5DR02 – Drama Vocabulary
Subtext:
The meaning beneath the words. What the character is
really thinking but not saying.
Symbol:
A line, image, stage picture which stands for something
e.g. the cracks in the set for ‘Two’ symbolised the cracks
in the relationships of the characters on stage.
Proxemics
The positions of the characters on stage. This is done in
early rehearsal in relation to where the audience is sitting.
Learn this stage diagram and use these terms when
talking about stage movement.
Types of Staging: What type of theatre would you perform this in?
Proscenium/open stage (audience sit facing stage)
Thrust stage (audience sit on three sides)
In the Round (audience sit in a circle around the stage)
Traverse (audience sit on either side of the stage)
Promenade (the audience sit on stage as part of the background) .
Action/Plot/Content:What you want the audience to think about the theme of
your play and which moment or moments would best help to reveal the
theme.
Dramatic Contrast: Silence/Sound, Movement/Stillness.
Climax:
The tensest part of the scene.
Rhythm/Pace/tempo:
The speed of the scene.
Characterisation:
How certain lines should be said, which words
should be stressed and what body language, gestures should be used.
Acting
Status:
The power a character has in the scene.
Character objectives:
Subtext
What do the characters want in the scene and in
the play as a whole?
What the character is really thinking but not necessarily saying.
Body language can reveal this.
Use of Voice
intonation - (where the voice goes up or down),
pitch – low or high voice
inflection - (which word or words are emphasized) pitch (how high or low the
voice is),
tone - (the emotion) and volume to suit the action.
Use of pauses - can also draw attention to the following words and/or create
tension.
Pace – speed/contrast in speed the lines are said.
Sound:
Diegetic sound – sound which is natural to the scene e.g a
sound effect of birds singing to indicate the countryside.
Non – Diegetic sound – sound which adds a comment to the
scene like a piece of music to create meaning or atmosphere or a stylised
sound effect such as a hear beat to create tension.
Lighting Vocabulary:
Types of Stage Lanterns
Parcan
Used to create large areas of colour wash. Often used for
backlighting.
Floods
Also used to create large areas of colour. They can also be
used on the floor.
Birdies
Small lights at stage level often used for uplighting.
Fresnel
Used to light more specific areas of the stage. The beam of
light is made narrower or wider using barndoors (metal flaps
around the front of the light).
Profile Spot A spotlight used to pick out actors in individual light. When used
with a gobo (a piece of metal cut with a pattern which is inserted
into the light) different patterns or shapes are projected onto the
stage e.g. leaves, windows, abstract shapes.
Gel
Plastic coloured material put in a light to create colour on stage.
Lighting effects
Top lighting Creates shadows in the actor’s eyes. Used for sinister,
mysterious effect.
Side lighting When an actor is lit from just one side, the other side of the face
is in shadow.
Uplighting
Creates shadows behind actor. Used for sinister, eerie,
mysterious feel.
Front lighting When just front lighting is used, actor appears 2 dimensional.
To create 3 dimensional look lighting designers use a mix of
front, side and backlighting.
Lighting State Combinations of lights used to create a mood, atmosphere of
sense of place on stage.
Intensity
The level of brightness in the lighting state. Bright through to
dim to achieve different effects/emotions.
The use of set/costume/props: Think about set and costume in terms of
colour/texture/shape.
Think about props in terms of how they
symbolise character.