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. Built in Venice in 1637






2. First part of a Noh Play - usually a chance meeting between two characters - introductions are made and the characters engage in a question-and-answer sequence that reveals the protagonist's concern






3. Only cost a nickel






4. 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






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






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






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






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






9. Writes the book






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






11. 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






12. Play that takes place in a mental institution - the audience sits on the stage with the actor-patients






13. 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






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






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






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






17. 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)






18. Three parts of a Noh play






19. 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






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






21. 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






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






23. First part of a Noh Play - usually a chance meeting between two characters - introductions are made and the characters engage in a question-and-answer sequence that reveals the protagonist's concern






24. 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






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






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






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






28. Studied the history of class conflict






29. 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)






30. Spoken lines of dialogue as well as the plot






31. Comic interludes performed during the intermissions of opera






32. Most famous surrealist and was a French writer and director; studied Asian religions - mysticism - and ancient cultures; declared theatre should should wake the nerves and heart; argued that proscenium arch theatres create a barrier between the audie






33. 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






34. Exposed the squalid living conditions of the urban poor and explores scandalous topics like poverty - venereal disease and prostitution; 'Sordid Realism'






35. 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






36. The orchestrated melodies






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






38. A medley of the show's songs played as a preview; usually the beginning of a traditional musical; lets the audience know that it's time to stop talking because the performance is about to begin






39. 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






40. 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






41. The orchestrated melodies






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






43. The first modern musical; a melodrama about black magic staged in NYC in 1866






44. The first modern musical; a melodrama about black magic staged in NYC in 1866






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






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






47. Book - music - and lyrics






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






49. 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






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