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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.
  • 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. A popular form of stage entertainment from the 1880s to the 1940s; included a dozen or so slapstick comedy routines - song-and-dance numbers - magic acts and juggling or acrobatic performances






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






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






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

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5. Only cost a nickel






6. Studied the history of class conflict






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






8. The men who play female roles are called:






9. Type of theatre greatly influenced by Buddhism and Shinto; originates in ritual






10. 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






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






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






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






14. Book - music - and lyrics






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






16. 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






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






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






19. Most famous English actress - born into poverty - started out singing in taverns and selling oranges in theatres - became the King's mistress






20. 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






21. 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






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






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






24. 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






25. 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)






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






27. One of the most well-known Muslim Playwrights - who uses her plays not only to express herself but also to prompt discussions about such topics as violence against women - religious fanaticism - and female sexual desire






28. Most popular type of theatre during the Restoration; often featured great wit and wordplay and told stories about sexual gratification - bedroom escapades - and humankind's unrefined nature when it comes to sex






29. 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)






30. First black woman playwright to be producted on Broadway; Raisin in the Sun based of her actual childhood






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






32. Second part of a Noh play - protagonist performs a dance that expresses his or her concern






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






40. The first modern musical; a melodrama about black magic staged in NYC in 1866






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






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






43. 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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44. 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)






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






46. 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






47. 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






48. Holds that human beings are naturally alone - without purpose or mission - in a universe that has no God






49. This happened for the first time during the Restoration






50. 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