Sing!
Buskers were referred to by this term from approximately 1860 in European countries. Up until this time, however, by which term were these street performers usually known?
a. Spontanes
b. Live wires
c. Minstrels
d. Yellers
Minstrels!
Other names by which buskers were known, and sometimes still are, include street performers, street musicians, troubadours, and minstrels. The last two terms refer more to a distant past and are associated more with eras such as the Middle Ages in European history.
Dancing is a performing art whose beginnings are impossible to date with any degree of accuracy. Of the following choices, what was one of the purposes of early dance?
a. To break in horses
b. To mourn the loss of crops
c. To trap wild animals
d. To relate cultural myths
To relate cultural myths!
Dance is so old that a form of it has even been depicted on ancient artifacts such as engraved stone tools and on the walls of caves.
Acting, the art of portraying a story by trained thespians to an audience, dates back to which era in history?
a. Early Polynesia
b. Ancient Greece
c. Ancient Britain
d. Ancient Rome
Ancient Greece!
The first individual actor whose name became well known among audiences of the time was one Thespis of Icaria. It is from his name that the word thespian derives. Prior to that gentleman, acting roles were portrayed by a chorus - groups of people who spoke as one. The standard for chorus numbers became fifteen for tragedies and twenty-four for comedies. All acting right up to the 20th century was carried out live, in front of, hopefully, appreciative audiences. It required skills such as voice projection (no microphones until electricity came along), clear enunciation, the ability to perhaps overly express various emotions by gesture and facially, so that audiences could see clearly, and excellent body language. With the advent of moving pictures and film, where acting is performed in front of a camera, rather than a living audience, far more subtlety of acting skill is required, along with a lessening of the dramatic gesture and facial expression. There is even today a vast difference in the skills required for acting in front of a camera and acting live on stage in front of an audience.
The skill of acrobatics has been entertaining audiences for centuries. In the art of which ancient culture have acrobats been portrayed performing their skills on the back of bulls?
a. Minoan
b. Indigenous
c. Russian
d. Australian Aboriginal
Minoan!
The Minoan civilization was at its heigh during the Bronze Age of humans. It rose on the island of Crete and covered a time period from the 27th to the 15th centuries BCE. Part of Minoan religious culture centered around bulls and the art of bull leaping and much of this ancient civilization's surviving artwork depicts both male and female highly trained acrobats, many of whom were priests or priestesses, partaking in this unusual practice.
Opera is a performance skill described as art, architecture, music, theatre, text and materials are all combined to produce a story for an audience. In which country did opera, as we know it today, first begin?
a. Egypt
b. England
c. Greece
d. Italy
Italy!
The word "opera" is an Italian word itself. It translates as "work" - and work it is. It takes years and years for a singer to be trained and considered skilled enough to perform the great works of opera on stage. Though "Euridice" by Peri, dating back to 1600, is the oldest surviving operatic score known, it is not the first opera ever written. The first opera still to be performed regularly, even well into the 21st century, is "L'Orfeo" by Monteverdi. That was written in 1607.
Who is best known for using do - re - mi scales for early sight reading training?
a. Bach
b. Mozart
c. Beethoven
d. Kodaly
Kodaly!
While some musical scholars credit an Italian monk, Guido d'Arezzo, as being the creator of solfege syllables, Zoltan Kodaly is perhaps best known for using and popularizing the "sol-fa syllables" as a way to give a syllabic meaning to each note of the scale.They are very helpful in learning to read music.
Which country gave birth to the art of ballet?
a. Greece
b. Russia
c. Sweden
d. Italy
Italy!
Ballet rose to become one of the performing arts in the royal courts of Italy during the Renaissance period. The early steps of the dance were simply derivations of the polite court dances of the time, and costumes were nothing like we see on stage today during a traditional ballet performance. Women in particular were hampered by the fact that they had to wear formal gowns that reached right down to their dainty ankles. It would have been difficult to achieve a high graceful leap in one such. Early ballet was also linked by a narrative which provided the missing parts of the action - and each new act was delivered along with a different course on the menu. This led to many early ballet performances stretching over many hours for the weary dancers. Over time, of course, ballet has emerged as more professional, less elaborate, shorter, and minus the accompanying menu, and has become the displays of delicate grace, strength and beauty we see on our stages today.
In the art of live performances, what was a stock character?
a. A character portraying a typical emotion or stereotype
b. A character that is killed off early
c. A character who held up signs so the audience would know how to react
d. The person in charge of costumes
A character portraying a typical emotion or stereotype!
