Actor's Toolbox
What part of the Actor's Toolbox does a pantomime artist typically NOT use?
Voice
TRUE OR FALSE: If the carpet is a stage that faces the wall with the TV, the students sitting on the front row would be considered DOWNSTAGE.
True
TRUE OR FALSE: A dialogue is when one person on stage is talking or giving a speech by themselves.
FALSE. A monologue is when one person on stage is talking by themselves.
(Bonus +100: what is it called when two or more people on stage are talking)
What other style of art is VERY similar to Pantomime?
Dance
Name the 4 main types of puppets.
Rod, Shadow, Marionette, Hand
(+100 bonus EACH: name how each puppet is controlled)
What is the least important part of the Actor's toolbox to a puppeteer?
Face
True or False: The offstage areas on either side of the stage used to hide actors who are waiting to enter are called ARMS.
FALSE.
(+100 Bonus: What are those areas called?)
What is the special picture that actor's use in order to help casting directors remember who they are and also are used in playbills to help show audiences who the actors are on stage?
A. Headshot
B. Headcount
C. Selfie
A. Headshot
What country did pantomime start in?
Greece
What is an example of a famous Hand-and-Rod Puppet?
Elmo, Miss Piggy, Kermit, etc.
Which of these is not a part of the Actor's Toolbox:
A. Imagination
B. Voice
C. Movement
D. Face
C. Movement
(Bonus: What do we call the part of the Actor's Toolbox that utilizes movement?)
This part of the stage extends past the proscenium arch and curtain towards the audience, and is often used for more intimate moments like monologues and solo songs in a show. (hint: It also shares a name with a piece of clothing often worn in a kitchen)
Apron
A Play or Musical is made up of typically 2 or 3 ______.
A. Acts
B. Scenes
C. Stories
A. Acts
(Bonus +100: Do scenes make up acts or do acts make up scenes?)
True or False: Mimed objects can change size, weight, shape, and do not have to stay in the spot that they were last interacted with.
FALSE.
(Bonus +100: What is another rule of effective pantomime?)
How many people does it take to operate a Live-Hand Puppet?
2
(Bonus +100 pts: Name an example of a famous Live-Hand puppet)
What are the 4 main parts of our actors toolbox?
Voice, Body, Face, Imagination
If my entire room was a stage facing the TV, the corner with my costume rack would be considered what stage direction?
Upstage Right
(Bonus 100+: What is the shorthand for that direction?)
A ______ is a booklet passed out at the beginning of a show, and it features a flashy cover that shows the title and a picture that often hints at what the play is about. It also houses all the information about the actors in the production, who directed it, what the musical numbers are called, and more.
Playbill.
(Bonus +100: What is the difference between a script and a playbill?
What is the name of the famous French pantomime artist, who is widely considered the father of modern pantomime?
Marcel Marceau
(+100 pts: What was the one line that he spoke in the movie about making silent films?)
What CONTINENT did Shadow Puppetry start in?
Asia
Pick a performance you have seen (could be movie, tv, or live theatre performance) and describe how an actor in that performance utilized ONE part of their actor's toolbox. Be as descriptive as possible as to what they did to show masterful use of that part of the actor's toolbox.
I'm looking for an answer that is coherent, descriptive, more than a couple words, and is correct (:
What is the seating called in a theatre that floats above the bottom level?
A. Mezzaluna
B. Mezzanine
C. Mozzarella
B. Mezzanine
(+100 Bonus: What ARE the exclusive seats up and off to the sides that fancy people sit in called?)
Curtains up on a muddy swamp. The place looks old and worn. An eery 'Beware of Ogre' sign sits downstage right. Centerstage sits a creaky-old outhouse, carved out of a large oak.
Was this an example of stage directions or setting?
Setting.
(Bonus +100pts: What is this called?
Shrek slams the outhouse door open quickly, stepping out and stretching wide while yawning. He surveys his home with much satisfaction. "All Star" by Smash Mouth starts to play.)
What is the ITALIAN name of the famous Pantomime style that started in Italy, in which a traveling group of actors would go from town to town performing pantomimes based off of Ancient Roman plays, often setting up their stage in the middle of a town square?
Commedia Dell' Arte
(Bonus +100pts: if you can tell me what that name translates to in English)
On a marionette, a puppeteer holds the _______, which controls the strings that controls the marionette.
Control Bar or Base
(Bonus 100+: The famous Italian Marionette character Pulcinella was named after an animal because of his very unique voice. What animal was he named after?)