Water on the Floorboards Quiz | Theatre

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. A recent adaptation of Mary Zimmerman's theatrical adaptation of Ovid's epic poem, dealing with the transformations that happen in life, was presented on a stage covered with a huge pool holding 5,000 gallons of water. What is the name of Zimmerman's play?

Answer: Metamorphoses

The huge pool is central to Zimmerman's vision, and its role changes from story to story within the presentation. First, it is a swimming pool, then a wash tub, later the River Styx and later still the sea. Perhaps the best known story of the tales told in "Metamorphoses" is that of Orpheus and Eurydice.

All of the other options noted come from Homer's tales and epic poems.

2. Perhaps the most famous recent theatrical production involving water in an original and central way is one of Cirque de Soleil's extravaganzas. Which of these is it?

Answer: O

The title of this show is "O". The only other title that is a Cirque de Soleil production of the choices given, is "Dralion", a cabaret-style show. "Water Music" is a classical symphony by Handel and "Agua" is the translation of the word "water" in Spanish.

"O"'s cast of acrobats, swimmers and divers perform using a 1.5 million-gallon pool at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas. For this reason, the show has not toured all over the United States and Canada, as have some of Cirque de Soleil's other shows; the physical requirements of the production are just too demanding. Every member of the cast is scuba-certified.

3. Another play that would go well with our theme of waterlogged adaptations is "Water by the Spoonful", 2012's winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Who wrote this work?

Answer: Quiara Alegria Hudes

Quiara Alegria Hudes is an American playwright well known for having won a Tony Award for her musical "In the Heights". "Water by the Spoonful" is the second play from the Elliot Trilogy. The narrative of the play follows the return of an Iraqi war veteran and the challenges he faces in returning to regular, civilian life.

4. "Seascape", by award-winning playwright Edward Albee, was a departure from his usual style because it incorporated elements of fantasy and comedy. In this play, what unusual creatures do the main couple encounter on a beach?

Answer: Lizards as big as human beings

"Seascape" opens on the beach with the main couple discussing their upcoming retirement and other relationship troubles only to bump into another couple, human sized lizards who act and talk like humans. The rest of the play involves the lizard couple trying to decide if they would prefer to stay on land or return to the sea and the human couple helping them out.

Opening on Broadway on 26th January, 1975 to not-so-rave initial reviews, the play featured Deborah Kerr, Barry Nelson and Frank Langella, with the latter winning a Tony Award for his performance. The play earned Albee his second Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

5. From the title it is easy to guess that Tina Howe's play "Coastal Disturbances" is set on a beach. Which part of the world is the play located in?

Answer: Massachusetts, USA

The play is set during the end of August on a private beach in the North Shore area of Massachusetts. With two acts covering a period of two weeks, the play explores various relationships, including that of an older couple and a pair of mothers with their young children, as well as the principal characters of a young photographer and her lifeguard lover.

"Coastal Disturbances" first premiered off-Broadway in 1986 before later moving to Broadway. The play won a nomination for Tony Award for Best Play but lost out to August Wilson's "Fences".

6. Sometimes it is the venue itself that adds a watery element to a theatrical production. Ground-breaking works by new playwrights, called PlayWorks, are staged alongside old classics like "White Christmas" and "Of Mice and Men" at a very original setting in New Jersey. Which of the following is the humid setting for these theatrical gems?

Answer: The Weehawken Water Tower

The only option of those listed that has been repurposed as a theatre and art gallery is the Weehawken Water Tower, which was built in 1883 by the Hackensack Water Company. The tower was originally held up to 165,000 gallons of water from the reservoir.

It is an impressive 175 feet high. The town of Weehawken, New Jersey, decided to remodel the tower's ground floor and the floor above it to hold art and historical exhibits, along with hosting theatrical works.

7. Certain cultures celebrate performances in the water. Which of the following Asian countries is an innovator in puppetry performed in the water?

Answer: Vietnam

Water puppetry has been a tradition in Vietnam for 1000 years, though it was mostly a rural cultural venue until 1958, when the first puppetry companies brought this magical and joyful style to the capital city of Hanoi. The shows are performed at a pond, a lake, a swimming pool or a water stage designed for this purpose. And if you can't travel to Vietnam to witness the magic of puppetry incorporating a glittering water area alongside the audience, the genre is now available on videotape, DVD, BlueRay and on television.

8. Which of the following wrote the play "On Golden Pond", which looked at the lives of an elderly couple who spent their summers at their lakefront house in a United States town?

Answer: Ernest Thompson

"On Golden Pond" took a look at the lives of elderly couple Ethel and Norman Thayer and the conflicts that arose when their daughter visited them one summer along with her fiance. The play was later adapted into a film earning an Oscar for Thompson in the Best Adapted Screenplay category.

Apart from being a playwright, Thompson has also tried his hand at acting and direction, though he has never again explored a water-central setting.

9. Canada is no less a sponsor of water-themed works than are other countries. Which playwright won the Canadian Authors Association Literary Award for Drama, the Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding New Play, and the Hollywood Drama-Logue Critics' Award in 1985 for a play set in the 1920's called "Salt-Water Moon"?

Answer: David French

French's magical play is set alongside the shore in Newfoundland, and is the story of one man's quest to win his former lover's heart again, even though she is engaged to a wealthy suitor. The boy hopes that the salt-water moon will help him convince her to believe in first love once more.

The other authors mentioned are all Canadians, but they did not write "Salt-Water Moon".

10. There's something about the number seven that recalls the Seven Seas. Which ambitious work combined seven short plays with watery themes in an original way?

Answer: At the Water's Edge

Each of the seven short plays that make up "At the Water's Edge" explored a different aspect of life in and on the water. The problem, according to some critics, is that the seven works as a whole were a bit long to be presented together. The most notable of the plays were "Sausages", "Walking Dead" and "The Sunburnt Country".

These plays evoked the water in their themes, but didn't include actual water in their staging and production.

Source: Author shuehorn

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor looney_tunes before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

Water on the Floorboards Trivia Quiz

The Four Winds have gone to the theatre and are reviewing plays which have been produced and presented in ways that are wet and watery. Come along with us, and bring your galoshes. We wouldn't want you to slip on those floorboards!

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