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. 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






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






3. The orchestrated melodies






4. Only cost a nickel






5. 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)






6. The sung words






7. This happened for the first time during the Restoration






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






9. Unstructured theatrical events on street corners - bus stops and anywhere else people gathered






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






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






12. A production of British actor Charles Kean; had realistic costumes - set and props that he had researched to make sure they were historically correct

Warning: Invalid argument supplied for foreach() in /var/www/html/basicversity.com/show_quiz.php on line 183


13. Argued that the prime function of playwrights is to expose the social and moral evils of their time






14. Included comic scenes - dance interludes and sentimental ballads all based on white stereotypes of black life in the South






15. 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






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






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






18. Where more experts agree that human beings came into existence






19. 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






20. A period of licentious gaudiness inspired by the elaborate styles that Charles II brought with him from the French Court






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






22. 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'






23. The men who play female roles are called:






24. 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






25. Writes the music






26. 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






27. Uses rock music - the rock and roll of the 1950s (Grease) - the psychedelic rock of the 1960s (Hair) or contemporary pop and rock (Rent)






28. 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






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






30. Musicals that are mostly singing and have less spoken dialogue; similar to operattas - but thier tone is often much darker and more dramatic






31. A sudden - striking pose (often with their eyes crossed - chin sharply turned - and big toe pointed towards the sky) in Kabuki accompanied by several powerful beats of wooden clappers






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






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






34. Peking Opera was dramatically altered when:






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






36. 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






37. 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






38. 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






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






40. Goethe's most famous Romantic play






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






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






43. Comic interludes performed during the intermissions of opera






44. Feature the work of a director-choreographer






45. 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






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






47. Built in Venice in 1637






48. Most famous American expressionist playwright who won Nobel Prize for Literature (1936); A touch of the Poet (1935) - The Iceman Cometh (1939) - A Long Day's Journey into Night (1956) & A Moon for the Misbegotten (1952); The Hairy Ape (1952)

Warning: Invalid argument supplied for foreach() in /var/www/html/basicversity.com/show_quiz.php on line 183


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






50. Writes the book