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






2. 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)






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






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






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






6. 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'






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






8. Filled with characters who cannot resist an argument about social issues; no character is exempt from talking politics and theorizing about moral - artistic or religious reform






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






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






11. 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






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






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






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






15. 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






16. 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






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






18. 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






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






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






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






22. 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






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






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






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

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26. 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






27. 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






28. One of the most important French philosophers of the Age of Reason - wrote and edited the first encyclopedia; was also a dramatist who penned books on the techniques of acting; authored The Paradox of Acting - a book that attached the pompous declama






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






30. This happened for the first time during the Restoration






31. 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






32. '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






33. Divided into fatalist - hilarious and existentialist






34. A blend of melody and drama and refers to the background music often played during these performances






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






37. 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






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






39. 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






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






41. Light opera - differs from 'grand opera' because it has a frivolous - comic theme - some spoken dialogue - a melodramatic story - and usually a little dancing; The Mikado (1885)






42. Only cost a nickel






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






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






45. Would be removed in the box set to give audience a real life look into the scene






46. Writes the lyrics






47. Any artist or work of art that is experimental - innovative or unconventional; some styles would be symbolism - expressionism - futurism - Dadaism - surrealism - and absurdism






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






49. Comic operas that mixed popular songs of the day with spoken dialogue






50. Three parts of a Noh play