Week 1: History of Entertainment Industry - 19th Century (1830s-1910) Flashcards
Variety shows
-began around the 1830s
-no single thematic plot
-stage entertainment that combined different genres (e.g. sketch comedy, stand up comedy, and musical performances)
Minstrel shows
-form of entertainment popular in the mid-19th century that relied on stock characters and had a 3-act structure
-consisted of white actors perfoming in blackface
*What was the cultural influence of minstrel shows?
influenced early pop, folk, and classical music, barbershop quartets, acapella
Vaudeville
a theatrical genre of performance that included music, comedy, and circus acts that evolved out of minstrel shows in the late 19th century
In what ways was vaudeville different from minstrel shows?
-unlike minstrel shows, vaudeville was NOT performed in blackface
-did not rely on stock company– rather, they had distinct acts that could be rotated
-minstrels would move from town to town whereas vaudeville were booked
What was the organizational structure of vaudeville?
centered on a chain of theaters that would book acts and send them on a circuit
Describe music publishing in the late 19th/early 20th century?
sheet music would be sold at intermission of a show, where the music had been performed
When did music publishing begin?
began when the Christy Minstrels hired Stephen Foster in 1850 to write songs for their show
Tin Pan Alley
company that hired songwriters to compose music
Revue Musical
where a story was written around a collection of songs
-this was common practice during the time
Book Musicals
songs were written to fit the story (e.g. Frozen)
