Words and terms you should know
Parts and places
inside a theatER.
 TheatER:
The structure within which
theatrical performances are given. Usually
includes an orchestra or seating area, and a
stage.
 TheatRE:
A collaborative art form including
the composition, enactment, and
interpretation of dramatic presentations
for an audience.
Center stage: The center of the area defined as
the stage.
 Downstage: The stage area toward the
audience.
 Stage left: The left side of the stage from the
perspective of an actor facing the audience.
 Stage right: The right side of the stage from the
perspective of an actor facing the audience.
 Upstage: Used as a noun, the stage area away
from the audience; used as a verb, to steal the
focus of a scene.
 Green Room: Our classroom, or the area
backstage where the actors wait during
performances.
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Catwalks: Platforms and walkways above the
audience that are used by stage technicians to
access lighting, sound and effects instruments.
 Orchestra Pit: The area between the stage and
the audience where the orchestra plays.
 Front of house: The area in the theater where
the audience sits
 Offstage/backstage: The area of the stage
concealed by the proscenium and drapery that is
not seen by the audience
 Booth: Room above the audience wherein the
light board operator, sound board operator, and
stage manager run the show.
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Catwalks
Front of house
Orchestra pit
Green room
Upstage
Stage Left
Stage Right
Center Stage
Downstage
Booth
Backstage/offstage
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Proscenium: The view of the stage for the audience;
also called a proscenium arch. The archway is in a
sense the frame for stage as defined by the
boundaries of the stage beyond which a viewer
cannot see.
Teaser: the border drapes across the top of the stage
that conceals the lighting instruments
Tormentor: The border drapes on the sides of the
stage that conceal the backstage areas
Cyclorama: The large muslin drape hung across the
extreme upstage area that represents the sky.
Grand Drape: The main curtain that conceals the
stage from the audience. Usually red.
Apron: The area of the stage on the audience side of
the grand drape.
 Fly
Rail: The ropes, pulleys, and arbors off
stage right that control the height of the
drapes, electrics, battens, and hanging
scenery.
 Battens: Pipes hung above the width of the
stage that can be used for hanging scenery.
 Electric: A batten affixed with electrical
outlets used for hanging and powering
lighting instruments.
 Backdrop: A large piece of painted fabric
hung behind the actors. Usually painted to
resemble a realistic location.
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Proscenium
Teaser
Tormentor
Cyclorama
Grand drape
Apron
Fly Rail
Battens
Electric
Backdrop
 Select
a partner (ONE partner)
 Take out a SINGLE piece of paper for your
team.
 Number it from 1-21
 Find the numbers in the space, and write the
corresponding term next to the number.
 The first 3 teams to turn their quiz in to me
(all terms correct) get a prize!
“Speak the speech, I
pray you, as I
pronounced it to
you, trippingly on
the tongue…”
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Actor/Actress: A male or female person who
performs a role in a play, television, or movie.
Director: The person who oversees the entire process
of staging a production.
Ensemble: A group of theatrical artists working
together to create a theatrical production.
Stage crew: The backstage technical crew
responsible for running the show. In small theatre
companies the same persons build the set and handle
the load-in. Then, during performances, they change
the scenery and handle the curtain.
Stage manager: The director’s liaison backstage
during rehearsal and performance. The stage
manager is responsible for the running of each
performance.
 Blocking:
The planning and working out of
the movements of actors on stage.
 Cross: A movement from one part of the
stage to another
 Position: The direction an actor is facing
relative to the audience, but from the
actor’s perspective.
 Gesture: An expressive movement of the
body or limbs.
 Tableau: A silent and motionless depiction of
a scene created by actors, often from a
picture (plural tableaux).
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Actor/Actress
Director
Ensemble
Stage Crew
Stage Manager
Blocking
Cross
Position
Gesture
Tableau
 Volume:
The degree of loudness or intensity
of a voice.
 Vocal quality: The characteristics of a voice,
such as shrill, nasal, raspy, breathy, booming,
and so forth.
 Projection: The placement and delivery of
volume, clarity, and distinctness of voice for
communicating to an audience.
 Pitch: The highness or lowness of voice
 Articulation: The clear and precise
pronunciation of words.
Sense memory: Memories of sights, sounds,
smells, tastes, and textures. It is used to help
define a character in a certain situation.
 Subtext: Information that is implied by a
character but not stated by a character in
dialogue, including actions and thoughts
 Objective: A character’s goal or intention
 Motivation: A character’s reason for doing or
saying things in a play.
