Performing Arts Trivia

1. The first record of an appearance by Punch in the UK was made by which diarist?

From Quiz That's the Way to Do it!

Answer: Samuel Pepys

He records seeing a show put on by an Italian showman in Covent Garden.

From Quiz What I Learned as a Theater Minor!

Answer: Green Room

The "Green Room" is the waiting room or lounge used by actors and performers who are preparing to go on stage. In the early years of theater the green room was literally a green-painted room. One story suggests that the Blackfriars Theater in 16th century England had a green room and thus the name stuck through future generations. Some theaters often had multiple green rooms catering to actors of different seniority and status. Another oft-cited reason for the term green room relates to medieval dramas being performed on the grass of the village green. One other suggestion is that "green room" is actually a corruption of the term "scene room" which is a place backstage where scenery and props were held and also perhaps a waiting place for actors offstage.

From Quiz Kabuki Theater

Answer: Tokugawa Shogunate

The Tokugawa Shogunate was the last shogunate in Japan's feudal period, lasting from 1600 until 1868. The Shogunate ended when Tokugawa Yoshinobu, the last Shogun, resigned his position with no successor. Shoguns were technically military leaders and held all political power while the Emperor was ceremonial. With the resignation tendered to the Meiji Emperor, the Emperor was recognized as the head of government, although technically he was still just a figurehead.

From Quiz He's Behind You!

Answer: Greek

The word comes from the Greek 'pantos', meaning 'all', and 'mimos', meaning actor. The name of pantomime originally referred to the performer rather than the performance, but the meaning gradually changed. The original pantomimes were popular in the ancient world, although no records remain of the original content.

From Quiz Assorted Performing Arts

Answer: Minoan

The Minoan civilisation was at its height during the Bronze Age of mankind. It rose on the island of Crete and covered a time period from the 27th until the 15th century BCE. Part of Minoan religious culture centred around bulls and the art of bull leaping, and much of this ancient civilisation's surviving artwork depicts both male and female highly trained acrobats, many of whom were priests or priestesses, partaking in this unusual practice. Acrobatics evolved from that time over the centuries to become an entertainment spectacle with a focus on entertainment and theatrical enjoyment rather than any religious purpose.

From Quiz So, You Want to Be an Actor?

Answer: improvisation

"Don't go to New York and study. Don't act. OK? Just, you know- do it. Don't act it, don't show it- just do it." That's what James Dean said to Dennis Hopper during the filming of the "Chickie Run" scene in "Rebel Without A Cause." Hopper wanted to know how Dean could "just do it," and asked Dean if he should go to New York to study acting.

From Quiz A Brief History of Mime

Answer: Greek

History shows that Pantomimos was the first to perform a version of miming. From the "mimos" section of the word has evolved words like mime, mimic, as well as imitate.

From Quiz "The Lion King" on Broadway -Costumes and Puppets

Answer: 250

According to puppet supervisor Anne Salt, who was part of the original behind-the-scenes crew for "The Lion King," there are over 250 masks and puppets used throughout the show.

From Quiz Don Juan in the Arts

Answer: Thomas Shadwell

The date of the play was 1676. Shadwell later figured in John Dryden's "MacFlecnoe."

From Quiz Mime - The World's Worst Art Form

Answer: The Greeks

Yes, the Greeks gave us many things that are important and good. And they gave us mime. The first recorded example was a dancer called Telestes, who started miming in the middle of an otherwise enjoyable performance. History does not record what sort of objects the audience threw at him.

From Quiz That's the Way to Do it!

Answer: Pulliciniello

His name may have come from the Italian 'Pulcino' meaning chicken, referencing the fact that he had a large beaklike nose and squeaky voice.

From Quiz Kabuki Theater

Answer: Original performers were all women and now kabuki is only performed by men.

From 1603 to 1629, both male and female roles in Kabuki were only performed by women. One of the early appeals of Kabuki was the often ribald performances by the cast. In 1629 it was made illegal in Japan for women to perform in Kabuki plays. Currently all male and female roles are performed by men, except in a few extraordinary cases.

From Quiz He's Behind You!

Answer: Mummers

The mummers' plays involved groups of actors travelling from house to house, or visiting public houses, to perform their plays. They involved disguises and battles between good and evil, themes which have found their way into the modern pantomime.

From Quiz Assorted Performing Arts

Answer: Minstrels

Busking is the art of performing in open areas in public places, sometimes excruciatingly so, and often times without any rehearsal at all. A good busker, however, devotes as much time to learning and perfecting his or her art as any performer in controlled environments such as theatres or circus rings. Other names by which buskers were known, and sometimes still are, include street performers, street musicians, troubadours and minstrels. The last two terms however refer more to a distant past, and are associated more with eras such as the Middle Ages in European history.

