Last updated on 1/12/24

Alphabetical list of theater terms and definitions relevant to the Bates Drama Club. We will add to this list when helpful and when time permits. Every theater company is organized a little differently but the terms generally mean the same. Sometimes multiple jobs are performed by one person, particularly in small theater companies like BDC.

Blocking

The non dancing preplanned movement or placement of performers on the stage.

Call List

See "Call Sheet."

Call Sheet

The specific details of a rehearsal listing what will be rehearsed and who must attend. Also referred to as the “Call List” or “the Call.” The “call” is a list of who the director is “calling” to the rehearsal. Not a phone call, but more like a shout out or announcement.

​Callbacks

​A “callback” or “callbacks” is a second round of auditions usually used to help narrow down some of the casting choices of the director and other people involved in casting. BDC will use the callback to pair up actors who we were not able to see read together during the first days of auditions or for a second look for more information to help guide casting choices. Not everyone who is cast will be asked to attend callbacks. 

Choreographer

Collaborates with the director and the music director to tell the story through dance. Creates dance compositions and, in BDC, teaches the dance to the performers.

Closing

The last performance of a series of performances of the same show.

Cold Reading

Reading from a sample of the script for an audition with little, if any, time to review the dialogue beforehand. It is a common way auditions are conducted. It’s not important if you fumble the words a bit or mispronounce unfamiliar words—everyone does that in a cold read. What is important is that you make a choice about the character you are portraying in the audition. There is no right or wrong choice. A strong choice about the character’s mannerisms or speech patterns or behavior is typically what the director is looking for. Can you decide how to “play” the character and stick with it for the cold read? That’s what is important.

Cue

​The event in a play that tells the tech and stage crew when to change the set, sound controls, or lighting controls. A cue also tells a performer when to enter or exit a scene or when to speak, sing, or do something on stage. The cue could be a specific line of dialogue or lyrics in a song or a section of music, or a lighting change or a specific motion of one of the performers. The cue is a unique event that tells someone in our theatre company when to do something.

Curtain

Start of the show.

Director

Like a captain of a ship, ultimately responsible for all creative and artistic decisions in the production. Collaborates with the music director, choreographer, lighting designer, sound designer, set designer, prop master, and other artists to help tell the story in a unified way.

Dog & Pony

This is when a theater company staff member comes out on stage before the beginning of the performance to speak briefly to the audience. It typically happens after the pre-show music and the "voice of god" concludes. In our productions, the director presents the "dog & pony."

Downstage

The front section of the stage nearer the audience. It is referred to as "down" because professional and traditional stages are "raked" or inclined with the lower portion closer to the audience to make it easier for the audience to see stage action and choreography. Modern stages are typically inclined about five degrees.

Dress Rehearsal

Running through the entire show, in costume and sometimes makeup, using all lighting and sound cues without stopping. After a dress rehearsal run, the director will give notes to performers and tech and stage crews and these groups of people are expected to incorporate the notes into their performances or tech work for the following run of the show.

Dry Run

Checking or “running” through a list of cues for set, lighting, or sound changes without the performers to check accuracy and fix problems. 

Full Cast

All the performers in the play whether you have one line of dialogue or no lines or a hundred lines, whether you dance on stage or not, whether you sing or not. Principals and ensemble. If you are part of the story we are telling, you are part of the cast.

Ensemble

A group of performers that often have to portray multiple roles depending on the scene. They often sing and dance in groups but some also can have a line or two of dialogue, a small solo in a song, or a small feature in a dance. The ensemble is also sometimes referred to as the chorus.

Featured Ensemble Member

An ensemble member who has one or more of the following responsibilities: A line or two of dialogue, a small solo in a song, a featured dancer in a musical number.

Front of House

The audience side of a performance space and the staff and volunteers who meet audience needs. For example, ticket takers, ushers, refreshment stand workers, custodians, bathrooms, seats.

Lead

"Lead" or "lead role" is the same as "principal" or "principal role." See "principal" below.

Load In

The act of the tech and stage crews delivering or "loading in" the set and props to the performance space. We also use this time to install the set for different scenes and fixing or changing things that don't quite work or fit as planned. This load in period also includes hanging and focusing lights for the show based on the lighting designer's specifications, running through light cues and sound cues and set changes. All of this happens to eliminate or minimize problems before the performers arrive to begin rehearsals in the performance space. It's a difficult task for performers to move from a rehearsal space to a performance space. We want to get the tech under control as best we can to give performers the space necessary to stumble and fail and then recover and succeed in the new space. Running through sound, light, or set change cues without the performers around is sometimes called a "dry run."

Mic

Short for "microphone. Pronunciation: mic = "mike"; mics = "mikes"; mic'd = "miked"; mic'ing = "miking." Usage examples: How many actors can we mic? Are the actors mic'd yet? She's mic'ing actors with Mr. K.

Music Director

Collaborates with the director and the choreographer and oversees all musical aspects of the production. Teaches the performers the music of the show.

Musical Number

Also called a “production number” or song. The music, lyrics, choreography, and blocking associated with one song that furthers the story of the play.

