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 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






2. The sung words






3. 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






4. Including operetta - developed out of intermezzi






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






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






7. 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






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






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






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






11. Two types of traditional Japanese theatre






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






13. Divided into fatalist - hilarious and existentialist






14. The artist imposes his own internal state onto the outside world itself; expressionism is a subjective account of an objective perception; expressionist plays use deliberate set distortion






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






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






17. First part of a Noh Play - usually a chance meeting between two characters - introductions are made and the characters engage in a question-and-answer sequence that reveals the protagonist's concern






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






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






20. Writes the music






21. 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)






22. 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






23. This happened for the first time during the Restoration






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






25. 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






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






27. Exposed the squalid living conditions of the urban poor and explores scandalous topics like poverty - venereal disease and prostitution; 'Sordid Realism'






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






29. Wooden clappers used in Kabuki






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






31. The artist imposes his own internal state onto the outside world itself; expressionism is a subjective account of an objective perception; expressionist plays use deliberate set distortion






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






33. The first theatre in the world to be lit with electric lights






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






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






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






37. Sell over $1billion worth of tickets annually - majority of those are for musicals






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






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






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






41. 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






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






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






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






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






46. Earliest form for photography






47. 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






48. 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)






49. 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






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