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






2. Sarcastic label of Scribe's plays; the sympathetic protagonist suffers at the hands of an evil antagonist in the course of intense action - suspense - and contrived play devices; ending is always happy and the loose ends are neatly tied up






3. Brought Western-style theatre to Africa to dramatize Bible stories in order to win converts






4. 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






5. 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






6. The realism of the play is expressed through lyrical language






7. 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






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






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






10. Greatest of the Sturm und Drang playwrights; was also a critic - journalist - painter - biologist - statesman - poet - novelist - philosopher - scientist - and the manager of the Duke of Weimar's playhouse






11. Argued that the prime function of playwrights is to expose the social and moral evils of their time






12. Writes the book






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






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






15. 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






16. An extreme form of realism; an acurate 'documentary' of everyday life - including its seamy side






17. 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






18. 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






19. What western theatre is often called:






20. A form of musical entertainment featuring bawdy songs - dancing women - and sometimes striptease






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






22. Writes the lyrics






23. An extreme form of realism; an acurate 'documentary' of everyday life - including its seamy side






24. Spoken lines of dialogue as well as the plot






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






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. 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






28. Filled with characters who cannot resist an argument about social issues; no character is exempt from talking politics and theorizing about moral - artistic or religious reform






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






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






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






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






33. A form of musical entertainment featuring bawdy songs - dancing women - and sometimes striptease






34. 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






35. The first 'talkie' movie; featured white actor Al Jolson in blackface performing in a minstrel show






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






37. 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






38. Earliest form for photography






39. Islam's holy book - contains a warning about 'graven images' similar to the one in the Bible - prohibition applies to dolls - statues - portraits - and people playing a character






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






41. Form of drama that dominated theatre in India for a thousand years; named for the ancient Indian language in which its plays are performed; combine the natural and the supernatural - the believable and unbelievable






42. 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






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






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






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






47. 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






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






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






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