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






2. Goethe's most famous Romantic play






3. The sung words






4. Showed middle-class characters finding happiness and true love (Enlightenment)






5. The men who play female roles are called:






6. Staged inexpensive - noncommercial productions of artistically significant plays in small - out-of-the-way theatres






7. 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






8. Peking Opera was dramatically altered when:






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






10. Earliest form for photography






11. 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






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






13. 1. theatre has an actor who plays a character - theatre is artificial - and 2. theatre usually has a story with a conflict - conflict is key to all drama






14. Elmer Rice; about a man named Mr. Zero Who is fired from his job and replaced by an adding machine






15. 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






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






17. Including operetta - developed out of intermezzi






18. 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






19. Sell over $1billion worth of tickets annually - majority of those are for musicals






20. 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






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






22. Writes the lyrics






23. 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






24. What western theatre is often called:






25. 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






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






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






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






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






30. Spoken lines of dialogue as well as the plot






31. Feature the work of a director-choreographer






32. 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






33. Africa's greatest living playwright; born in Nigeria; plays combine symbolism - mysticism - beautiful dialogue - and they make strong political points; plays are deeply rooted in African myths - dance - and rituals but also influenced by Western dram






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






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






36. The orchestrated melodies






37. Wooden clappers used in Kabuki






38. 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)






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






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






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






42. The men who play female roles are called:






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






44. 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






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






46. French philosopher often called the Father of the Romantic movement; argued that people could find happiness in a 'state of nature' and that they should learn from nature rather than the artificial and corrupted teachings of society






47. First part had musical numbers with little comic dialogue; second part was full of songs - dance and standup routines; third part featured a one-act play






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






49. 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






50. Africa's greatest living playwright; born in Nigeria; plays combine symbolism - mysticism - beautiful dialogue - and they make strong political points; plays are deeply rooted in African myths - dance - and rituals but also influenced by Western dram