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






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






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






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






5. 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)






6. What western theatre is often called:






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

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8. 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






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






10. 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






11. Term used to describe performances that mix theatre - visual arts - music - dance - gesture and rituals; often use multimedia effects - sounds and lighting effects to make a point and allow the audience to understand its deeper implications; often re






12. 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






13. 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






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






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






16. A synthesis of music - dance - acting - and acrobatics; it was first performed by strolling players in markets - temples - courtyards - and the streets






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






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






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






20. Feature the work of a director-choreographer






21. 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






22. 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






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






24. Type of theatre that grew out of ritual - incorporated acting - music - storytelling - poetry - dance - costumes - and lots of masks to create a theatre that combined ritual and ceremony with drama






25. 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






26. All lines are sung - usually to grand classical music; Madama Butterfly (1904)






27. Africa's greatest living playwright; born in Nigeria; plays combine symbolism - mysticism - beautiful dialogue - and they make strong political points; plays are deeply rooted in African myths - dance - and rituals but also influenced by Western dram






28. 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






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






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






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






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






33. 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






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






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






36. Musicals that feature a particular band's songs






37. The first theatre in the world to be lit with electric lights






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






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






40. Book - music - and lyrics






41. 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






42. '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






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






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. Play by Wole Soyinka; celebrates Nigerian independence but also warns against returning to Nigeria's violent past






46. Peking Opera was dramatically altered when:






47. 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






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






49. Staged inexpensive - noncommercial productions of artistically significant plays in small - out-of-the-way theatres






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