| Term | Definition |
|---|
| Bunraku | japanese puppet theatre with large wooden puppets with many movable parts, onstage puppeteers dressed in black, and a narrator who chants the script |
| Kabuki | a popular, robust, and spectacular version of the japanese noh theatre. the name comes from the characters for song |
| Kathakali | "story play"; a form of indian folk drama begun in the second century CD and based on the hindu epic poems ramayana and mayabharata |
| Ki | in kabuki theater, wooden clappers who beats accompany a mie pose at a particularly intense or profound moment |
| Mie Pose | in kabuki theater, a sudden, striking pose (with eyes crossed, chin sharply turned, and the big toe pointed toward the sky) at a particularly intense or profound moment, accompanied by several beats of wooden clappers |
| Natyasastra | a comprehensive work on the art of the theatre in the Indian theatre |
| Noh | a form of japanese traditional drama combining poetry, acting, singing, and dancing that was developed during the 1300's |
| Non-Western Drama | theater that does not have its origins in ancient greece; includes the ancient ritual theater of africa, traditional theater of asia, and islamic shadow and puppet theaters |
| Onnagata | men who play female roles in kabuki theater |
| Painted-Face Roles | in the peking opera, supernatural beings, warriors, bandits, and other stock characters whose makeup used elaborate geometrical designs and colors that symbolized character traits: red for loyalty, blue for vigor and courage, yellow for intelligence, black for honestly, and brown for stubborness |
| Peking Opera | a synthesis of music, dance, acting, and acrobatics first performed in the 1700's in china by strolling players in markets, temples, courtyards, and the streets, known in china as the "opera of the capital' or ching-hsi, it was founded by qing dynasty emperor chi'ien'lung |
| Precolonial African Theater | indigenous african theater that grew out of ritual and predates contact with europeans. a combinations of ritual, ceremony, and drama, it incorporates acting, music, storytelling, poetry, and dance; the costumed actors often wear masks. audience participation is common |
| Ritual Theater | the middle stage of theatres' evolution from rituals; the theatrical techniques of song, dance, and characterization were used, but the performances purpose was that of rituals |
| Sanskrit Drama | one of the earliest forms of theare in india, performed in sanskrit by professional touring companies on special occasions in temples, palaces, or temporary theatres |
| Shadow Theatre | a form of theatre created by lighting 2D figures and casting their shadows on a screen. probably originated in china around 100BCE and later became popular in islamic lands, where people were prohibited from playing characters |
| Total Theater | a form of postcolonial theatre in africa that mixed traditional african ritual theatre and western style drama; appeared during the 1960's after african nations won their independence from european rule |
| Western Drama | drama that grew out of the theatre of thespis in ancient greece around 500BCE. it passed from the athenians to the romans to the medieval europeans and then to north america |
| Anagnorisis | element of a greek tragedy; the tragic hero's self examination leading to realization of true identity; follows peripeteia (radial reversal of fortune) |
| Artists of Dionysis | the first actors union; formed by traveling companies of actors who traveled around the mediterranean during the hellenistic period |
| Catharsis | an intense, twofold feeling of pity and fear that is the goal of greek tragedy |
| Choregos | a wealthy citizen who financed productions performed at city dionysias in ancient greece. they paid for special effects, costumes, and salaries |
| City Dionysia | one of the two ancient greek religous festivals held each year to honor dionysus. this festival often included playes |
| Deus Ex Machina | improbable plot twist such as a god solving all the problems |
| Deuteragonist | in ancient greek plays, the second actor |
| Dionysus | the ancient greek god of wine and fertility, dionysus was worshipped through theatre performances and sacrifices |
| Dithyramb | a hymn sung at the altar of dionysus, the ancient greek god of wine and fertility; it was accompanied by dancing and perhaps improvisations by a chorus of as many as fifty men |
| Ekkyklema | in ancient greek theatres, a platform that could be rolled out from the skene to reveal a tableau |
| Episode | one scene in an ancient greek play; alternates with stasimons |
| Exodus | in ancient greek theatre, the summation by the chorus on the theme and wisdom of the play |
| Hamartia | personal weakness that leads to the hero's downfall |
| Hellenistic Period | the two centuries wen classical greek culture spread around the mediterranean sea, including egypt and the middle east; dats approxiamtely from the death of alexander the great in 323 BCE until the roman conquest of greece in 146 BCE. |
| Hubris | in classical greek drama, a tragic hero's overbearing pride or arrogance |
| Library of Alexandria | one of the first universities; its holdings included orginal manuscripts by aeschylus, euripides, and sophocles. located in alexandria, egypt, a city counded by alexander the great. partially destroyed by roman troops and later by christian mobs |
| Mechane | in ancient greek theatre's, a crane that could fly actors in over the skene to land gently in the orchestra or hover overhead |
| New Comedy | greek comic plays with safe themes and mundane subject matter produced after athens lost the peloponnesian war to sparta |
| Old Comedy | greek comic plays that directly or indirectly lampooned society and politics; they were filled with sight gags and obscene humor |
| Orchestra | the circular playing area in ancient greek theaters; derives from the greek word for dancing place |
| Parodos | the entrance of the chorus into the playing area in ancient greek theater |
| Peloponnesian War | war between the city states of athens and sparta and their allies. athens defeat by sparta brought about the end of athenian democracy ad classic greek theater |
