Bergmann Drama Glossary
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65 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 acoustics | science of sound; quality that makes a room easy or hard to hear in |
| action | that which happens on stage to hold the attention of the audience |
| actor | a theatrical performer |
| actress | a female actor |
| audience | a gathering of spectators or listeners at a (usually public) performance |
| audition | perform in order to get a role |
| auditorium | a large room or hall where people gather to hear speakers or view performances |
| backdrop | Painted cloth or set wall built to serve as a background for the setting on stage. |
| blackout | All stage lights go off simultaneously |
| blocking | The pattern of movement actors follow while on stage |
| backstage | a stage area out of sight of the audience |
| call backs | part of the audition process where the actors return for additional tryouts |
| cast | Group of people selected to portray characters |
| center stage | The middle point of the performance space, symbolized by CS in blocking notes. |
| characterization | Putting together all the facets of a character |
| choreography | the art of creating dances |
| chorus | a company of actors who speak or sing together |
| climax | Highest moment of action |
| company | Everyone associated with a dramatic production |
| conflict | opposition in a work of drama or fiction between characters or forces |
| critique | a detailed review |
| criteria | standards by which something is judged |
| cue | an actor's line that immediately precedes and serves as a reminder for some action or speech |
| cut | To stop action |
| dialogue | the lines spoken by characters in drama or fiction |
| diction | a writer's or speaker's choice of words |
| director | someone who supervises the actors and directs the action in the production of a show |
| downstage | the part of the stage closest to the audience |
| dress rehearsal | a full uninterrupted rehearsal in costumes shortly before the first performance |
| plot | the story that is told in a novel or play or movie etc. |
| character | Person or animal involved in the plot |
| theme | a unifying idea that is a recurrent element in a literary or artistic work |
| spectacle | Visuals |
| exit | To leave the stage |
| flats | Wooden frames, joined together and covered with canvas, which can be painted |
| medium | Particular type of drama |
| mood | Emotional feeling of a play |
| monologue | a (usually long) dramatic speech by a single actor |
| movement | Staging that enhances characterization |
| playwright | the author of a play |
| producer | someone who finds financing for and supervises the making and presentation of a show (play or film or program or similar work) |
| projection | How well the voice carries |
| prompt | assist (somebody acting or reciting) by suggesting the next words of something forgotten or imperfectly learned |
| royalities | Money paid for permission to stage a play |
| scene | A small section of a play |
| script | a written version of a play or other dramatic composition |
| set | All sets, scenery, and props that help define the action |
| stage right/left | areas to the actors' right and left as they face the audience |
| strike | Dismantle; to take away |
| theater | a building where theatrical performances or motion-picture shows can be presented |
| tryouts | Auditions for parts in a play. |
| understudies | Actors who are able to play a given role in an emergency |
| upstage | at or toward the rear of the stage |
| voice | Actor's articulation, pronunciation, and phrasing of words |
| acts | Major sections of a play |
| Protagonist | the main character in a literary work |
| Antagonist | the character who works against the protagonist in the story |
| Proscenium stage | a performance space in which the audience views the action as if through a picture frame |
| Thrust stage | a theater stage that extends out into the audience's part of a theater and has seats on three sides |
| Arena stage | a stage constructed so that the audience can sit on all sides; also known as "theatre-in-the-round". |
| Fourth wall | the imaginary wall through which the audience views the play |
| Tableau | a group of people arranged as if in a painting; a freeze frame |
| Pantomime | a performance using gestures and body movements without words |
| Language | Formal setting or dialect |
| Drama | Literature that is meant to be performed |
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