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. 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'






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






3. Studied the history of class conflict






4. Wooden clappers used in Kabuki






5. Known for life-like sets that used hand-painted screens and gas-powered lighting effects to stage realistic sunrises and storm clouds; invented the DAGUERREO-TYPE - which was an early form of photography






6. 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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7. 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






8. Holds that human beings are naturally alone - without purpose or mission - in a universe that has no God






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






10. 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






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






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






13. 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






14. 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






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






16. Book - music - and lyrics






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






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






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






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

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






22. 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






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






24. Grew up in poverty and put himself through medical school and set up free clinics in Russia to help the poor; The Seagull (1896) - Uncle Vanya (1899) Three Sisters (1901) & The Cherry Orchard (1904); placed on stage the lazy chaos of lives crushed by






25. Earliest form for photography






26. 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






27. Musicals with a particularly well-developed story and characters






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






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






30. Wooden clappers used in Kabuki






31. 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






32. 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






33. 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






34. Writes the book






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






36. Where more experts agree that human beings came into existence






37. 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






38. This happened for the first time during the Restoration






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






40. Second part of a Noh play - protagonist performs a dance that expresses his or her concern






41. Light opera - differs from 'grand opera' because it has a frivolous - comic theme - some spoken dialogue - a melodramatic story - and usually a little dancing; The Mikado (1885)






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






43. One of the most well-known Muslim Playwrights - who uses her plays not only to express herself but also to prompt discussions about such topics as violence against women - religious fanaticism - and female sexual desire






44. 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






45. Composed and produced by Bob Cole - lyrics by Billy Johnson; story of a con man and used minstrel stereotypes and spoofed Chinatown; in one scene a young black man sings about he and his date were denied entry to a nightclub cuz He was black and this






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






47. Plays without music






48. Uses rock music - the rock and roll of the 1950s (Grease) - the psychedelic rock of the 1960s (Hair) or contemporary pop and rock (Rent)






49. 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






50. A sudden - striking pose (often with their eyes crossed - chin sharply turned - and big toe pointed towards the sky) in Kabuki accompanied by several powerful beats of wooden clappers