VOCABULARY of the theater - rehearsals, text and beyond. The Theater Imagine you’ve entered through the lobby of the theater and you’re standing in ‘the house’, as the audience and lobby areas are called, facing the stage. The House: The audience and lobby areas are referred to as ‘the house’. It’s also used to describe the audience. For example, “We have a full house out there tonight. Sold out.” House Right and House Left: This is the opposite of Stage Right and Left. Facing the stage, the audience’s right is House Right, their left is House Left. Orchestra: The section of seats closest to the stage, on the main floor of the theater. Often most expensive. Mezzanine: The second seating tier, usually overhanging the orchestra at its midpoint. Balcony: The third tier of seating, located farthest from the stage. Usually the “cheap seats.” Orchestra Pit: A lowered area located directly between the stage and the orchestra section where the musicians perform. Boxes: Tiered-seating located close to and on either side of the stage. (see pic below) Proscenium: The most traditional stage set-up framed by an arch. A classic proscenium (see pic below) Thrust: A stage that protrudes directly into the audience and allowing seating on three sides of the stage. In the Round: A space with audience all around, sometimes called ‘arena.’ Environmental/Site Specific: A staging approach that transforms the house into a location that directly supports the action of the piece. • The Broadway revival of “Cabaret” starring Alan Cumming did this very successfully by transforming the theater into the Kit Kat Club itself. Or some plays are created in collaboration with the space itself. Stage Right & Left: This is the opposite of House Right & Left. • Facing the audience, the actor’s right is stage right & left is stage left. • In a script, you will often see these shortened to SR and SL. Down Stage: Moving toward the audience and the front of the stage. Up Stage: The back of the stage furthest from the audience. Raked Stage: Upstage and Downstage were once literal when a ‘raked’ stage was the standard. A raked 1 VOCABULARY of the theater - rehearsals, text and beyond. stage was higher in the back, so you actually walked upstage away from the audience. This was popular around the Renaissance to enhance sound, sight lines and a sense of perspective. They were often quite steep. Some history on that here (optional): https://www.britannica.com/art/theaterbuilding/Developments-of-the-Renaissance And think about this… Suspension of Disbelief: The ability of both the actors and the audience to commit to the action onstage during performance as if it were real. Firsts and Lasts: A kiss has more meaning if it’s the first or last one. As a director or actor makes decisions about a moment, they might consider if this is a first time moment or a last time moment in order to make it more dramatic and meaningful. The Fourth Wall: An invisible “wall” between the stage and audience. • Imagine a realistic drama that takes place in a room in a house. The idea is that there are three walls on stage, but the audience is observing through this fourth invisible wall. Dramatic Action vs. Physical Action: Dramatic Action constitutes the major events and desires that propel the action of the play. It’s the storytelling element and the motivations, subtext, etc. • A physical action is a movement or a gesture, like an entrance or an exit. • Dramatic action involves one character wanting something from another and trying to get it through their behavior and words. This drives the action or plot of a play. • This idea of ‘action’ is often used for acting, too. An actor’s ‘action’ would be defined by what the character wanted. • Conflict: Considered the essential element of drama. • Equation for conflict: Desire + Obstacle = Conflict. Think Romeo and Juliet. They want to be together, but they have an obstacle and the conflict that creates drives the play (and creates Dramatic Action.) GOT: Goals, obstacles and Tactics. These are used in acting in a scene. What is your character’s goal, what is the obstacle and what are they doing to overcome it (lie, steal, seduce, blackmail, beg…)? Ticking Clock: The idea of a ticking clock means that there is some pressure, real or imagined, that creates a sense of urgency in a scene. For example, if you have to be married by a certain date coming up shortly in order to receive your inheritance you’d have a lot of pressure to find a spouse right away. Repertory Theater: Some companies perform two or more productions on alternating days, often with the cast from one play performing both. Convention: a theatrical convention occurs when the audience and performer agree to believe that something is true or represents something else. Imagine the actors on stage freeze, then one of them talks to the audience, then the actors unfreeze and continue as if no time had passed. The audience would understand that convention - especially if it is set up clearly and repeated. A common convention is that when a scene goes to blackout the next scene often takes place later in time or a different location. We accept this convention though we are in the same time and place in