Life and Times of William Shakespeare
WEBQUEST
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Virtual Tour of Globe Theatre
The Globe Theatre
1. Who were the groundlings?
2. Why did the groundling particularly like the theatre?
3. What were the conditions like for the groundlings in the audience?
4. What did the audience do if they didn’t like the performance?
5.Where did the rich people sit?
6. What time did plays begin and end?
7. Why did the Puritans and city authorities view the theatre as immoral or bad?
8. What were the sanitary conditions like in London during Shakespeare’s day?
9. Why did many people think that Queen Elizabeth I was so clean?
10. Were there toilets at The Globe theatre?
11. What were playbills?
12. What were the closest seats to the stage called?
13. Explain what happened in the upper level in 1632 between Captain Essex and Lord Thurles.
14. Who were cutpurses and how did they get this name?
15. What was the punishment for people who were caught pick pocketing?
16. What signaled that the play was about to begin?
17. How did The Globe theatre burn down?
18. Other than the canon, what types of sound effects were used in the Globe?
FASHION
19. What did it mean if actors were doubling?
20. Who decided what you wore during the Elizabethan age?
21. What were middle class women forbidden to wear?
22. Color symbolism and clothing was important to express the emotions of actors. What did each of the
following colors symbolize:
Black:
Yellow:
White:
23. What were sumptuary laws?
24. From where did many of the acting companies get their costumes?
25. Since Shakespeare’s plays were performed on a stage with no scenery, how did the audience know the
setting?
26. What was the stage like at the Globe?
27. What were Theatre Companies?
28. What was the name of Shakespeare’s first company? Who was the patron?
29. Why did his company change names?
30. Other than a play writer, what other two roles did Shakespeare perform at the Globe?
31. From what source did the Globe obtain light?
32. What is a soliloquy?
33. When was bad behavior from the groundling frowned upon?
34. What was railing?
BACKSTAGE
35. What was the discovery space?
36. What were properties? What types of properties might companies have?
37. Who were the only people allowed to act during Shakespeare’s time?
38. What was Shakespeare’s social status within his society?
39. What were actors called during Shakespeare’s day?
40. What was the area below the stage used to represent in many plays?