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Melodrama

Total questions: 28

Worksheet time: 34mins

Name
Class
Date
1.

What does the word Melodrama actually mean?

a)

Drama that is mellow

b)

A musical

c)

Music Drama

2.

Which of these is not a characteristic of melodrama?

a)

Exaggeration

b)

Fight sequences

c)

mime

d)

happy ending

3.

In what country did Melodrama originate?

a)

Italy

b)

England

c)

America

d)

France

4.

In what decade was Melodrama most popular?

a)

1780

b)

1840

c)

1890

d)

1930

5.

What other style of theatre influenced Melodrama?

a)

Commedia D'ell Arte

b)

Elizabethan Theatre

c)

Pantomime

d)

Greek Theatre

6.

Which two revolutions came before Melodrama?

a)

French & American

b)

Spanish & French

c)

American & Australian

d)

French & German

7.

Why was music used in Melodrama?

a)

To encourage the audience to sing along

b)

To help the performers know what was coming next

c)

To make it funny

d)

To encourage emotional responses from the audience

8.

Melodramas usually feature exaggerated, stereotypical characters (e.g. the villain)

a)

True

b)

False

9.

Which of the following did Dionysius Bouciccault influence?

a)

International Copyright Agreement of 1886

b)

The Rise of American Melodrama

c)

International Licensing Agreement

d)

The Melodrama subgenre of dogs

10.

Which of these places is not a location where a melodrama might be set?

a)

In a house

b)

In a city

c)

By the Sea

d)

In a barn

11.

How do you spell the name of the word that describes a drama 'by the sea'?

a)

naudic

b)

naughtycryl

c)

norwetal

d)

nautical

12.

What era was melodrama most popular in?

a)

Greek times

b)

Victorian

c)

Elizabethan

d)

Modern Day

13.

Who is the founding father of Melodrama?

a)

Dionysius Bouciccault

b)

René-Charles Guilbert de Pixérécourt

c)

Daniell Carnicke de Bouciccault

d)

Renee Charles Gilbert

14.

Melodramas usually appeal to the emotions of the audience to get them involved (e.g. the boy and girl fall in love and the audience goes ‘aww!’)

a)

True

b)

False

15.

What is the licensing act of 1737?

4 lines
16.

Which of 2 of these are stock characters?

a)

Villain

b)

Narrator

c)

Child

d)

Damsel in Distress

e)

charlie Chaplin

17.

What are 'sensation scenes'

a)

Sensational scenery

b)

The climax at the end

c)

Horses on treadmills

d)

Moments of plot/stagecraft that leave the audience gasping

18.

THE SIDEKICK....

a)

Is in everyone's business and eager to share it

b)

Helps the hero save the day

c)

Evil, dishonest & greedy

19.

Which musical instrument traditionally accompanied the clown?

a)

Flute

b)

Bassoon

c)

Trumpet

d)

Cello

20.

TRUE OR FALSE? THE HERO IS ATTRACTIVE AND SAVES THE DAY.

a)

TRUE

b)

FALSE

21.

TRUE OR FALSE? HEROS CAN ALSO BE FEMALES.

a)

TRUE

b)

FALSE

22.

Which of these is a plot device regularly used in Melodrama?

a)

Lying Letters

b)

Police chases

c)

War

d)

Robbery

23.

Melodramas usually have exciting storylines that focus on simple moral plots (e.g. the fight between good and evil)

a)

True

b)

False

24.

To act in a Melodramatic style, you have to...

a)

Be overdramatic and exaggerated

b)

Use large facial expressions

c)

Be obvious in your character

d)

Use large gestures

25.

True or False: there is a subgenre of Dog Melodrama

a)

True

b)

False

26.

What were some of the reasons behind the rise of Melodrama?

a)

Mounting tensions after the revolution

b)

A need for illiterate theatre

c)

A newly urbanised working class

d)

The upper classes needed a form of escapism

27.

Why is the placement of Melodrama (in between revolutions and tensions) significant? How can we see that in Melodrama?

4 lines
28.

How is melodrama linked to realism?

4 lines