The Ultimate Theatre Quiz

Theatre is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers to present real or imagined events before a live audience, often on a stage. It is the oldest form of drama and includes elements of art such as painted scenery and stagecraft. Modern theatre includes performances of plays, musical theatre, ballet, and opera. Theatre originated in ancient Greece and was part of a broader culture of theatricality and performance that included festivals, religious rituals, politics, and law. Athenian tragedy, comedy, and the satyr play were the three types of drama in ancient Greece. Roman theatre was a thriving and diverse art form ranging from street theatre to the high-style tragedies of Seneca. The first form of Indian theatre was the Sanskrit theatre, which emerged between the 2nd century BCE and the 1st century CE and flourished between the 1st century CE and the 10th. East Asian theatre includes forms such as Kabuki, Nō, and Kyōgen, which were developed in the 17th century CE. Cantonese and Pekingese shadow puppetry were two distinct forms of shadow puppetry in China.A Brief History of Theatre

• Theatre has a long history, with evidence of performances dating back to ancient civilizations such as Greece and Rome.

• Different forms of theatre developed in different cultures, such as puppetry in China and Indonesia, and passion plays in medieval Islamic traditions.

• Theatre in the West evolved from poetic drama to a more naturalistic style of dialogue, with new forms of theatre emerging such as commedia dell'arte, melodrama, and musical theatre.

• Theatre in England experienced a pause during the Puritan Interregnum, but exploded with the Restoration of the Crown, with the introduction of women to the stage and the prioritization of seating in theatre houses.

• Theatre continued to evolve in the 19th and 20th centuries, with the emergence of Realism, Naturalism, Symbolism, and avant-garde movements such as Theatre of the Absurd.

• Drama is a specific mode of fiction represented in performance, and can be combined with music and dance.

• Musical theatre emerged from comic opera and other genres, with famous productions including My Fair Lady, West Side Story, and Hamilton.

• Comedies use humour to tell a story, while black comedy expresses bleak or taboo subject matter in a humorous way.

• Tragedy is a specific tradition of drama that has played a unique and important role historically in the self-definition of Western civilization.

• Theatre continues to be an important part of culture and entertainment today, with a wide range of genres and styles available to audiences.

• Theatre has the power to evoke strong emotions and create a sense of community and shared experience among audiences.

• Theatre is a collaborative art form, requiring the contributions of playwrights, actors, directors, designers, and many others to create a successful production.Theatre: A Comprehensive Overview

• Tragedy has been an important site of cultural experimentation, negotiation, struggle, and change for more than 2,500 years.

• Improvisation has been a consistent feature of theatre, with the Commedia dell'arte in the sixteenth century being recognised as the first improvisation form.

• Theatre has evolved a wide range of different theories and practices.

• The classical Greek philosopher Aristotle, in his seminal treatise, Poetics (c. 335 BCE) is the earliest-surviving example and its arguments have influenced theories of theatre ever since.

• Theatre presupposes collaborative modes of production and a collective form of reception.

• The production of plays usually involves contributions from a playwright, director, a cast of actors, and a technical production team.

• Stagecraft is a generic term referring to the technical aspects of theatrical, film, and video production.

• There are many modern theatre movements which go about producing theatre in a variety of ways.

• Repertory theatre involves a group of similarly accomplished actors, and relies more on the reputation of the group than on an individual star actor.

• A theatre company is an organisation that produces theatrical performances, as distinct from a theatre troupe (or acting company), which is a group of theatrical performers working together.

• Some performance groups perform in non-theatrical spaces.

• Theatre unions include Actors' Equity Association, the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, and the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers.