Theatre Vocabulary Packet
A
ACOUSTICS: qualities that evaluate the ability of a theatre to clearly transmit sounds from the
stage to the audience.
ACT: main division of a drama, ACTS may be further divided into SCENES.
ACTOR: a performer in a play; may be male or female.
ADAPTATION: a reinvention of an existing story or play; includes turning novels into plays, plays
into musicals, or making changes in language or plot.
AD-LIB: making up a line not originally in a play, usually done when an actor forgets a line or
someone misses an entrance.
ANTAGONIST: the character or force opposing the main character in a play; the opponent or
adversary of the main character (protagonist); provides the obstacle the protagonist tries to
overcome.
APRON: That portion of the stage that falls between the main curtain or proscenium and the
audience. At times “apron scenes” are played either to indicate a different setting, or in a
musical an “apron scene” might cover for a scenery change behind the main curtain.
Sometimes the orchestra pit is raised to create a larger apron.
ARENA STAGE: stage placed in the center of a room with audience seating surrounding it, also
known as theatre in the round.
ASIDE: a bit of dialogue that other actors onstage are not supposed to hear, rather it is intended
to be heard by the audience.
ATMOSPHERE: the mood of the play; tone or mood established by events, places, or situations.
AT RISE: refers to the action taking place as the curtain rises.
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AUDITION: a brief performance of either a monologue or a short scene done by actors for the
director of a play in order for the director to decide which actor he or she wants to cast in a
particular role.
B
BACKSTAGE: refers to the areas not a part of the actual stage, but restricted for actors and
crewmembers. It usually includes the green room and the dressing rooms, and frequently
offices and scenic shops as well.
BIT PART: a small but important role in a production which helps to advance the plot or develop
another character.
BLACKOUT: a light cue that means all stage lights are to be switched off. Blackouts are used to
highlight an action on stage or as a cover to change scenery.
BLOCKING: (1) The movement of the actors on stage. During an early rehearsal the director
works out the movements of the actors – the entrances, exits, crosses, stage pictures, etc.
(2) Standing in front of another person on stage.
BODY POSITIONS: An actor has, in general, five positions that he/she can assume in relation to
his/her audience: The full front position
, the one quarter turned away position
, the
profile position , the three quarter turned away position
, and the full back position
.
The emotional contact the actor wants to have with his audience determines his stage position.
BOOTH: the small room set up for the management of the technical elements needed during a
play, usually set behind the audience with a window facing the stage. The Stage Manager calls
the show from there. The sound and light board operators run the audio and lighting
equipment from there as well.
BREAK A LEG: a superstition… an expression used instead of “good luck” exchanged by actors
who feel that saying "good luck" is a jinx.
BUILD: the gradual increasing of the tempo of the play.
BUTTERFLIES: The nervous feeling in the stomach before performances.
C
CALL: the time at which actors and technicians have to be at the theatre for a rehearsal or
performance.
CALLBACK: a second or third audition used to further narrow the field of actors competing for a
particular role in a play
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CALLBOARD: A bulletin board found backstage for pertinent announcements to the actors and
technicians.
CATWALK: a narrow walkway above the stage to allow technicians to work lines, lights, and
scenery.
CAST: (verb) to assign parts to the actors in a play.
CAST: (noun) group of actors in a particular play.
CASTING CALL: notice to actors of an audition for parts in a play.
CHARACTER: a person in a play created by the playwright and represented by an actor.
CHARACTER ROLES/ CHARACTER ACTING: refers to a performer who frequently plays a general
character type: a fool, a military man, etc. Character Roles are usually very demanding on
actors’ abilities. He must very his acting style to fit the character role, thereby showing just how
flexible he or she is. Also called a stock character.
CHARACTERIZATION: A representation of a character’s qualities or peculiarities through
dialogue, gesture, movement, costume and makeup.
CHEAT: to turn the body towards the audience while conversing with another performer. It’s
called ‘cheating’ because the actor does this in such a way that the audience doesn’t notice it.
CHOREOGRAPHER: the artist in charge of creating the dances and/or movements used by actors
in a play.
CLIMAX: (of a script or play) the moment of highest tension or suspense in a play; the turning
point after which all action moves to a resolution. The climax is the high point of the scene.
COMEDY: A play that is humorous in its treatment of theme and character.
COMIC RELIEF: a humorous moment, scene or speech in a serious drama which is meant to
provide relief from emotional intensity and, by contrast, to heighten the seriousness of the
story.
COMPANY: A group of actors and technicians working on a show. Also a group banded together
to work on a secession of shows, forming a permanent company. Repertory theatres and stock
companies utilize permanent companies.
COUNTERCROSS: A shifting of position by one or more actors to balance the stage picture.
COVER / COVERING: at times it is necessary to hide from the audience some action or stage
business. This is called covering. Stabbings are covered, blows thrown in a fight are covered,
and sometimes kisses are covered. Also called masking. Some director differentiate covering as
derogatory, and masking as the term to use when it is proper to cover.
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CROSS: An actors’ movement from one point to another on stage.
