Theater arts, design, terms, history, components, acts, performance and musical theater, and theater around the World trivia Quiz
Is it theatre or theater?
In UK English live stage performing art which is performed in front of an audience is called theatre; in US English it is called Theater.
What is the term for a person who writes a play?
(a) Actor
(b) Director
(c) Producer
(d) Playwright
What is the term for the script of a play, including stage directions and dialogue?
(a) Manuscript
(b) Screenplay
(c) Libretto
(d) Text
What is the term for the area backstage where actors wait to make their entrances?
(a) Green room
(b) Wings
(c) Dressing room
(d) Fly loft
Which of the following is a famous musical by composer Andrew Lloyd Webber?
(a) The Phantom of the Opera
(b) Rent
(c) Les Miserables
(d) Wicked
Which of the following is a famous musical by composer Stephen Sondheim?
(a) The Sound of Music
(b) West Side Story
(c) Sweeney Todd
(d) Cats
Which of the following is not a famous theater in Europe?
(a) The Globe Theatre
(b) The Moulin Rouge
(c) The Royal Shakespeare Company
(d) The Comédie-Française
Which of the following is a famous theater festival in Edinburgh, Scotland?
(a) The Edinburgh International Festival
(b) The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo
(c) The Edinburgh Fringe Festival
(d) The Edinburgh International Book Festival
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Which of the following is a famous British theater director?
(a) Peter Brook
(b) Ingmar Bergman
(c) Luchino Visconti
(d) Federico Fellini
Who is the playwright behind “Anna in the Tropics,” a Pulitzer Prize-winning play set in a Cuban-American cigar factory?
(a) Lin-Manuel Miranda
(b) Nilo Cruz
(c) Octavio Solis
(d) Luis Valdez
Which of the following is not a Latino theater festival?
(a) Encuentro de las Américas
(b) Carnaval del Barrio
(c) Festival de Teatro Latino
(d) Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival
What is the name of the traditional Japanese theater form that features elaborate makeup, costumes, and stylized movement?
(a) Kabuki
(b) Noh
(c) Bunraku
(d) Kyogen
What is the name of the famous Japanese playwright who wrote “The Love Suicides at Amijima” and “Chushingura”?
(a) Yukio Mishima
(b) Jun’ichiro Tanizaki
(c) Chikamatsu Monzaemon
(d) Ryunosuke Akutagawa
What is the name of the traditional Japanese music ensemble that provides the music for Noh and Kabuki plays?
(a) Taiko
(b) Koto
(c) Shakuhachi
(d) Gagaku
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What is the name of the color-changing device that can be placed in front of a lighting fixture to create a variety of colors?
(a) Gobo
(b) Gel
(c) Diffusion
(d) Dimmer
Which of the following is not a type of stage lighting position?
(a) Front of house
(b) Backlight
(c) Sidelight
(d) Upstage
What is the name of the device that allows the lighting designer to create patterns or images with light?
(a) Gel
(b) Gobo
(c) Diffusion
(d) Lens
What is the term for the process of selecting actors for a production?
(a) Casting
(b) Blocking
(c) Rehearsing
(d) Staging
Which of the following is not a component of a musical?
(a) Songs
(b) Dialogue
(c) Dance
(d) Sketch comedy
Which of the following musicals features the song “Defying Gravity”?
(a) The Lion King
(b) Hamilton
(c) Wicked
(d) Chicago
Which of the following is a famous musical by composer Lin-Manuel Miranda?
(a) In the Heights
(b) Oklahoma!
(c) The Book of Mormon
(d) Cats
Which of the following is a famous German playwright?
(a) Anton Chekhov
(b) Henrik Ibsen
(c) August Strindberg
(d) Bertolt Brecht
What is the term for a theater that is designed to be round or oval-shaped, with the stage in the center and the audience seated around it?
(a) Proscenium theater
(b) Black box theater
(c) Thrust theater
(d) Arena theatre
What is the name of the first Latino theater company in the United States?
(a) El Teatro Campesino
(b) Repertorio Español
(c) Teatro de la Esperanza
(d) El Teatro de los Insurgentes
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What is the name of the theater company founded by Luis Valdez in 1965 that is dedicated to promoting Chicano culture and arts?
(a) El Teatro Campesino
(b) Teatro de la Esperanza
(c) Teatro Visión
(d) Teatro Visionario
Who wrote “The Mother of Henry,” a play about a mother’s struggle to keep her family together in the face of poverty and violence?
(a) Karen Zacarías
(b) María Irene Fornés
(c) Luis Alfaro
(d) Evelina Fernández
What is the name of the traditional Japanese theater form that features sparse sets, simple costumes, and mask-like makeup?
(a) Kabuki
(b) Noh
(c) Bunraku
(d) Kyogen
What is the name of the theater form that features short comedic sketches performed between Noh plays?
(a) Bunraku
(b) Kyogen
(c) Kabuki
(d) Butai
What is the name of the lighting instrument that creates a narrow, focused beam of light?
