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






2. 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






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






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






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






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






7. What western theatre is often called:






8. Writes the book






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






10. 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






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






12. Writes the music






13. Earliest form for photography






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






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






16. Earliest form for photography






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






18. 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)






19. 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






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






21. 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






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

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23. 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






24. 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)






25. Writes the lyrics






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






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






28. Writes the music






29. Peking Opera was dramatically altered when:






30. Spoken lines of dialogue as well as the plot






31. 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






32. 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






33. 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






34. 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






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






36. 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






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






38. Plays without music






39. Would be removed in the box set to give audience a real life look into the scene






40. 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






41. 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






42. Studied the history of class conflict






43. 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






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






45. 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






46. Divided into fatalist - hilarious and existentialist






47. 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






48. Any artist or work of art that is experimental - innovative or unconventional; some styles would be symbolism - expressionism - futurism - Dadaism - surrealism - and absurdism






49. 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






50. 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)