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 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






2. 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






3. Islam's holy book - contains a warning about 'graven images' similar to the one in the Bible - prohibition applies to dolls - statues - portraits - and people playing a character






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






5. 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






6. 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






7. 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






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






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






10. 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






11. An early form of theatre; it used theatrical techniques such as song - dance - and characterization - but it was still firmly rooted in religion






12. Used giant puppets and actors to enact parables denouncing the Vietnam War and materialism






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






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






15. 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






16. 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






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






18. Earliest form for photography






19. Including operetta - developed out of intermezzi






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






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






23. 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






24. Set out to break all the neoclassical rules - attacked the three unities






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






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






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






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






29. 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






30. Writes the lyrics






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






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






33. Term used to describe performances that mix theatre - visual arts - music - dance - gesture and rituals; often use multimedia effects - sounds and lighting effects to make a point and allow the audience to understand its deeper implications; often re






34. Estrangement; essentially the alienation effect






35. 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)






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






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






38. Romanian-born French playwright best categorized as a hilarious absurdist; The Bald Soprano (1949) & Rhinoceros (1959)






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






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






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






42. Elmer Rice; about a man named Mr. Zero Who is fired from his job and replaced by an adding machine






43. This happened for the first time during the Restoration






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






45. 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






46. Including operetta - developed out of intermezzi






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






48. 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






49. 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






50. 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