Theater Vocabulary
Copy and paste the words below and bring to class. You need to know the first 10 words for class on Tuesday. (9/9/14) I will quiz you on 10 words a lesson until we finish the list. Then you will be tested on all of them.
1. Ad-lib: to create dialogue or movement off the top of your head, without a script.
2. Aesthetics: of or pertaining to the criticism of taste and a sense of the beautiful. Use of design principles and elements such as form, line, unity, variety and emphasis to create a pleasing work of art.
3. Antagonist: main character who opposes the protagonist.
4. Apron: the stage floor between the footlights and the curtain.
5. Arena Theater: staging with the audience sitting on all four sides of the playing area.
6. Articulation: the clear and precise pronunciation of words.
7. Aside: words spoken by a character to the audience. The other characters supposedly do not hear the speech.
8. Backdrop: painted curtain without folds, hung from battens.
9. Backstage: area behind scenery not visible to the audience.
10. Beat: A unit of action or shift in a scene.
11. Blackout: all stage lights go off simultaneously.
12. Blocking: director’s planned movement for the characters.
13. Break character: when the actor loses concentration while performing and is not in character.
14. Business: detailed bits of action such as knitting, setting the table, etc., as distinguished from broad stage movement.
15. Callback: an invitation to an actor to return for a second audition.
16. Cheat: to play toward the audience while seemingly conversing with the others on stage
17. Color-blind casting: casting without regard to race or ethnicity of the characters or actors.
18. Cold reading: auditioning with a script that you have not had the opportunity to read before the audition.
19. Countercross: a small movement in the opposite direction to the cross made by another actor.
20. Cover: to hide an unplanned instance on stage from the audience.
21. Critique: evaluations and suggestions.
22. Cross: an actor’s move from one part of the stage to another.
23. Cue: 1)last words or action of one actor that immediately precede another actor’s speech 2)a signal for light changes, curtains, etc.
24. Cyclorama (cyc): a sky drop that surrounds the back and sides of the stage.
25. Dimmers: unit to control intensity of lights.
26. Dress the stage: 1)keep the stage picture balanced 2)decorations used to provide authenticity to the set and fill space.
27. Dry-tech: run through of all technical aspects of the show, without the actors.
28. Exit: direction for an actor to leave the stage. Opposite of "enter".
29. Flat: usually canvas covered wooden frame used for scenery
30. Flies: area above stage where scenery is hung or stored by lines from the grid.
31. Focus: 1) center attention on. 2) center light beam on.
32. Forth wall: imaginary wall between stage and audience.
33. Give: throw focus on the important character in a scene.
34. Handprops: properties carried on stage by the actors during the play.
35. Holding for laughs: waiting for the audience laughter to diminish before continuing dialogue.
36. House: seating within the auditorium.
37. House lights: auditorium lights used before and after the play and during intermission.
38. Levels: platforms or body position of various heights.
39. Motivate/motivtion: to have a specific reason for saying or doing something; to show character’s desires through voice and movement.
40. Open-up: to play toward the audience.
41. Pantomime (mime): bodily movement and expression without dialogue.
42. Pick up cues: to quickly begin a speech without allowing a pause between the first words of the speech and the cue.
43. Pit (orchestra pit): area between the stage and first row of seats.
44. Places: warning for actors to assume their position on stage for the beginning of the scene
45. Plot: 1) sequence of events in a play 2) production plan of backstage items, such as a light plot or costume plot.
46. Project: increase voice or actions so they will carry to the audience (and room 104-ha,ha)
47. Prompt book: contains script, blocking notations, warnings, crew charts, and other information necessary for producing the play.
48. Properties (props): set furnishings, including furniture, pictures, ornaments, drapes, etc.
49. Proscenium: permanent framed opening through which the audience sees the play.
50. Protagonist: main character with whom audience empathy lies.
51. Quick study: one who can memorize a part rapidly.
52. Raked house: slanted floor, allowing each row of the audience to see over the heads of those in front.
53. Royalty: money paid to the author for permission to stage his/her play.
54. Run: length of stage engagement for a performance.
55. Run through: rehearse scene without interruption.
56. Scrim: loose weave curtain on battens used for “visions”, “flashbacks”, etc. opaque when lit from the front and transparent when lit from the back.
57. Script: printed or typewritten copy of the play.
58. Set: 1) scenery. 2)establish definite movements and lines.
59. Set piece: three-dimensional scenery piece which stands by itself, such as a rock.
60. Soliloquy: long speech given by a character when they are alone on stage to chow their thoughts or to explain the plot; used frequently by Shakespeare.
61. Spotlight: lights with beams that can be focused and that are used for specific illumination.
62. Stage directions: indications to the director and actors about various aspects of the play, including information on characters, how a play should proceed, how a play should look, and the mood or effects of a play.
63. Stage manager: the director’s technical liaison backstage during rehearsals and performances.
64. Stealing the scene: taking audience attention away from the proper focal point. Also called “upstaging”.
65. Strike: take down set and props after the show’s final performance.
66. Subtext: Thoughts the actor has that are unspoken, but motivate what they say and do.
67. Take stage: to capture audience attention legitimate, as opposed to “give,” or “share”.
68. Teaser: overhead curtain to mask the first border of lights and to regulate the height of the proscenium opening.
69. Theme: basic idea of the play that gives unity to all elements.
70. Thrust stage: a combination of the proscenium and the arena stages, with the audience sitting on two or three sides of the acting area.
71. Timing: to give lines and movement at the exact, effective moment.
72. Understudy: actor who is able to play a given role in an emergency.
73. Walk on: a part where the actor walks on and off the stage without having any line to say
74. Wings: off stage to right and left of the acting area.
Upstage Right Up Center Upstage Left
Stage Right Center Stage Stage Left
Downstage Right Downstage Center Down Left