singing in taverns and selling oranges in theatres - became the King's mistress






48. Only cost a nickel






49. No protagonist; deals with a family of characters who tell many stories at once; the fact that characters on stage take no action may inspire audience members to be motivated for the opposite in real life






50. 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