From Quiz "The Lion King" on Broadway -Costumes and Puppets

Answer: A "slinky" toy

Puppet designer Michael Curry designed Zazu with a baby slinky inside his neck to enable the actor controlling him to create "wave-like" motions during certain scenes and increase the overall flexibility of the puppet.

From Quiz Don Juan in the Arts

Answer: Moliere

The opera was written by Gluck (1714-87) with scenario by Ranieri Calzabigi. Moliere's title means, "Don Juan, or the stone feast."

From Quiz Mime - The World's Worst Art Form

Answer: Christianity

I've never thought Christianity had a great deal to recommend it, but banning mime has to be one of the Christian church's finest moments. It seems they thought it was "indecent".

From Quiz That's the Way to Do it!

Answer: Slapstick

A 'slapstick' is basically two wooden slats which produce an audible sound which would cause virtually no physical harm to anybody struck by it. Its origin probably goes back to Shakespearean times. Slapstick generally refers today to an exaggerated activity resulting in a humorous situation.

From Quiz What I Learned as a Theater Minor!

Answer: Props

A property, often shortened to the word prop, is any moveable and portable commodity utilized in the execution of a theatrical performance. For example, costumes, furniture, accessories, household goods, and even food are all considered as property in a theater production. The "Oxford English Dictionary" used the actual term "props" for the first time in 1841. However, the earliest accepted use of props in theater were likely the Onkoi hand-held masks used in Greek drama productions. The onkoi (comedy and tragedy masks) remain a symbol of the performing arts even today.

From Quiz Kabuki Theater

Answer: Women performers were available as prostitutes

The suggestive and ribald performances were popular and the parts were played by prostitutes. The fact that the performers doubled as prostitutes was the major reason that women were legally barred from performing in kabuki theater. Rather than outlaw the prostitution practices themselves, the shogunate barred women from being actors.

From Quiz He's Behind You!

Answer: Drury Lane

Both the Theatre Royal, in Drury Lane, and Lincoln's Inn Fields Theatre put on productions which included a serious performance to begin with, and finishing with a comic interlude. The early pantomimes were actual mimes, with no speaking, as only some theatres were licensed for speech. The performances were called 'dumb shows'.

From Quiz "The Lion King" on Broadway -Costumes and Puppets

Answer: Bunraku

Timon is a classic example of Bunraku puppetry, where the actor externally controls a 2 1/2-4 foot tall puppet in front of him via rods and levers.

From Quiz Don Juan in the Arts

Answer: The Stone Guest

The opera was first performed in 1872 by Alexandr Sergeyevich Dargomyzhsky, completed after his death by Cui and Rimsky-Korsakov.

From Quiz Trivia for Dummies

Answer: Tells him how to commit burglary

In "Caesar and Me", Jackie Cooper stars as a ventriloquist who can't make ends meet so Caesar directs him so that he can commit several small robberies. He finally bungles a job and is turned over to the police by the bratty neighbor child, who then becomes the owner of Caesar. And they have big plans as soon as the young lady gets rid of her aunt.

From Quiz That's the Way to Do it!

Answer: Swazzle

A Swazzle (also known as a Swozzle, Schwazzle or Swatchel) consists of two strips of metal with a reed between them. With practice, passing air over the reeds causes it to vibrate, producing the rasping voice of Punch. By moving the tongue around, several different 'voices' can be produced for different characters.

From Quiz Kabuki Theater

Answer: Onna-kabuki was all female cast, while wakusha-kabuki was cast with all young boys

Kabuki quickly accepted the banning of women from its performances and began to cast younger boys in all of the male and female roles. This may be because kabuki was originally performed by females, and younger males in Japan at the time looked somewhat similar to female actors.

From Quiz He's Behind You!

Answer: Harlequinade

The traditional characters of early pantomime were Harlequin and Columbine, who was loved by Harlequin. Supporting characters were Pantaloon, usually portrayed as being Columbine's father, Pierrot and a clown. Harlequin's traditional costume included his diamond checked trousers, with Pierrot being dressed in white with his face in white makeup.

From Quiz Assorted Performing Arts

Answer: Jugglers were accused of practising witchcraft

The skill of juggling has been found depicted on various pieces of pottery and walls of tombs going right back to 2700 BC. In the early part of the Roman Empire it was still a popular means of entertainment, but when that empire began to decline, jugglers, known as gleemen then, were also a casualty. They were accused of being immoral and practising witchcraft. It would be several hundred years before they re-emerged as a form of public entertainment, and for some time after that, jugglers were mainly associated with circus acts. By 1947 an International Jugglers Association had been formed, and, by the year 2000, an annual World Juggling Day was being celebrated right around the globe.

From Quiz A Brief History of Mime

Answer: White face

Many early mimes felt more comfortable performing behind masks, however Jean-Gaspard found this interfered with his act, and therefore decided to paint his mask on.

From Quiz Don Juan in the Arts

Answer: Halloween

The author, Jose Zorrilla y Moral, has Don Juan repenting of his evil lifestyle.

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