Ten questions on live performance across several traditions, each with the origin of the term explained.
Theatre and dance carry a large specialist vocabulary that audiences absorb without ever being told what it means. This quiz supplies the definitions: what a soliloquy is, what a proscenium describes, why performers avoid wishing each other luck. It covers Greek drama, Shakespeare\'s stage, Japanese kabuki and classical ballet. The explanations trace each term to its origin, which is more often a practical stage requirement than an artistic one.
Every question in this quiz is listed below with its correct answer and the reasoning behind it. Play first if you would rather not see the answers — or read through as a study sheet.
Play it insteadAnswer: D. The Globe
Why: The Globe opened on Bankside in 1599 and burned down in 1613 during a performance. A reconstruction opened nearby in 1997.
Answer: D. French
Why: Ballet was codified at the French court under Louis XIV, who danced himself. The vocabulary stayed French even as Italy and Russia developed the form further.
Answer: B. A character speaking their thoughts alone on stage
Why: It lets an audience hear a character's private reasoning. An aside differs in being a brief remark while others remain present.
Answer: D. To convey character and project the voice
Why: Exaggerated features were readable from the back of very large amphitheatres. The mouth opening also helped carry the voice.
Answer: C. Good luck
Why: Wishing luck directly is considered unlucky in theatre, so a substitute is used. Several competing origin stories exist and none is settled.
Answer: B. Argentina
Why: It developed in the working-class districts of Buenos Aires in the late nineteenth century, with Uruguay sharing the tradition. It was initially regarded as disreputable.
Answer: C. The arch framing the stage opening
Why: It creates the frame through which the audience views the action. Thrust and in-the-round staging deliberately abandon it.
Answer: A. Japan
Why: Kabuki dates from the seventeenth century and is known for stylised movement and elaborate makeup. All roles have long been performed by male actors.
Answer: B. Designing the movement and sequences of a dance
Why: The choreographer creates and arranges the movement. In many companies the role is separate from that of the director.
Answer: A. The imagined barrier between performers and audience
Why: Three walls are physically built and the fourth is imagined where the audience sits. Addressing the audience directly is called breaking it.
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