 Characterization: The development and
portrayal of a personality through thought,
action, dialogue, costuming, and makeup.
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Volume
Projection
Vocal Quality
Pitch
Articulation
Sense memory
Subtext
Objective
Motivation
Characterization
From Billy Wigglesticks, to Eric Bogosian,
it all starts with a
script.
 Text:
Printed words, including dialogue and
the stage directions for a script.
 Dialogue: The conversation between actors
on stage.
 Monologue: A long speech by a single
character.
 Play: The stage representation of an action
or a story; a dramatic composition.
 Stage Direction: The actions of a play
printed in the script by the publisher.
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Genre: The main types of literary form, principally
tragedy and comedy, but also forms that are more
specific such as the revenge tragedy, or comedy of
manners.
Style: The distinctive and unique manner in which a
writer arranges words to achieve particular effects.
Usually associated with a historical era or period of
time it was most popular.
Dramatic structure: The particular literary structure
and style in which plays are written
Tragedy: In the classical sense, a play that
demonstrates a character’s fall from grace, power,
position, or moral standing through their own actions.
Comedy : A theatrical work that is intentionally
humorous.
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Text
Dialogue
Monologue
Play
Stage Direction
Genre
Style
Dramatic Structure
Tragedy
Comedy
Plot: The ordered structure of a play as the
action progresses through the story.
 Rising action: The part of a plot consisting of
complications and discoveries that create
conflict.
 Protagonist: The character through whose eyes
we see the action of a play.
 Antagonist: A person or a situation that opposes
the protagonist’s goals or desires.
 Conflict : Opposition of persons or forces giving
rise to dramatic action.
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Crisis: A decisive point in the plot of a play on
which the outcome of the remaining action
depends.
 Climax: The point of greatest dramatic tension
in a theatrical work.
 Denouement: The final resolution of the conflict
in a plot – the “tying up of loose ends”.
 Exposition: Detailed information revealing the
facts of a plot.
 Given Circumstances: the information laid out
in the exposition – where, when, socioeconomic
conditions, political climate, etc.
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Plot
Rising Action
Protagonist
Antagonist
Conflict
Exposition
Crisis
Rising action
Climax
Denouement
Once more…
WITH FEELING!
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Cold reading: A reading of a script done by actors who
have not previously reviewed the play.
Dress rehearsals:The final few rehearsals just prior to
opening night in which the show is run with full technical
elements. Full costumes and makeup are worn.
Tech rehearsals: Rehearsals where technical elements
such as sound and lighting are added to the show.
Pacing: The tempo of an entire theatrical performance.
Informal theatre: A theatrical performance that focuses
on small presentations, such as one taking place in a
classroom setting. Usually, it is not intended for public
view.
Formal theatre: Theatre that focuses on public
performance in the front of an audience and in which the
final production is most important.
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Improvisation: A spontaneous style of theatre through
which scenes are created without advance rehearsal or a
script.
Melodrama: A dramatic form popular in the 1800s and
characterized by an emphasis on plot and physical action
(versus characterization), cliff-hanging events, hearttugging emotional appeals, the celebration of virtue, and a
strongly moralistic tone.
Mime: An incident art form based on pantomime in which
conventionalized gestures are used to express ideas rather
than represent actions.
Musical theatre: A type of entertainment containing
music, songs, and, usually, dance.
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Cold Reading
Dress Rehearsal
Tech Rehearsal
Pacing
Informal Theatre
Formal Theatre
Improvisation
Melodrama
Mime
Musical Theatre
 Pantomime:
Acting without words
through facial expression, gesture, and
movement.
 Puppetry: Almost anything brought to life
by human hands to create a performance.
Types of puppets include rod, hand, and
marionette.
 Theatrical conventions: The established
techniques, practices, and devices unique
to theatrical productions.
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Wagon: Any piece of scenery on a wheeled platform
designed to be moved on and off stage.
Props (properties): Items carried on stage by an actor;
small items on the set used by the actors.
Set Piece: Anything not carried by an actor.
Masks: Coverings worn over the face or part of the face of
an actor to emphasize or neutralize facial characteristics.
Make-up: Cosmetics and sometimes hairstyles that an
actor wears on stage to emphasize facial features,
historical periods, characterizations, and so forth.
Costume: Clothing worn by an actor on stage during a
performance.
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Pantomime
Puppetry
Theatrical Conventions
Wagon
Properties
Set piece(s)
Masks
Makeup
Costume