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. 1. theatre has an actor who plays a character - theatre is artificial - and 2. theatre usually has a story with a conflict - conflict is key to all drama






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






3. Including operetta - developed out of intermezzi






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






5. 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






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






7. 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






8. 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






9. 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






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






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






12. 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






13. 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






14. Most famous surrealist and was a French writer and director; studied Asian religions - mysticism - and ancient cultures; declared theatre should should wake the nerves and heart; argued that proscenium arch theatres create a barrier between the audie






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






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






17. Named new 'photographic' realism NATURALISM and his phrase 'slice of life' is quoted description of it






18. Would agitate the masses - attack the spectators' sensibilities and purge people of their destructive tendencies; wanted stylized - ritualized performances - not realism - which they felt restricted the theatre to the study of psychological problems






19. First part had musical numbers with little comic dialogue; second part was full of songs - dance and standup routines; third part featured a one-act play






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






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. Highlights the insanity of life in a comical way






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






24. 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






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






26. Plays without music






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






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






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






30. The sung words






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






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






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






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






35. '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






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






37. 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)






38. A synthesis of music - dance - acting - and acrobatics; it was first performed by strolling players in markets - temples - courtyards - and the streets






39. 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)






40. 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






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






42. 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






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






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






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






46. 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






47. 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






48. 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






49. Estrangement; essentially the alienation effect






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