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. No protagonist; deals with a family of characters who tell many stories at once; the fact that characters on stage take no action may inspire audience members to be motivated for the opposite in real life






2. Said that the free enterprise system is seriously flawed and is a cause of great human misery because it exploits the poor






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






4. 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






5. Attacked the evils and restrictions of society; tried to reveal the higher reality of the unconscious mind with fantastic imagery and contradictory images; performances were often violent and cruel as they tried to shock the audience into the realiza






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






7. 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






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

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






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






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






12. Built in Venice in 1637






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






14. Greatest of the Sturm und Drang playwrights; was also a critic - journalist - painter - biologist - statesman - poet - novelist - philosopher - scientist - and the manager of the Duke of Weimar's playhouse






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






16. Bandits discuss rival systems of goverment while waiting for an attack






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






18. 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






19. 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)






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






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






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






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






24. Instead of learning how to conjure real emotions - actors of Sanskrit drama studied for many years to learn representations of emotions through:






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






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






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






28. Wrote 'high comedies' which were cerebral socially relevant plays that had an intellectual scope so vast they forced audiences to reassess their values; Man and Superman (1903) & The Quintessence of Ibsenism (1891)






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






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






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






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






34. A dialogue that captures the incoherence - broken language - and pauses of modern speech; usually marked by surreal distortion and impending danger; from writing of Franz Kafka






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






36. 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






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






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






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






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






41. Most famous surrealist and was a French writer and director; studied Asian religions - mysticism - and ancient cultures; declared theatre should should wake the nerves and heart; argued that proscenium arch theatres create a barrier between the audie






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






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






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






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

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46. Spoken lines of dialogue as well as the plot






47. 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)






48. 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






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






50. 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