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. Plays without music






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






3. Greatest of the Sturm und Drang playwrights; was also a critic - journalist - painter - biologist - statesman - poet - novelist - philosopher - scientist - and the manager of the Duke of Weimar's playhouse






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






5. French Enlightenment playwright; was an inventor and thinker who spent countless hours at the leading intellectual salons of France; most famous plays are The Barber of Seville - and The Marriage of Figaro - his plays reflect the attitudes of the Enl






6. 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






7. Wooden clappers used in Kabuki






8. Built in Venice in 1637






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






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






11. 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






12. 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






13. Contemporary form of Sanskrit Theatre - dramatized version of the Hindu epic poems Ramayana and Mahabharata






14. Comic interludes performed during the intermissions of opera






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






16. French Enlightenment playwright; was an inventor and thinker who spent countless hours at the leading intellectual salons of France; most famous plays are The Barber of Seville - and The Marriage of Figaro - his plays reflect the attitudes of the Enl






17. 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






18. Second part of a Noh play - protagonist performs a dance that expresses his or her concern






19. Estrangement; essentially the alienation effect






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






21. 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






22. 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






23. First female theatre manager in London; was also an actor and singer; managed first theatre to have a box set; Olympic Theatre in London






24. Studied the history of class conflict






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






26. Feature the work of a director-choreographer






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






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






29. Three parts of a Noh play






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






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






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






34. 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






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


36. 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






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






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


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


40. Improved the daguerreotype and created modern photography; was also an English physicist






41. The time period that glorified humans' power to reason and analyze - a period of great philosophical - scientific - technological - political - and religious revolutions






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






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






44. 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






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






46. 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






47. 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






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






49. Writes the book






50. Including operetta - developed out of intermezzi