| Periakto | in ancient greek plays, a pivoting device used to quickly change all the paintings on the skene |
| Peripeteia | in ancient greek tragedies, a radical reversal of fortuned experience by the hero |
| Poetics | written by aristotle, the first known treatise on how to construct a dramatic story |
| Prologue | in ancient greek theatre, a short introductory speech or scene |
| Protagonists | in an ancient greek play, the main actor, now the central character who pushes forward the action of the play |
| Roman Mimes | troupes of actors in ancient rome, whose shows were one of the most popular forms of entertainment. they were filed with jugglers, acrobats, and comic skits that include vulgar language, buffoonery, and nudity |
| Satyr Play | in ancient greece, a comic relief play perfomred between tragic plays at the city dionysia. often burlesqe, these plays parodied the myths, gods, and heroes in the tragedies. named for the half beast, half human creatures said to be companions of the god dionysus |
| Skene | an ancient greek theater, the building behind the orchestra; it housed dressing rooms and storage spaces, and its facade was used as a backdrop for productions |
| Stasimon | in ancient greek plays, a choral interlude |
| Theatre of Dionysus | the largest ancient greek theatre, located in athens; it could seat as many as 17,000 people |
| Theatron | from the greek term for "seeing place" the seating area in ancient greek theaters |
| Thespis | the first known western actor. created theatre by stepping from dithyramb chorus in ancient greece to play an individual role. in 534 BCE, wrote and acted in a lay that won the city dionysia. sours of the word thespian, or a person who has studied the craft of acting |
| Tragic Hero | in ancient greek tragedies, an extraordinary but empathetic person of noble birth or a person who has risen to prominence and makes a choice that lease to trouble but ultimately takes responsibily for that choice |
| Tritagonist | in ancient greek plays the third actor |
| Allegory | a dramatic device by which an actor represents or symbolizes an idea or a moral principle; common in medieval morality plays |
| Aristotelian Scholasticism | a synthesis of aristotles philosophy and the dogma of the roman catholic church that was widely taught in universities during the middle ages |
| Everyman | the most famous morality play; contains many allegorical characters encountered by everyman as he seeks a companion for his reckoning with God |
| Festival of Corpus Christi | in 1264, the first occasion for which the medieval church allowed a dramatic festival; the thursday following trinity sunday |
| Humanists | in fifteenth century italy, university students who rejected the traditional curriculum of theology in favor of the subjects studied in classical greece, specifially rhetoric, titeray criticism, grammar, history, poetry, painting, architecture, music, classical literature |
| Interlude | secular plays performed between other forms of entertainment at court in the lat middle ages |
| Mansions | like the stations of the cross and late became standard in catholic churches |
| Miracle Play | plays in the middle ages in europe that recounted stories about the lives, sufferings, and miracles of particular saints |
| Morality Play | allegorical plays in the late middle ages in europe that taught moral lessons about how to conduct one's life |
| Mystery Cycle | a group of plays about biblical stories performed outdoors by guilds during the middle ages |
| Mystery Play | liturgical plays performed outdoors by workers guilds during the middle ages |
| Renaissance | period in european history (1350-1650) when the wisdom of ancient greek and roman scholars was rediscovered and the dogma of the church was challenged characterized by flowering of the arts and literature and the beginning of modern science. |
| Pageant Wagon | wagon decorates with a set and used as a traveling stage for performances of mystery and miracle plays during the middle ages |
| The Second Shepherd's Play | comic play about what the three shepherds were doing just before the angel arrived to announce the birth of Jesus and they decided to go to bethlehem bearing gifts |
| Tropes | a chanted or sung phrase incorporated into mass as an embellishment or commentary on religious lesson |
| Comedy of Manners | a form of restoration comedy that features wit and wordplay and often includes themes of sexual gratification, bedroom escapades, and humankind's primitive nature when it comes to sex |
| Domestic Tragedy | a type of play characterized by stories about common people, rather than ones of noble birth, who feel grand emotions and suffer devastating consequences |
| Enlightenment | a period in europe (1650-1800) that glorified the human power to reason and analyze; a time of great philosophical, scientific, technological, political, and religious revolutions |
| Melodrama | most popular in the late 19th century, a type of play that usually features working class heroes who set out on a great adventure; story lines that praise marriage, God, and country; and florid background music |
| Restoration | period of english history that began in 1660 with the reestablishment of the monarchy. it was characterized by scientific discovery, new philosophical concepts, improved economic conditions and a return of the theater |
| Romantics | enlightenment era poets, novelists, and playwrights who questioned the scientific revolution's obsession with logic; they felt that science was not adequate to descirbe the full range of human experience, and stressed instinct, intuition, and feeling in their writings |
| Sentimental Comedy | a type of comedy that features middle class characters finding happiness and true love |
| Sturm und Drang | (storm and stress) the romantic movement in germany. sturm and drange playhs exalted nature, emotions, and individualism; johann wolfgang von goethe was the greatest sturm and drang playwright |
