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. 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






2. The audience remains alienated from the performance so they could critically consider the play's themes






3. 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






4. 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






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






6. More serious plot and theme; West Side Story (1957)






7. 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






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






9. 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






10. 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






11. Studied the history of class conflict






12. Wrote 'high comedies' which were cerebral socially relevant plays that had an intellectual scope so vast they forced audiences to reassess their values; Man and Superman (1903) & The Quintessence of Ibsenism (1891)






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






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






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






16. 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






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






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






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. 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






21. A popular form of stage entertainment from the 1880s to the 1940s; included a dozen or so slapstick comedy routines - song-and-dance numbers - magic acts and juggling or acrobatic performances






22. 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






23. The first 'talkie' movie; featured white actor Al Jolson in blackface performing in a minstrel show






24. 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






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


26. A permanent - professional theatre outside NYC; founded in 1947 by Margo Jones; stage new plays alongside commercial hits and historical plays; appeal to the intellectual audiences that Hollywood seldom serves






27. The sung words






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






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






30. Plays about the issues of the day that were in Manhattan neighborhoods






31. 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






32. 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






33. Built in Venice in 1637






34. 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






35. 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






36. 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






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






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






39. Wooden clappers used in Kabuki






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






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






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






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






44. Earliest form for photography






45. This happened for the first time during the Restoration






46. Writers who felt science was not adequate to describe the full range of human experience - and their writings stressed instinct - intuition - and feeling






47. Developed from the dance-prayers of Buddhist priests; has five possible subjects: the deities - the deeds of heroic samurai - women - insanity - and famous legends






48. 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






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






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