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. Most popular type of theatre during the Restoration; often featured great wit and wordplay and told stories about sexual gratification - bedroom escapades - and humankind's unrefined nature when it comes to sex






2. Estrangement; essentially the alienation effect






3. Grew out of the theatre of Thespis in Ancient Greece; passed from the Athenians to the Romans to the medieval Europeans






4. 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)






5. Estrangement; essentially the alienation effect






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






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






8. A popular form of stage entertainment from the 1880s to the 1940s; included a dozen or so slapstick comedy routines - song-and-dance numbers - magic acts and juggling or acrobatic performances






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






10. Only cost a nickel






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






12. '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






13. 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






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






15. Musicals that feature a particular band's songs






16. 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






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






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






19. The orchestrated melodies






20. 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'






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






22. Wooden clappers used in Kabuki






23. More serious plot and theme; West Side Story (1957)






24. A repetition of the song - sometimes with new lyrics - sometimes with the same lyrics but with new meaning or subtext in order to make a dramatic point






25. 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






26. 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)






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






28. 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






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






30. Form of theatre that mixed traditional African ritual theatre and Western-style drama; encouraged African nationalism - glorified Africa's past - and advanced African customs - rituals - and culture; also dealt with serious political themes and appla






31. 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






32. Grew up in poverty and put himself through medical school and set up free clinics in Russia to help the poor; The Seagull (1896) - Uncle Vanya (1899) Three Sisters (1901) & The Cherry Orchard (1904); placed on stage the lazy chaos of lives crushed by






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






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






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






36. 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






37. Developed from the dance-prayers of Buddhist priests; has five possible subjects: the deities - the deeds of heroic samurai - women - insanity - and famous legends






38. The orchestrated melodies






39. 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






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






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






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






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






44. Writes the book






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






46. Showed middle-class characters finding happiness and true love (Enlightenment)






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






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






49. 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






50. 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