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. 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






2. Wrote plays about the rugged lives of Irish peasants using their dialect; Riders to the Sea (1904) & The Playboy of the Western World (1907)






3. 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






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






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






6. French Enlightenment playwright; was an inventor and thinker who spent countless hours at the leading intellectual salons of France; most famous plays are The Barber of Seville - and The Marriage of Figaro - his plays reflect the attitudes of the Enl






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






8. The orchestrated melodies






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






10. 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)






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






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






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






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






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






16. Included comic scenes - dance interludes and sentimental ballads all based on white stereotypes of black life in the South






17. 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






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






19. Studied the history of class conflict






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

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






22. A permanent - professional theatre outside NYC; founded in 1947 by Margo Jones; stage new plays alongside commercial hits and historical plays; appeal to the intellectual audiences that Hollywood seldom serves






23. Spoken lines of dialogue as well as the plot






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






25. 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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26. 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






27. French Enlightenment playwright; was an inventor and thinker who spent countless hours at the leading intellectual salons of France; most famous plays are The Barber of Seville - and The Marriage of Figaro - his plays reflect the attitudes of the Enl






28. Smaller - less expensive alternative experimental theatres; flourished in lofts - basements - coffeehouses and any found space usable






29. '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






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






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






32. Divided into fatalist - hilarious and existentialist






33. Brought Western-style theatre to Africa to dramatize Bible stories in order to win converts






34. 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)






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






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






37. Comedies forced Victorian society to reexamine its hypocrisies; Lady Windermere's Fan (1892) - A WOman of No Importance (1893) - An Ideal Husband (1894); advocated 'art for art's sake'; The Importance of Being Ernest






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






39. 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






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






41. Founded in 1946 by Julian Beck and Judith Malina; dedicated itself to contemporary social issues and highly political - easthetically radical plays






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






43. Goethe's most famous Romantic play






44. Wooden clappers used in Kabuki






45. 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






46. 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






47. The men who play female roles are called:






48. Included comic scenes - dance interludes and sentimental ballads all based on white stereotypes of black life in the South






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






50. A robust and spectacular version of Noh; named after the characters for 'song' - 'dance' - and 'skill'; created by a woman named Okuni - owner of a brothel