Glossary of Elizabethan Theatre
Stage Directions and Drama Terms
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Act: One of the main divisions of a play. Shakespeare's plays each have
five acts. Each act is subdivided into scenes. An act generally focuses on
one major aspect of the plot or theme. Between acts, stagehands may
change scenery, and the setting may shift to another locale.
Alarum: Stage direction indicating the coming of a battle; a call to arms
Arras: Tapestry hung on the stage to conceal scenery until the right
moment. In Hamlet, an arras played a crucial role. Polonius hid behind
one to eavesdrop on a conversation between Hamlet and his mother,
Queen Gertrude. When Hamlet saw the tapestry move, he stabbed at it,
thinking King Claudius was behind it, and killed Polonius.
Aside: Words an actor speaks to the audience which other actors on the
stage cannot hear. Sometimes the actor cups his mouth toward the
audience or turns away from the other actors. An aside serves to reveal
a character's thoughts or concerns to the audience without revealing
them to other characters in a play. Near the end of Hamlet, Queen
Gertrude raises a cup of wine to her lips during the fencing match
between Hamlet and Laertes. King Claudius had poisoned the wine and
intended it for Hamlet. In an aside, Claudius--unwilling to warn Gertrude
in an effort to preserve his innocence--says, "It is the poison'd cup: it is
too late."
Catchword: In published Shakespeare plays in earlier times, a single
word on the bottom of the right side of every page. This word was the
first word appearing on the next page.
Chorus: The chorus was a single person who recited a prologue before
Act I (and sometimes a passage between acts) in Henry V, Henry VIII,
Troilus and Cressida, and Romeo and Juliet. Generally, the chorus
informed the audience of action offstage or outside the time frame of the
play.
Dramatis Personae: List of the characters in a play. Such a list is found
at the beginning of each Shakespeare play.
Enter: Stage direction indicating the entrance onto the stage of a
character or characters.
Epilogue: Short address spoken by an actor at the end of a play that
comments on the meaning of the events in the play or looks ahead to
expected events; an afterword in any literary work.
Excursion: Stage direction indicating that a military attack is taking
place. The opening of Scene II in Act III of King John contains such a
stage direction.
Exeunt: Stage direction indicating the departure of two or more
characters from the stage.
Exit: Stage direction indicating the departure of a character from the
stage.
Flourish: Music usually introducing the entrance or exit of a king or
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another important person. The music may consist of a short trumpet
passage.
Fair Copy: Play manuscript after it has been edited.
Foul Papers: Original manuscript of a playwright which was later
edited.
Gallery: Roofed seating area of a theatre, such as the Globe, that
resembled the grandstand of a baseball park. The Globe had three
galleries that could accommodate 2,000 to 3,000 playgoers.
Hautboys: Stage direction indicating that entering characters are playing
hautboys (OH bwah), which are Elizabethan oboes
Induction: Preface or prelude to a play. The Taming of the Shrew
contains an induction that precedes the main plot.
Master of Revels: Government censor who examined all plays for
offensive material
Prologue: Introduction of a play. In Henry V, a chorus (one person)
speaks a prologue that encourages the audience members to use their
imaginations to create what an Elizabethan stage cannot: battlefields,
clashing swords, the might of warriors. Shakespeare writes, "Think when
we talk of horses, that you see them printing their proud hoofs i' the
receiving earth."
Promptbook or Prompt Copy: Edited version of a play in which an
acting company inserted stage directions.
Re-Enter: Stage direction indicating the re-entrance onto the stage of a
character or characters.
Scene: (1) Time and place of the action in a play; (2) part of an act in a
play that usually takes place in one location.
Sennet: Trumpet flourish to introduce the entrance of a character, such
as King Lear (Act 1).
Soliloquy: Long passage in which a character reveals his thoughts to
the audience but not to other characters. Hamlet's famous "To be or not
to be" speech is an example.
Solus: Stage direction indicating a character is alone on the stage.
Stationers' Register: Book in which the English government required
printers to register the title of a play before the play was published. The
full official name of the Stationers' Register was the Hall Book of the
Worshipful Company of Stationers.
Tiring House: Dressing rooms of actors behind a wall at the back of the
stage. To tire means to dress–that is, to attire oneself. Sometimes, the
wall of the tiring house could stand as the wall of a fortress under siege.
Torches: Stage direction indicating that entering characters are carrying
lit torches.
Within: Stage direction indicating that a person speaking or being
spoken to is behind a door or inside a room
Source: http://www.cummingsstudyguides.net/xIllustrations.html#Stage (05/09/2006)
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