1.
Ad-Lib: To make up words or dialogue on the spot, to speak at liberty.
2.
Apron: Front part or area of the stage extending past the main act curtain, also called lip.
3.
Arena: Type of performance space with audience surrounding all sides of the stage.
4.
Aside: For an actor to speak directly to the audience (not always meant to be heard).
5.
Backdrop: Painted cloth or set wall built to serve as a background for the setting on stage.
6.
Black Box: Type of performance space that is small, created out of a room, painted all black.
7.
Blocking precise: Stage directions and movements given to an actor by the script or the director.
8.
Box Set: A type of setting that is built on the stage to look like the interior of a house or room, having three walls and no ceiling.
9.
Build: Rising intensity or climbing action that develops within a scene or entire play.
10.
Business: Busy work for the actor while playing on the stage to establish character, setting, and situation.
11.
Call: The time one must be at the Theatre or ready to go onto to stage.
12.
Callback: A second, more specific audition where a director looks closer at given actors.
13.
Catharsis: For an audience to have an emotional reaction while watching a performance where they purge themselves of their pity and fears.
14.
Center Stage: The middle point of the performance space, symbolized by CS in blocking notes.
15.
Cheat Out: A body position for the stage wherein the actor faces more towards the audience.
16.
Chorus: A group of performers that make up the community of characters within a play, having few lines individually, and seen on stage as one entity.
17.
Climax: The high point of action or conflict within a scene or a play.
18.
Cold Reading: 1. A first look at a script, seeking an actors interpretation of the text, without rehearsing first; used at an audition.
19.
Cross: 1. To move from one point of the stage to another. Symbolized by an X in blocking notation.
20.
Cue: 1. A signal or line that prompts the next action or stage business during a performance.
21.
Downstage: The area of the performance space that is closest to the audience.
22.
Dramatic irony: 1. Happens when the audience knows more information about the plot and situations in a play than certain characters do.
23.
Dress Rehearsal: 1. The final rehearsal(s) of a play before it opens to the public; utilizing all costumes, props, lighting, sound, and set changes.
24.
Dry Tech: 1. A rehearsal that is run without the actors, bringing together all the technical aspects of a show, following the cues in the order that they are executed.
25.
Dumb Show: 1. Performed at the beginning of a performance, showing the audience through actions, and no words, a parody of what they are about to see.
26.
Exposition: 1. The background information of a story, usually told at the beginning of a play through narration or dialogue.
27.
Flat: 1. A constructed piece of scenery, usually made of wood and/or canvas, used to create a set wall or backdrop for a stage setting.
28.
Floor Plan: 1. A drawn picture of a set, as seen from a bird's eye view (from above), using geometric shapes to represent set pieces and levels.
29.
Fly System: 1. A system of rigging and ropes that is used to raise and lower scenery within on stage, operated by hand or mechanically from backstage.
30.
Follow Spot: 1. A concentrated source of light that illuminates a performer on stage, and stays with them as they move; most often coming from a spotlight instrument.
31.
Fourth Wall: 1. The imaginary divide that separates the audience from the performance space.
32.
Grand: 1. The main act curtain or drape that hangs at the front of the stage, always found in a Proscenium theatre, and usually is of a royal color.
33.
Hold: 1. A command called out by a director wherein the actors must hold their stage positions or take a pause in the action of the scene.
34.
House: 1. The area of a theatre where the audience sits or watches from.
35.
Major Role: 1. A character part that is dominant in the plot of a play, having many scripted lines.
36.
Masking: 1. 1. Curtains, drapes, or set walls that are used to block the audiences sight from the backstage. 2. Used in stage combat to block the audiences sight from certain moves.
37.
Melodrama: 1. A style of overacting that focuses on contrived action rather than realistic characterization or situations; dramatized for effect.
38.
Minor Role: 1. A supporting character to a story, having less stage time and lines than a Major.
39.
Monologue: 1. A speech performed by one performer, giving depth and insight into a characters thoughts or feelings; also called a soliloquy.
40.
Pantomime: 1. To act out very physically without using words; a style of acting that is most often utilized in Children's Theatre.
41.
Pit: 1. The area, usually below the front part of the stage, where the orchestra is set up to play the music for a live performance.
42.
Presentational: 1. A style of performance where the characters or performers make aware of the audience's presence, often breaking the fourth wall.
43.
Properties: 1. Used to enhance a scene or characterization, abbreviated-props. 1. Stage: large, stay on the set. 2. Hand: small, used by many actors. 3. Personal: used only by one actor, and stays with them.
44.
Proscenium: 1. The most common type of Theatre space, known for its framed arch that outlines the stage opening, having the audience facing one side directly in front.
45.
Raked: 1. A type of stage that slopes downward towards the audience, built at gradual angle.
46.
Sides: 1. Selections taken from a script used for an actor to read a scene aloud (usually used at an audition for a cold reading).
47.
Sight Lines: 1. The audience's view of a performance space, being blocked from the backstage.
48.
Spectacle: 1. Large scenery or set pieces used for awe and illusion in a performance.
49.
Spike: 1. To mark the stage floor, usually with colored tape, where set pieces will rest.
50.
Stage Combat: 1. A style of acted movement that is planned out, or choreographed, to look like real fighting between characters within a performance.
51.
Stage Manager: 1. The head technician for a production; responsible for all backstage duties and jobs. Calls a show for cues and transitions, and keeps consistency accurate from show to show. Works very closely with actors, technicians, and the director.
52.
Stage Right/Left: 1. Sides of the stage that is determined according to the actors point of view facing the audience. Symbolized in blocking notation as SL and SR.
53.
Strike: 1. To take down a set or remove scenery or props from the stage; happens immediately at the end of a production run before the next show is brought in.
54.
Subtext: 1. The true meaning behind a spoken or scripted line, as interpreted by an actor.
55.
Technician: 1. One who works on a crew for a production, lights, set, sound, costumes, props, etc.
56.
Thrust: 1. A type of performance space where the audience surrounds three sides, and raises high above a very open stage; usually there is no main act curtain.
57.
Traveler: 1. A type of curtain or masking (black) that hides the audience's view of the backstage.
58.
Understudy: 1. A performer who studies the part of another role, so that they might perform it in the absence of the actor who was originally cast.
59.
Upstage: 1. 1. The area of the performance space that is farthest away from the audience.
60.
Wings: 1. The offstage areas directly to the right and left of the performance space.