Way back in the early days of Greek drama, stock characters were identified by an audience by the masks they wore to portray specific emotions of stereotypes. Some of these included the boastful impostor, the clown, the villain, the hero and so on. These stock characters also often wore clothing to indicate their role in any production as well. For example, hose portraying servants wore short sleeved tunics, those portraying farmers or shepherds always carried a crook, and kings always held a sceptre. These identifying character marks evolved over time to become part of the dialogue itself instead, along with the acting skills necessary to bring them to life.
Juggling has been around for several thousand years. During the decline of the Roman empire, however, this art was banned. Why was this?
a. Jugglers were accused of poisoning generals
b. Jugglers were thought to carry the plague
c. Jugglers were accused of distracting their audience and then stealing their belongings
d. Jugglers were accused of practicing witchcraft
Jugglers were accused of practicing 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.
Break dancing, popular in the 1980s, originated from where in the US?
a. LA
b. Brooklyn
c. Bronx
d. Las Vegas
Bronx!
This acrobatic and energetic type of dance, usually performed to rap or hip-hop music, originated in the south Bronx, New York, in the late 1970s. Moves such as head-spinning or moon-walking could be performed individually or in competition.
Which of the following famous music figures composed perhaps the most famous piece of music dedicated to a fish?
a. Wolfgang Mozart
b. Franz Schubert
c. Johannes Brahms
d. Claude Debussy
Franz Schubert!
Franz Schubert (Vienna 1797 - 1828) wrote the Trout Music quintet in 1819 in the mountains (Die Forelle) after observing the "capricious trout" in the stream. It was a classic example of a simple theme and variations upon that theme. Schubert was incredibly prolific during his brief life but died of typhoid fever in Vienna leaving 600 songs and operas, including one of the most played, the "Unfinished Symphony", written in 1822.
The key to dancing hula beautifully is to keep your upper body stable while swaying your hips. How can this be achieved?
a. Keep your back loose and let it sway freely
b. Keep your legs straight and stiff
c. Bend your knees and keep a low centre of gravity
d. Bend over forward at the waist
Bend your knees and keep a low centre of gravity!
Most imitations of hula involve someone gyrating wildly or undulating their body like a snake. The true beauty of hula comes from keeping your upper body stable, which can only be done if your knees are bent to allow the legs to move freely.
Most hula lessons involved basic step practice for the first half of the class. That's how important the lower body is to hula.
Althought James I authorized the King's Players to play at Blackfriars in 1608, they were unable to open until December, 1609. Why?
a. Construction on Blackfriars wasn't complete yet
b. Blackfriars burned down
c. A revolt
d. An outbreak of the plague
An outbreak of the plague!
During this time period, all public theatres had been shut down in England. The only dramatic performances took place in private theatres that were owned and operated with the king's authorization. Blackfriars was one such theatre (built in 1596).
Magic is another performing art that has fascinated people for several thousand years. What is another name for a magician?
a. Magicker
b. Wizard
c. Illusionist
d. Disillusionist
Illusionist!
The word "magic" dates right back to early Greek and Persian days, where it was often associated with the power that priests were believed to possess. For a long period in history, this skill became associated with the darker arts and was often used to frighten and control uneducated people. It was also associated with witchcraft in this regard. The practice of modern magic as a means of entertainment and enjoyment began with one Jean Robert-Houdin (1805-1871) when that clockmaker by trade opened a theatre in Paris in the 1840s. There he displayed various magical tricks by means of hidden mechanisms. Since that time, the performing art of magic has never looked back.
Where was the first play performed?
a. The Theatre of Dionysus in Athens
b. The Globe Theatre in London
c. The Teatro Olimpico Theatre in Vicenza
d. The Roman Theater of Orange, France
The Theatre of Dionysus in Athens!
The first plays were performed with just one actor (called a protagonist) and a chorus of people who helped him to tell the story.
She was the queen of them all, the ultimate jazz vocalist. They called her "The First Lady of Song". Who else could take a nursery rhyme and turn it into a classic tune, which is now in the Grammy Hall of Fame? Remember "A-Tisket, A-Tasket"? Can you name the lady?
a. Dee Dee Bridgewater
b. Abbey Lincoln
c. Ella Fitzgerald
d. Etta James
Ella Fitzgerald!