| Well Made Play | a sarcastic label for a formula play whose ending is happy and whose loose ends are neatly tied up; typified by ninteenth century melodramas of eugene scribe |
| Absurdism | an avant garde "ism" that was the result of two world wars. it has 3 types: fatalist, extentialist, and hilarious |
| Alienation Effect | the result of techniques to keep the audience aware that what they are witnessing is only a play; used by bertold brecht. alienation techniques include having the actors address the audience out of character, exposing the lights, removing the proscenium arch and curtains, and having the actors perform on bare platforms or simple sets that are sometimes punctuated with political slogans |
| Avant-Garde | any work of art that is experimental, innovative, or unconventional |
| Box Set | commonly used in realistic plays, a true to life interior containing a room or rooms with the fourth wall removed so that the audience feels they are looking on on the characters private lives |
| Bread and Puppet Theatre | an experimental theatre troupe began in 1961 that uses giant puppets as well as actors in political parables |
| Dadaism | a movement that was ignited by the atrocities of WW1 and gained fame through staged performances designed to demonstrate the meaninglessness of life |
| Epic Theatre | features plays that have a grand scope, large casts, and cover a long period and wide range of seometimes unrelated incidents. an innovation by bertolt brecht |
| Expressionism | a style that shows the audience the action of the play through the mind of one character. instead of seeing photographic reality, the audience sees the character's own emotions and point of view |
| Existentialism | a post WW1 philosophy that sees humans as being alone in the universe, with God, so they are entirely responsible for their destinies |
| Fourth Wall | an imaginary wall separating the actors from audience; an innovation of realism in the theater in the late 1800's |
| Happenings | unstructured theatrical events on street corners at bus stops, in lobbies, and virtually anywhere people gather |
| Kafkaesque | marked by surreal distorion and senseless danger; a term that comes form the way that czech wrighter franz kofka depicted the world |
| Little Theatre Movement | inexpensive, noncommercial, artistically significant plays in small, out of the way theaters. in the US, flourished from mid1950-mid1960's |
| The Living Theatre | a famous twentieth cnetury experimental theatre using aesthetically radical techniques to shake up audiences about social and political issues. founded by julien beck and judith malina |
| Naturalism | a style of theatrical design and acting whose goal is to imitate real life, including its seamy side. also called "slice of life" theater |
| Off-Broadway | originally, small experimental theaters that sprain up in the late 1950's outside times square to put on plays about current issues. they typically have much smaller houses than broadway theaters |
| Off-Off-Broadway | small, nontraditional, noncommercial theaters located in storefronts, coffeehouses, churches, and other public spaces in the nyc area |
| Performance Art | an art form form the mid twentieth century in which one or more performers use some combination of visual arts, theater, dance, music, and poetry, often to dramatize political ideas. the purpose is less to tell a story than to convey a state of being |
| Poetic Realism | a style of realism that is expressed through lyrical language |
| Problem Play | a play that expresses a social problem so that it can be remedied |
| Regional Theatre | permanent, professional theatres located outside nyc |
| Surrealism | a genre of theatre that emphasizes the subconscious realities of the character, usually through design, and often includes random sets with dream like qualities |
| Theatre of Cruelty | originated by antonin artaud, stylized, ritualized performances intended to attack spectators sensibilities and purge them of destructive tendencies |
| Lyric | for a musical, the sung words |
| Lyricist | for a musical, the person who writes the lyrics |
| Minstrel Show | stage entertainment consisting of songs, dances, and comic scenes performed by white actors in blackface makeup; originated in the nineteenth century |
| Music | in a musical script, the orchestrated melodies, which are written by a composer |
| Musical | a type of theatre that features song and dance interspersed with spoken text. the genre includes not only modern musicals with popular songs and impressive spectacle |
| Musical Comedy | a type of musical characterized by lighthearted, fast moving comic story, whose dialogue is interspersed with popular music |
| Opera | a type of drama introduced at the end of the sixteenth century that is entirely sung |
| Operatic Musical | a musical that is mostly singing, with less spoken dialogue and usually a darker, more dramatic tone than an operetta has. |
| Operetta | like an opera, a drama set to music, but with a frivolous, comic theme, some spoken dialogue, an melodramatic story, and usually a little dancing. also called light opera. popularized by gilbert and sullivan |
| Overture | at the beginning of a musical; a medley of the songs played by the orchestra as a preview |
| Reprise | in a musical, the repetition of a song, sometimes with new lyrics, in a later scene. the new meaning or subtext makes a dramatic point |
| Revue | a program of satirical sketches, singing, and dancing about a particular theme. also called a musical review |
| Rock Musical | a musical that uses rock and roll music, psychedelic rock. or contemporary pop and rock |
| Show Stopper | in a musical, a big production number which receives so much applause that it stops the show |
| Straight Play | in contrast to a musical, the category of plays without music |
| Variety Show | a program of unrelated singing, dancing, and comedy numbers |
| Vaudeville | a popular form of stage entertainment from the 1880's to the 1930's, descended form burlesque. programs included slapstick comedy routines, song and dance numbers, magic acts, juggling, and acrobatics |
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