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. Including operetta - developed out of intermezzi






2. Two types of traditional Japanese theatre






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






4. A big production number that usually receives a torrent of applause that literally stops the show






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






6. Nigerian playwright that was executed for trying to protect the Ogoni people against encroachments of Shell oil company






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






8. Book - music - and lyrics






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






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






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






12. 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






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






14. 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






15. 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






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






17. 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






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






19. Studied the history of class conflict






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






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






22. Writes the music






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






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






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






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


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






29. The orchestrated melodies






30. Built in Venice in 1637






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






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






33. Divided into fatalist - hilarious and existentialist






34. Most famous of the absurdist playwrights; best considered a fatalist - although work is sometimes hilarious and can ask existential questions; Endgame (1957) Krapp's Last Tape (1958) and Happy Days (1961); Waiting for Godot (1953)






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






36. 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






37. 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)






38. The orchestrated melodies






39. Estrangement; essentially the alienation effect






40. 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






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






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






43. 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






44. French philosopher and playwright; The Flies (1943) & No Exit (1944)






45. 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






46. 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






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






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






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






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