(a) Floodlight
(b) Spot
(c) Wash
(d) PAR can
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What is the name of the lighting position that is located above and behind the stage, shining down on the performers?
(a) Downstage
(b) Backlight
(c) Footlight
(d) Sidelight
What is the term for the part of the stage closest to the audience?
(a) Downstage
(b) Upstage
(c) Center stage
(d) Stage left
What is the term for the part of the stage farthest from the audience?
(a) Downstage
(b) Upstage
(c) Center stage
(d) Stage right
What is the term for the person who writes the music for a musical?
(a) Lyricist
(b) Composer
(c) Director
(d) Choreographer
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What is the term for the process of teaching actors the dance movements for a musical?
(a) Blocking
(b) Rehearsing
(c) Choreography
(d) Staging
What is the term for a play that is written to be performed in multiple languages?
(a) Bilingual play
(b) Multilingual play
(c) Translated play
(d) Adapted play
What is the term for the type of play that is intended to make the audience laugh?
(a) Drama
(b) Tragedy
(c) Comedy
(d) Farce
What is the term for the type of play that is intended to be emotionally intense and often ends in tragedy?
(a) Drama
(b) Tragedy
(c) Comedy
(d) Farce
What is the name of the Puerto Rican theater company founded in New York City in 1967 that is dedicated to promoting Puerto Rican and Latino culture?
(a) Pregones Theater
(b) Milagro Theatre
(c) Teatro SEA
(d) IATI Theater
Which of the following is not a component of Kabuki theater?
(a) Onnagata
(b) Chorus
(c) Shamisen
(d) Marionettes
Which of the following is not a type of theatrical lighting fixture?
(a) Ellipsoidal reflector spotlight (ERS)
(b) Fresnel spotlight
(c) Light-emitting diode (LED)
(d) Overhead projector
What is the name of the device that allows the lighting designer to control the intensity of a lighting instrument?
(a) Dimmer
(b) Timer
(c) Switchboard
(d) Transformer
What is the term for a rehearsal where actors practice without costumes, props, or sets?
(a) Dress rehearsal
(b) Technical rehearsal
(c) Run-through
(d) Table read
What is the term for the process of assigning actors to specific locations and movements on the stage?
(a) Casting
(b) Blocking
(c) Rehearsing
(d) Staging
What is the term for a musical that is based on a previously existing work, such as a book or movie?
(a) Original musical
(b) Revival
(c) Adaptation
(d) Mashup
What is the term for the style of theater that originated in 16th century Italy and involves exaggerated physical gestures and stock characters?
(a) Commedia dell’arte
(b) Grand guignol
(c) Expressionism
(d) Surrealism
Which of the following is not a major theme in Latino theater?
(a) Immigration
(b) Family
(c) Religion
(d) Politics
Which of the following is not a major Latino theater company?
(a) Teatro Bravo
(b) Repertorio Español
(c) Teatro Visión
(d) Goodman Theatre
What is the name of the theater form that combines puppetry with live music and storytelling?
(a) Bunraku
(b) Kyogen
(c) Noh
(d) Kabuki
What is the name of the traditional Japanese stage with a roof and pillars that are painted with intricate designs?
(a) Kabukiza
(b) Nohgakudo
(c) Hanamichi
(d) Higashiyama dochu
What is the name of the lighting instrument that creates a wide, soft beam of light?
(a) Floodlight
(b) Spot
(c) Wash
(d) PAR can
What is the term for the area where the audience sits?
(a) Balcony
(b) Lobby
(c) Auditorium
(d) Box office
What is the term for a song that is sung by a character in a musical when they express their innermost thoughts and emotions?
(a) Showstopper
(b) Ballad
(c) Soliloquy
(d) Duet
Which of the following is a famous French playwright?
(a) Samuel Beckett
(b) Jean-Paul Sartre
(c) Molière
(d) Friedrich Schiller
Which of the following is not a form of Latino theater?
(a) Teatro de la Oprimida
(b) Teatro Campesino
(c) Teatro del Barrio
(d) Commedia dell’Arte
Which of the following is not a common theme in Japanese theater?
(a) Samurai
(b) Ghosts and spirits
(c) Love and romance
(d) Modern technology
Which of the following is not a component of a lighting instrument?
(a) Housing
(b) Reflector
(c) Lens
(d) Footswitch
What is the term for the person responsible for coordinating all aspects of a production, including directing the actors and overseeing technical elements?
(a) Playwright
(b) Actor
(c) Producer
(d) Director
Which of the following is not a famous Latino playwright?
(a) Lin-Manuel Miranda
(b) Quiara Alegría Hudes
(c) Octavio Paz
(d) Tanya Saracho
Which of the following is not a common color filter used in theatrical lighting?
(a) Red
(b) Green
(c) Blue
(d) Black
What is the term for the person who designs and creates the costumes for a musical?
(a) Composer
(b) Choreographer
(c) Costume designer
(d) Stage manager
Which of the following is not a famous Kabuki play?
(a) “The Tale of Genji”
(b) “The Forty-Seven Ronin”
(c) “The Love Suicides at Sonezaki”
(d) “The Subscription List”
