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






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






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






4. 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






5. Highlights the insanity of life in a comical way






6. Book - music - and lyrics






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






8. 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






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






10. Musicals that feature a particular band's songs






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






12. 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






13. Plays without music






14. A true-to-life interior containing a room or rooms with the fourth wall removed so that the audience has the feeling of looking in on the characters' private lives






15. Only cost a nickel






16. 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






17. Divided into fatalist - hilarious and existentialist






18. Feature the work of a director-choreographer






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






20. Characters were not individuals but types; standard roles included scholar - lover - hero - maiden - old woman - coquette - virtuous wife - and acrobatic warrior-maiden






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






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






23. Earliest form for photography






24. 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






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






26. 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






27. 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






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






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






30. Spoken lines of dialogue as well as the plot






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






32. Musicals with a particularly well-developed story and characters






33. 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






34. Writes the music






35. 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






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






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






38. 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






39. 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






40. What western theatre is often called:






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






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






43. 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






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






45. Would agitate the masses - attack the spectators' sensibilities and purge people of their destructive tendencies; wanted stylized - ritualized performances - not realism - which they felt restricted the theatre to the study of psychological problems






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






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






48. Characters were not individuals but types; standard roles included scholar - lover - hero - maiden - old woman - coquette - virtuous wife - and acrobatic warrior-maiden






49. A popular form of stage entertainment from the 1880s to the 1940s; included a dozen or so slapstick comedy routines - song-and-dance numbers - magic acts and juggling or acrobatic performances






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