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. Built in Venice in 1637






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






3. 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






4. 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






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






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






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

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8. Wooden clappers used in Kabuki






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






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






11. 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






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. 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






14. Winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature (2005); The Dumb Waiter (1957)






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






16. The orchestrated melodies






17. Filled with characters who cannot resist an argument about social issues; no character is exempt from talking politics and theorizing about moral - artistic or religious reform






18. 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






19. The sung words






20. 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'






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






22. A production of British actor Charles Kean; had realistic costumes - set and props that he had researched to make sure they were historically correct

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






24. 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






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






26. An extreme form of realism; an acurate 'documentary' of everyday life - including its seamy side






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






28. 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






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






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






31. Only cost a nickel






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






33. Spoken lines of dialogue as well as the plot






34. 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






35. 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






36. The want for more 'genuine' sets - more 'honest' acting - and dialogue to be modeled after everyday speech - influenced by ideas of CHarles Darwin - Sigmund Freud and Karl Marx






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. Would agitate the masses - attack the spectators' sensibilities and purge people of their destructive tendencies; wanted stylized - ritualized performances - not realism - which they felt restricted the theatre to the study of psychological problems






39. Studied the history of class conflict






40. Third part of a Noh play - the protagonist appears as a new self - and the cause of torment is resolved






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






42. 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






43. 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






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






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






46. '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






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






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






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






50. Would agitate the masses - attack the spectators' sensibilities and purge people of their destructive tendencies; wanted stylized - ritualized performances - not realism - which they felt restricted the theatre to the study of psychological problems