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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. 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






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






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






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






5. 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






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






7. 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






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






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






10. Wooden clappers used in Kabuki






11. 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






12. A program of unrelated singing - dancing and comedy numbers






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






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






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

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16. Including operetta - developed out of intermezzi






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






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

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






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






21. 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






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






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






24. Only cost a nickel






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






26. A repetition of the song - sometimes with new lyrics - sometimes with the same lyrics but with new meaning or subtext in order to make a dramatic point






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






28. 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)






29. Smaller - less expensive alternative experimental theatres; flourished in lofts - basements - coffeehouses and any found space usable






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






31. 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






32. 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)






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






34. 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






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






36. 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






37. Divided into fatalist - hilarious and existentialist






38. 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






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






40. Earliest form for photography






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






43. 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






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






45. 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






46. In Sigmund Romberg's play the king young heir to the throne sacrifices his personal happiness for the good of the kingdom when he sorrowfully pulls himself away from his true love in order to marry a princess whom he does not love






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






48. '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






49. 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






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






Can you answer 50 questions in 15 minutes?



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