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






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






3. '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






4. Big-time vaudeville who performed a series of lavish musical reviews on Broadway






5. 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






6. 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






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






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

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9. 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






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






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






12. 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






13. 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






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






15. A German poet - director and playwright who challenged traditional ideas about theatre; became a communist after watching policement shoot 4 unarmed civilians; The Life of Galileo (1938) - Mother Courage and her Children (1939) & The Caucasian Chalk






16. 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)






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






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






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






20. 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






21. 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






22. 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






23. 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






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






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






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






27. Wooden clappers used in Kabuki






28. 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






29. Two types of traditional Japanese theatre






30. Elaborate geometrical designs were used for these roles which included supernatural beings - warriors - and bandits; the color of the make-up indicated the character's personality






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






32. 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'






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






34. 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






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






36. Wooden clappers used in Kabuki






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






38. Smaller - less expensive alternative experimental theatres; flourished in lofts - basements - coffeehouses and any found space usable






39. Built in Venice in 1637






40. 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






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






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

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43. Highlights the insanity of life in a comical way






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






45. 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






46. Book - music - and lyrics






47. 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






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






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






50. The sung words