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 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






2. 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






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






4. Highlights the insanity of life in a comical way






5. 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






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






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






8. In Sigmund Romberg's play the king young heir to the throne sacrifices his personal happiness for the good of the kingdom when he sorrowfully pulls himself away from his true love in order to marry a princess whom he does not love






9. One of the most valuable historical records of Indian theatre; an encyclopedic book of dramatic theory and practice; has 37 chapters and covers every aspect of classical Indian drama - also a treatise on dramatic theory and philosophy - states that t






10. 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






11. The sung words






12. 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






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






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






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






16. Instead of learning how to conjure real emotions - actors of Sanskrit drama studied for many years to learn representations of emotions through:






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






18. Plays without music






19. 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






20. 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






21. 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






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






23. The orchestrated melodies






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






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






26. Divided into fatalist - hilarious and existentialist






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






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






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






31. The men who play female roles are called:






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






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






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






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






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






37. Studied the history of class conflict






38. '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






39. 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






40. Records of this type of theatre are fragmentary - but we do know that it grew out of regional religious rituals related to Confucianism - Taoism - and Buddhism - and ritual dances performed during the Shang dynasty






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






42. 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)






43. Three parts of a Noh play






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






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






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






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






48. 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'






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






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