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. One of the most influential thinkers of the Enlightenment - French poet - essayist - and playwright whose writing often got him in trouble with the church; built a theatre on his own estate so he could freely present his plays






2. 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






3. Type of Islamic theatre which is created by lighting two-dimensional figures and casting their shadows on a screen; the audience watches the silhouettes while a narrator tells a story






4. History plays about major political events of the past - domestic plays about the loves and lives of merchants and townspeople - and dance-dramas about the world of spirits and animals






5. '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






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






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






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






9. Includes all other forms of drama - from the ancient ritual theatre of Africa to the traditional theatre of Asia to the shadow and puppet theatre of Muslim lands






10. Musicals that feature a particular band's songs






11. Third part of a Noh play - the protagonist appears as a new self - and the cause of torment is resolved






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






13. Studied the history of class conflict






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






15. Said that the free enterprise system is seriously flawed and is a cause of great human misery because it exploits the poor






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






17. 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






18. Type of Islamic theatre - religious drama of Iran which allowed for actors - both professional and amateur - and has been performed in open-air playing spaces and on some occasions in specially constructed indoor stages for hundreds of years

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19. The sung words






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






21. Wrote plays about the rugged lives of Irish peasants using their dialect; Riders to the Sea (1904) & The Playboy of the Western World (1907)






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






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. Thought that inner truths could be hinted at only through symbols; sought to replace the specific and concrete with the suggestive and metaphorical; usually had little plot or action and tended to baffle the audience






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






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






27. Musicals that feature a particular band's songs






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






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






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

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31. By Swedish Playwright August Strindberg; fourteen-act play that follows the disconnected logic of a dream






32. Built in Venice in 1637






33. Only cost a nickel






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






35. Two types of traditional Japanese theatre






36. 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






37. History plays about major political events of the past - domestic plays about the loves and lives of merchants and townspeople - and dance-dramas about the world of spirits and animals






38. 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






39. 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)






40. 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






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






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






43. The men who play female roles are called:






44. Peking Opera was dramatically altered when:






45. 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






46. Estrangement; essentially the alienation effect






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






48. 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






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






50. Studied the history of class conflict