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






2. 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






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






4. Estrangement; essentially the alienation effect






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






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






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. 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






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






10. Including operetta - developed out of intermezzi






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






12. 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)






13. French philosopher often called the Father of the Romantic movement; argued that people could find happiness in a 'state of nature' and that they should learn from nature rather than the artificial and corrupted teachings of society






14. 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






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. 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)






17. One of the most popular Kabuki and Bunraku playwrights - who - like Shakespeare - wrote crowd-pleasing plays that combined poetry and prose in dramatic tales of comedy - tragedy - love - and war






18. Divided into fatalist - hilarious and existentialist






19. Play that takes place in a mental institution - the audience sits on the stage with the actor-patients






20. Russian playwright whose play The Lower Depths (1902) took look at people living in cellar of Moscow flophouse






21. The sung words






22. 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






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






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






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






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






28. 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






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






30. 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






31. Writes the music






32. 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)






33. 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






34. The men who play female roles are called:






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






36. The sung words






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






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






39. Big-time vaudeville who performed a series of lavish musical reviews on Broadway






40. 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)






41. 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






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






43. Musicals with a particularly well-developed story and characters






44. 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'






45. 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






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






47. 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






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






49. Characterized by a light-hearted - fast-moving comic story - whose dialogue is interspersed with popular music; Guys and Dolls (1950)






50. 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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