the theater. The Text It all starts with the words the writer has put on the page. You (actor, designer, director) are a storyteller and the playwright has created a map for you. You must honor the map at all times. The Play: A story written specifically for the stage, usually containing one or more characters, dialogue, and a story arc. Intended to be performed for viewing. The Central Message: Some plays have an overt theme or message - a point they’re making. For example, there’s a lesson in Romeo and Juliet about how hate kills love. The Map: You can think about a play as a map rather than a piece of literature. It’s a map of the experience that play becomes when performed. On the page it’s just the map of the event/journey. When it’s spoken out loud and performed it becomes the play. A Musical: Similar to a play, but employs music in the storytelling. Elements of a musical: • Book: The script of the musical: characters, dialogue, etc. 2 VOCABULARY of the theater - rehearsals, text and beyond. • • Music: The composer-written music in a musical. Lyrics: The words to the song. Sometimes, this is also the book writer or the composer or a combination of all of the above. Buts and Therefores: We’ll watch a video from the Southpark creators, but the idea of BUTS & THEREFORES has to do with plot twists and surprise reactions by characters that change the expected outcome. Direct Address: Actors may “break the fourth wall” interacting or speaking to the audience. Monologue: A character’s extended speech - either to another character or audience. Dialogue: Conversation between two or more characters. Soliloquy: An internal monologue/thought process spoken aloud - Hamlet’s is most famous. The Creative Team Director: The captain of the ship, a leader, responsible for the creative vision and artistic decisions in a production. The Creative Vision: A director, as captain of the ship, develops a vision for the production. It may include themes, parts of the play that it wishes to highlight or update, visual and performance styles, types of staging or theater spaces. The Producer: Plans/coordinates a production, usually puts up/helps raise money. • This is sometimes the theater itself, as in The Alliance theater in Atlanta which produces a different ‘season’ of plays every year. Choreographer: Responsible for telling the story through movement (sometimes, but not always, dance.) Music Director: Oversees all musical aspects of the production (generally only in a musical.) Casting Director: Responsible for bringing actors to the director for potential roles. Dramaturg: A specialist in text and theater history, genres, productions. A dramaturg practices dramaturgy. They support the playwright and ask good questions (when done well.) Designers: Responsible for all physical, visual and auditory aspects of the production. Collaboration: Theater is a collaborative art. No show is achieved without collaboration. Fight Choreographer: Responsible for creating the physical action and training the performers. This can be for a big fight or a single slap. SEE FIGHT CALLS The Cast and Crew Ensemble: Sometimes called “the chorus,” members of the ensemble are often called upon to sing, dance, and/or play smaller roles in a musical or play. • Some plays are called ‘ensemble plays’ meaning that there is not so much of a ‘star’ of the show, but a story supported by all the characters/performers. Understudy: An actor responsible for learning the part of a leading/supporting actor as backup. Swing: A multi-talented performer responsible for understudying multiple roles. 3 VOCABULARY of the theater - rehearsals, text and beyond. Stand-By: An understudy for the lead or star of a show who literally ‘stands by’ if needed. Dance Captain: An accomplished member of the cast (usually) who runs understudy rehearsals in musicals and is responsible for maintaining the choreographer’s vision. Production Stage Manager (PSM): Responsible for coordinating every aspect of the production from scheduling to calling all of the cues during a performance to maintaining the director’s artistic vision of the show once performances have begun. Assistant Stage Manager (ASM): Assists the PSM in all of the above aspects. Often backstage. Production Assistant (PA): Runs errands, sets props, supports the SM team. Running Crew: Backstage crew who help set scenery, props, and costumes during performance. Rehearsal Call Time: The time you have to show up for rehearsal or performance. Blocking: The set movement of actors onstage finalized by the director, notated by SM. Off Book: lines memorized. Run Through: going through a section of or the complete play. Stumble Through: a run of an act or the play expected to be messy, but helps with continuity. Tech & Tech Runs: Lights are added, set design issues are finalized, costumes & sound are added - the play has moved from the rehearsal room to the stage. Dress Rehearsal: A ‘run’ of the show with all design elements included. Invited Dress: The last night of tech when members of the production are allowed to invite one or two guests to view the show and perform for a friendly audience. Previews: Before it’s officially open but audiences attend. Rehearsals and