During a career that spanned almost sixty years, she won 13 Grammy Awards, and was the recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the National Medal of Art. She got her break at the Apollo Theater in Harlem and was hired to sing with Chick Webb's band. One of her best-known hits from that time, "A-Tisket, A-Tasket", was co-written by Ella herself. As bebop became popular, Ella began to include scat singing in her performances. She recorded some legendary music during this period. "How High the Moon" "Oh Lady Be Good" and "I Got It Bad (And That Ain't Good)" are a few of her classic recordings. She sang ballads, swing, pop and jazz, superb in every genre.
Where dance the dance style "tinikling" come from?
a. Philippines
b. New Zealand
c. Kenya
d. Ireland
Philippines!
A folk dance in the Philippines, tinikling is performed by two people who beat a rhythm on the ground with bamboo sticks, and one or more dancers who step over and between the poles. Originating during the time of Spanish colonization in the Philippines, the dancing can be accompanied by a type of Spanish music known as rondalla, which means "serenade". The dance was inspired by the buff-banded rail, a bird known in the Philippines as a "tikling".
Both the Theatre Royal Drury Lane in London and the Paris Opera's Palais Garnier theater are reputed to be haunted. Shakespeare's "Macbeth" is reputed to be haunted. In a theatre, what is the ghost light?
a. A lamp which projects the image of a ghost on a curtain
b. A single-bulb electric lamp left burning on-stage when the theatre is otherwise totally dark
c. A UV-A light which causes certain surfaces to fluoresce
d. A light at the back of the stage which casts a sort of halo around an actor from behind
A single-bulb electric lamp left burning on-stage when the theatre is otherwise totally dark!
The ghost light has a practical purpose: it allows a person who arrives in the dark or who leaves after the lights are extinguished to walk safely. It is sometimes called an "equity lamp" on the theory that it was required by the Actors' Equity Association. It also serves a supernatural purpose: theatre folk can be superstitious and some hold that the ghost light mollifies ghosts who might otherwise engage in mischief.
Who was Richard Rodgers' songwriting partner before he teamed up with Oscar Hammerstein II?
a. Frank Loesser
b. Lorenz Hart
c. E.Y. Harburg
d. Dorothy Fields
Lorenz Hart!
A quick list of some of their songs indicates just how prolific and important Rodgers and Hart were: "Isn't It Romantic", "Where Or When", "My Funny Valentine", and "Johnny One Note"
Where is the famous Beatles Abbey Road crossing in London?
a. Hampstead
b. Regent's Park
c. Westminster
d. St. John's Wood
St. John's Wood!
Abbey Road was the last set of material to be produced by all four Beatles.
In March of 1972, this solo artist would forego some of his previous music groups and put out his album masterpiece "Harvest". From this came his only Number One, titled "Heart of Gold". Who was this singer/songwriter?
a. Graham Nash
b. Stephen Stills
c. Neil Young
d. David Crosby
Neil Young!
After the success of "Harvest", Young shied away from the mainstream limelight. He chose to make the music he wanted, not what the masses wished to hear.
Which one of these is not a type of dance specifically for men in a powwow?
a. Traditional Dance
b. Straight Dance
c. Buckskin Dance
d. Grass Dance
Buckskin Dance!
The Buckskin Dance is a dance that is reserved for woman. The Buckskin Dance is so named because of the beautiful buckskin dresses the women wear. In the Northern Style of the Dance, the women wear most of their upper shawl with beads, while in the Southern Style dress, the woman only use the beads to accent the dress. The Buckskin dance is slow and poised as the women circle the drum.
What is it called when a singer produces a loud sound in his/her mid to upper range?
a. Screaming
b. Belting
c. Conveying
d. Singing with feeling
Belting!
There are three vocal registers; the chest voice, which one uses when talking, and allows any singer to produce a powerful sound, the middle voice, and the head voice, which is the higher part of the vocalist's range. In order to produce a strong head voice, a person must have vocal training to practice muscle coordination. When a singer employs the technique of belting, they bring their chest voice to the middle or head voice range. This is commonly used to convey emotional feelings, however, it is important to remember that belting without the proper training may damage one's voice.
What was the original name of Broadway?
a. Light Avenue
b. The Great White Way
c. Theatre District
d. Actor's Lane
The Great White Way!
The Theatre District was one of the first streets in New York to be fully illuminated by white electric bulbs in the 1890s, thus giving rise to the nickname "The Great White Way".
Where will you find the largest collection of costumes in the world?
a. The Globe Theatre in London
b. Ramoji Film City in India
c. Warner Brothers Studio in Hollywood
d. Disney World in Florida
Disney World!
They have a record 1.2 million costumes!