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






2. Most famous English actress - born into poverty - started out singing in taverns and selling oranges in theatres - became the King's mistress






3. 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






4. The sung words






5. The German equivalent to Diderot; was a playwright - critic - and Enlightenment philosopher Who wrote tragedies and comedies about the middle-class; his greatest play was Nathan the Wise






6. Two types of traditional Japanese theatre






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






8. Including operetta - developed out of intermezzi






9. Plays without music






10. 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






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






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






13. Type of Islamic theatre - religious drama of Iran which allowed for actors - both professional and amateur - and has been performed in open-air playing spaces and on some occasions in specially constructed indoor stages for hundreds of years

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14. Most famous English actress - born into poverty - started out singing in taverns and selling oranges in theatres - became the King's mistress






15. Where more experts agree that human beings came into existence






16. Studied the history of class conflict






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






18. Where more experts agree that human beings came into existence






19. First black woman playwright to be producted on Broadway; Raisin in the Sun based of her actual childhood






20. This happened for the first time during the Restoration






21. Peking Opera was dramatically altered when:






22. 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






23. 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






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






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






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






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






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






29. 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






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






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






32. 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






33. Including operetta - developed out of intermezzi






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






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






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






37. 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






38. Writes the lyrics






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






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






41. 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






42. 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






43. 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






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






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






46. 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






47. 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






48. 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






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






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