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. Studied the history of class conflict






2. Based off the idea that before a problem can be solved - society must first understand that the problem exists; 'attack the message - not the messenger'






3. 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






4. 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






5. 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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6. 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






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






8. A blend of melody and drama and refers to the background music often played during these performances






9. Only cost a nickel






10. 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






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






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






13. The men who play female roles are called:






14. '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






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






16. Kabuki borrowed many of these movements to make Kabuki acting highly stylized and almost puppet-like






17. 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






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

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






20. Including operetta - developed out of intermezzi






21. Peking Opera was dramatically altered when:






22. One of the most important French philosophers of the Age of Reason - wrote and edited the first encyclopedia; was also a dramatist who penned books on the techniques of acting; authored The Paradox of Acting - a book that attached the pompous declama






23. Highlights the insanity of life in a comical way






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






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






26. During the Enlightenment there were revolutions in: ... which had a profound effect on theatre






27. Studied the history of class conflict






28. A robust and spectacular version of Noh; named after the characters for 'song' - 'dance' - and 'skill'; created by a woman named Okuni - owner of a brothel






29. 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






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






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






32. 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






33. Named new 'photographic' realism NATURALISM and his phrase 'slice of life' is quoted description of it






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






35. What western theatre is often called:






36. Built in Venice in 1637






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. 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. Contemporary form of Sanskrit Theatre - dramatized version of the Hindu epic poems Ramayana and Mahabharata






40. 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






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






42. 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






43. 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






44. 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






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






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






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






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






49. Two types of traditional Japanese theatre






50. Highlights the insanity of life in a comical way