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






2. Suggests we are trapped in an irrational universe where even basic communication is impossible






3. 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)






4. The time period that glorified humans' power to reason and analyze - a period of great philosophical - scientific - technological - political - and religious revolutions






5. During the Enlightenment there were revolutions in: ... which had a profound effect on theatre






6. Writes the lyrics






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






8. Only cost a nickel






9. 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






10. 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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11. Two types of traditional Japanese theatre






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






13. 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'






14. Wooden clappers used in Kabuki






15. 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






16. Three parts of a Noh play






17. Thought that inner truths could be hinted at only through symbols; sought to replace the specific and concrete with the suggestive and metaphorical; usually had little plot or action and tended to baffle the audience






18. 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






19. 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






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






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






22. French director who stage play The Butchers (1888) with real sides of beef infested with maggots






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






24. 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






25. What western theatre is often called:






26. 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






27. Most famous American expressionist playwright who won Nobel Prize for Literature (1936); A touch of the Poet (1935) - The Iceman Cometh (1939) - A Long Day's Journey into Night (1956) & A Moon for the Misbegotten (1952); The Hairy Ape (1952)

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28. Divided into fatalist - hilarious and existentialist






29. Earliest form for photography






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






31. 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






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






33. Earliest form for photography






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






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. 1. theatre has an actor who plays a character - theatre is artificial - and 2. theatre usually has a story with a conflict - conflict is key to all drama






37. 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






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






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






40. 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






41. 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






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






43. By Swedish Playwright August Strindberg; fourteen-act play that follows the disconnected logic of a dream






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






45. 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






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






47. Closely tied to ritual - and it uses color - dance - song - and movements to exaggerate - stylize - and symbolically represent life






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






49. 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






50. A program of sketches - singing - dancing and songs pulled from previous sources