Off Book

When actors have memorized their lines, they are said to be "off book" or, in other words, no longer reading out of the script. This is an important step in the rehearsal process. An actor cannot readily develop their characters while retaining the crutch of their scripts. 

Opening

The first performance of a series of performances of the same show.

Principal

A role in the play that has more than a few lines of dialogue. Principals (also sometimes called “leads”) can have a large amount of dialogue or a medium amount of dialogue. They may have solo songs to sing or songs in small groups or with the whole cast.

Production Coordinator

Facilitates all aspects of a theater production in coordination with the director and the leadership of other organizations supporting a production on issues dealing with the theater space, front of house, back of house, playbill (or program), and communication.

Production Number

See musical number.

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Production Schedule

All the events listed in the rehearsal schedule plus additional events that deal with issues like design (lighting, sound, set, props, costumes, make-up), tickets, refreshments, publicity, playbill, and more.

Props

An abbreviation for “properties.” Props are the things actors use with their hands to help tell the story but are not things the performer wears as part of her costume. For example, a sword would be a prop but the belt and scabbard in which the sword is placed on the performer is part of her costume. Props are also distinguished from small set pieces even if the performer moves the set piece. For example a performer may move a small table as part of his stage action and place a glass of water on the table. The table is a set piece and the glass of water is a prop.

Raked Stage

The stage floor is inclined or tilted with the lower end closer to the audience and the higher end further from the audience. The tilt allows the audience an easier view of stage action and choreography. Modern stages are typically inclined about five degrees.

Rehearsal Schedule

The general calendar of rehearsals.

Read Through

A cast familiarizing itself with a play by coming together as a group to read through the entire play. No dancing or movement. No acting is necessary though some actors use this time to try out a few choices for their character. But there is no need for consistency in your choices at this point-—try a few things. See what happy accidents or discoveries you might make about your role in relationship to others. We may sing along with prerecorded music from the show or just listen during the musical numbers.

Run

A run or show run is the series of performances of the same play from opening to closing. In 2023-24, The Drowsy Chaperone Jr's run is from Thursday, 2/15/24 through Sunday, 2/18/24.

Run Through

Performing a section of or the entire show with limited or no stops. The director, music director, and choreographer provide notes to the performers at the end of a run through for them to incorporate into their next rehearsal or run through.

Sitzprobe

Sitzprobe, German for “sitting rehearsal,” is the first (and often only) chance for singers and a live orchestra to go through a musical play or opera together, without the distractions of staging. The term is often shortened to “sitz." Bates Drama Club typically selects middle school versions of plays that require use of pre-recorded music provided during the licensing negotiations. So we don't have what would conventionally be called a sitzprobe. However, we conduct some rehearsals in which we rehearse songs accompanied by pre-recorded music without running choreography. That is the closest we come to a sitzprobe. 

Spike

Colored tape on the stage floor showing where to set an object.

Stage Left

From the perspective of an actor standing on stage facing the audience. The left side of the stage from this perspective is "stage left."

Stage Right

From the perspective of an actor standing on stage facing the audience. The right side of the stage from this perspective is "stage right."

Strike

Remove set, set pieces, or props from the stage during a performance. At the end of a series of performances (or "run" of the show), a strike is when we remove all set, set pieces, props, costumes, and equipment from the theater to return them to their owners.

Tech Rehearsal

A rehearsal with performers running through the play to allow the tech and stage crews to fix technical issues such as lighting cues or set movements. This can be a particularly boring time for performers because there will be lots of starts and stops and waiting around as the tech and stage crews resolve problems that were not anticipated with performers on and back stage. It is very important for the whole cast to attend tech rehearsals or we cannot adequately eliminate all problems before full run throughs and dress rehearsals.

Theater Company

Full cast, director, music director, choreographer, producer, faculty adviser plus all the technical theater staff, backstage crews, lighting and sound techs, designers, builders, prop master—all the people on the stage and behind the scenes that help tell the story we are presenting.

Top of Show

We use this term in cast rehearsals and tech rehearsals and it means slightly different things depending on which type of rehearsal.  Using this phrase in both situations indicates where we are starting in the show. In a cast rehearsal, it means we are starting at the beginning of the show from the performer's perspective. In a tech rehearsal, it means we are starting the show from the first lighting and sound cue after the pre-show music and the "dog & pony" (see above).

Understudy

A person who learns another's role in order to be able to act as a replacement at short notice.

Upstage

The rear section of the stage further from the audience. It is referred to as "up" because professional and traditional stages are "raked" or inclined with the higher portion further from the audience to make it easier for the audience to see stage action and choreography. Modern stages are typically inclined about five degrees.

Voice of God

This is the disembodied voice over the sound system that tells the audience about emergency exits, copyright restrictions prohibiting photography and recording, and other safety info. The student stage manager, in our productions, is typically that voice and can speak it live or we can record it for playback before each performance. In Spamalot, we actually have a character who is referred to as the voice of God. So we will need to distinguish between the "front of house" voice of God and the character voice of God.