Ancient Greece
Theater started in Greece as a big festival honoring this god of wine and party music.
Who is Dionysus?
Instead of quiet plays, Romans loved huge outdoor action events inside this massive stadium in Rome.
What is the Colosseum?
After the fall of Rome, theater came back to Europe inside these religious buildings to teach people stories from the Bible.
What are churches?
Shakespeare's famous outdoor theater in London was built in this round shape so the audience could sit all around the stage.
What is the Globe Theatre?
The most famous street in New York City for giant musical plays and theater shows is called this.
What is Broadway?
This ancient Greek singer was the first person to step out of the choir and speak individual lines, making him the world's very first actor.
Who is Thespis?
Roman crowds loved this style of performance where actors used only physical movements and body language—no talking allowed!
What is Pantomime?
Actors traveled from neighborhood to neighborhood performing short plays on top of these giant wooden parade wagons.
What are Pageant Wagons?
People who paid just one penny to stand in the muddy area right in front of the stage were called this.
What are Groundlings?
Modern plays that try to show real people speaking and acting like everyday life belong to this style of theater.
What is Realism?
Greek actors wore these oversized items on their faces so people in the back row of a giant outdoor arena could tell how their character felt.
What are masks?
Roman comedies introduced recognizable "stock characters," including this character type who was usually way smarter than their rich boss.
Who is the clever servant (or slave)?
Medieval stage crew members created special effects like fake fire, trap doors, and flying angels, calling them by this fun name.
What are "Secrets"?
Because girls and women were not legally allowed to act on stage in Shakespeare's time, these performers played the female roles.
Who are young boys?
This major award show is like the Oscars, but specifically honors the absolute best actors and shows on Broadway.
What are the Tony Awards?
In Greek plays, this group of performers stood together, sang, danced, and gave advice to the main characters.
What is the Chorus?
Roman plays were famous for using huge fabric curtains that lowered into a groove in the floor at this time during the show.
What is the start (or beginning) of the play?
These medieval plays taught lessons on how to be a good person by creating characters with names like "Friendship" and "Everyman."
What are Morality Plays?
Shakespeare wrote his famous plays during the rule of this powerful English queen.
Who is Queen Elizabeth I?
In modern theater, this term refers to the invisible "wall" between the actors on stage and the audience watching in their seats.
What is the Fourth Wall?
Greek plays came in two main styles: comedies that made people laugh, and these sad plays where main characters faced big downfall.
What are Tragedies?
This funny Roman writer wrote comedies about mistaken identity that Shakespeare later copied when writing The Comedy of Errors.
Who is Plautus?
Plays about the miracles performed by religious heroes and saints were known by this name.
What are Miracle Plays?
Theater superstition says it is bad luck to say the title of this spooky Shakespeare play inside a theater, so actors call it "The Scottish Play."
What is Macbeth?
This Norwegian writer, known as the "Father of Realism," wrote A Doll's House and changed how modern plays were written.
Who is Henrik Ibsen?