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. 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






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






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






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






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






6. The sung words






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






8. Includes all other forms of drama - from the ancient ritual theatre of Africa to the traditional theatre of Asia to the shadow and puppet theatre of Muslim lands






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






10. 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






11. 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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12. A production of British actor Charles Kean; had realistic costumes - set and props that he had researched to make sure they were historically correct

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13. Peking Opera was dramatically altered when:






14. Life has no purpose and they confused and antagonized audiences by refusing to adhere to a coherent set of principles - mirroring the madness of the world






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






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






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






18. Would be removed in the box set to give audience a real life look into the scene






19. 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






20. Estrangement; essentially the alienation effect






21. Bandits discuss rival systems of goverment while waiting for an attack






22. Uses rock music - the rock and roll of the 1950s (Grease) - the psychedelic rock of the 1960s (Hair) or contemporary pop and rock (Rent)






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






24. Uses rock music - the rock and roll of the 1950s (Grease) - the psychedelic rock of the 1960s (Hair) or contemporary pop and rock (Rent)






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






26. 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






27. Contemporary form of Sanskrit Theatre - dramatized version of the Hindu epic poems Ramayana and Mahabharata






28. 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)






29. Built in Venice in 1637






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






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






32. 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






33. Spoken lines of dialogue as well as the plot






34. 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)






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






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






37. Comedies forced Victorian society to reexamine its hypocrisies; Lady Windermere's Fan (1892) - A WOman of No Importance (1893) - An Ideal Husband (1894); advocated 'art for art's sake'; The Importance of Being Ernest






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






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






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






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






42. Studied the history of class conflict






43. Goethe's most famous Romantic play






44. Writes the lyrics






45. Estrangement; essentially the alienation effect






46. 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'






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






48. Feature the work of a director-choreographer






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






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