fine-tuning happen during the day. Preview tickets are usually discounted. Opening Night: After previews the show officially opens. • A big opening night party afterwards is traditional. The Run Half Hour: Every actor needs to be in the theater and signed in at least a half-hour before the performance time. Some actors will come early and arm up, some musicals will have a group vocal warmup scheduled, etc. Each actor has their own process and some chatter in the dressing room, some sit quietly, some run in at the last minute - but half hour is required. Places: The SM will call times to the cast in increments up to ‘places’ which happens right before the curtain goes up and everyone should be in place. “Thank you ten”: When a SM tells the actors that they have ten minutes left, the actors acknowledge this by saying “thank you ten” - or whatever time. Fight Call: A specific amount of time will be set prior to every performance of a show to run any complicated physical interactions to make sure everyone is comfortable and safe. See pic below. Superstitions + Sayings Individual Superstitions: most actors have their own habits and superstitions, and may have very specific needs/rituals prior to a live show. Ghost Light: Before the theater closes at night, all lights except for a single, exposed, incandescent bulb are left on stage. 4 VOCABULARY of the theater - rehearsals, text and beyond. • • For practical purposes, to allow the first person in the next day some light to find the main switches. For superstition, to give the ghosts who inhabit the theater some light to perform by. Macbeth: Never say the title of this Shakespeare play in a theater. It is believed to be cursed and is only called The Scottish Play or some other nickname. Even professionals adhere to this rule and most would never say it inside a theater whether performing/rehearsing the play or not. • If you do say it, you must leave the theater, spin around three times to your left, spit, curse, and then knock to be admitted back in. Break a leg: It is bad luck to wish an actor “good luck!” Always say, “break a leg.” Here’s a link to more theater superstitions if you’re interested (optional): https://broadwaydirect.com/13-theater-superstitions-halloween/ • • • A Quick Look at Genre (more later) COMEDY and DRAMA are broad genres and are broken into sub-genres below. Comedy: you can sometimes recognize this on the page when you identify juxtapositions, short sentences, silly ideas that are pursued and quick dialogue exchanges or responses. Drama: includes high stakes, emotional outcomes or outbursts, conflict equation, tragic elements Tragedy: Think Aristotle and the tragic flaw. Inherent in tragedy is the idea that the outcome could have been avoided and that someone’s choices caused the chain of events. • A drama or comedy may have tragic elements without being a full-fledged tragedy. Melodrama: Characters are stereotypes - all good or all bad - dramatic situations usually resolved when the innocent are saved from the dastardly. Virtue prevails. • Popular in the 19th century, but still a tool used today. Farce: A play/comedy that relies on situation - think sitcoms. • Secrets, mistaken identity, lovers, broad jokes, lots of doors slamming and hiding people, and silly or strong character types. Realism: Arriving around the time of the Industrial Revolution, plays began to be more about ‘real’ people rather than mythology or royalty. Ibsen was a famous practitioner. • It’s hey-day may have been in the mid-20th century with the ‘kitchen sink’ dramas. Usually take place in a house, in a room, some ordinary location and deals with real issues of life. Stylized Realism/Magical Realism: Especially modern plays toy with Realism and interject non-realistic elements. • More about this later, but non-Western theater elements from traditions around the world show up, too. Naturalism: Chekov was the famous practitioner (late 19th century.) Naturalism has looser plot structure and, like real life, doesn’t necessarily have a clear climax and ending to any story. Not tied up in a bow. 5 VOCABULARY of the theater - rehearsals, text and beyond. The Well-Made Play: A formula for plot and story created in France by Eugene Scribe in 1800s. It’s “constructed according to a predetermined pattern and aiming at neatness of plot and theatrical effectiveness but often being mechanical and stereotyped” (https://www.merriamwebster.com/dictionary/well-made%20play) and used as a basis in many modern plays and TV sitcoms. Edited from BACKSTAGE magazine - the premier guide to theater, Bway and auditioning in New York and beyond: https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/theater-terms-every-actor-know-4975/ Additional links: https://trinaajleee.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/contemporaryproscenium-arch.jpg http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Ch6TC0aAIiU/ShBwnCppfnI/AAAAAAAAACI/nrgGMaN7sPE/s400/ghost_light.jpg https://www.hamline.edu/uploadedImages/Hamline_WWW/CLA/_CLA_Programs/Theatre_Arts/Images/Macbeth% 20Fight%20Call.jpg https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ef/Pasant_Theatre_from_seats.JPG/1200pxPasant_Theatre_from_seats.JPG 6