CUE: The final bit of dialogue, movement or business that signals a performer or technician to
carry out the next action. The last words or actions that come before another actor’s speech or
entrance; a light, sound or curtain signal.
CURTAIN CALLS: Occur after the final act when the curtain or lights are raised to allow the cast
to acknowledge the applause from the audience by taking their bows.
COSTUMES: the clothes worn by actors in a play - designed to fit the era, mood, and personality
of the characters as well as enhance the overall design look of the production.
COSTUME DESIGNER: the artist in charge of creating the look of the costumes for a play.
COSTUME SHOP MANAGER: the person in charge of realizing the vision of the costume designer
in actual clothes, responsible for maintaining the costumes and wigs during the course of the
production.
CRITIC: a writer who reviews plays.
CROSSOVER: a hidden passage, often behind the scenery, through which actors can go from
one side of the stage to the other without being seen by the audience. It is used if actors need
to exit on one side and make their next entrance from the opposite side.
CUE: the last words or actions that come before another actor's speech or entrance; a light,
sound or curtain signal.
CURTAIN: end of a scene; closing of a curtain to depict the end of an act or scene.
CURTAIN CALL: the process of actors taking their bows, receiving applause, and/or being
reintroduced to the audience at the end of a play.
D
DANCE CAPTAIN: member of the cast in charge of working with the dancers to maintain the
quality of the dance numbers, make sure dancers are properly warmed up before performance,
and teach understudies and new cast members existing numbers.
DEBUT- A player’s first appearance in public or a player’s first appearance in a new place or in a
new production.
DELIVERY: The way an actor says his lines. “His delivery was too fast.”
DESIGNER: a person who conceives and creates the plans for scenery, costumes, lighting,
sound, makeup, hairstyles, props and other visual aspects of a performance.
DIALECT: a speech pattern which is distinctive, or the use of a cultural accent on stage.
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DIALOGUE: the conversations actors have onstage with each other.
DIALOGUE COACH: person responsible for working with a cast on correct pronunciation and
dialect usage.
DIRECTOR: a person responsible for initiating the interpretation of the play, enhancing that
interpretation with the concepts of the designers and making all final decisions on production
values; tells the actors where to move and how best to communicate the interpretation of the
play to the audience.
DOWNSTAGE: front area of the stage, nearest to the audience.
DOUBLE CAST: to cast two actors for the same role and permitting appearances in alternation
productions. Often done in schools to give more students a chance to perform on stage.
DRAMA: the playscript itself; the art of writing and staging plays; a literary art form different
from poetry or other fiction.
DRAMTIS PERSONAE: cast of characters in a drama or, more generally, participants in an event.
DRESS REHEARSAL: The rehearsal performed as though it were a regular production in full
costume, stage setting and lighting. These occur in the final stages of the rehearsal process.
DRESS THE STAGE: Actors and set pieces are usually places so as to give a pleasing and balanced
effect to the viewer. This is called dressing the stage.
DRESSER: a person in charge of assisting actors with their costumes, wigs, and makeup during a
production.
DRESSING ROOM: the place where actors take their costumes, wigs, and makeup on and off.
Sometimes dressing rooms are communal, one for men, one for women, sometimes actors
have a dressing room all to themselves or to share with just one or two other actors. Dressing
rooms often contain (or are in close proximity to) toilets, sinks, showers, lighted make-up tables
and sleeping areas.
E
ENCORE: A request by an audience through applause, shouting, etc., for a performer to repeat a
part of his performance. Usually in musicals, operas, etc.
ENTRANCE: the movement of an actor onto the visible areas of the stage. Any opening, door,
window, wing, etc. through which a performer can enter. A performer doesn’t just walk in; he
makes “an entrance” which connotes, “with a flourish” or at least with a demand for attention
from the audience.
EXEUNT: stage direction meaning "they exit."
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EXIT: stage direction telling an actor to leave the stage. To leave the stage. A place, door or
opening for an actor to leave the stage.
EXPOSITION: dialogue which gives the audience the background information it needs to follow
the action of the play; most will occur early on in the play.
EXTRA: A non-speaking part in a play. A walk-on part. A member of a crowd scene.
F
FALLING ACTION: (of a script or play) the acceptance of the situation derived from the climax;
the conflict is worked out or resolved.
FIGHT CHOREOGRAPHER: the artist in charge of staging fight scenes, can include swordplay,
other weapons, or barehanded combat.
FORESHADOWING: a hint of what is to come in the story. This is often used to keep the
audience in a state of expectancy. Some bit of dialogue or action that suggests a later
happening in a play. For example, if a character places a gun in a drawer in Act 1, this may
foreshadow the use of the gun later in the play.
FOURTH WALL: In a Proscenium stage arrangement, the audience looks and listens through an
imaginary fourth wall. They sit and watch as performers operate from their three walls (box set)
and “overhear” what they say through the fourth wall.
FREEZE: Actors “frozen” in position, without movement, usually to mark a break in action for a
monologue, the end of a scene or of the play.
G
GAG: A line delivered to get a laugh. A joke.
GESTURE: a movement or position of the hand, arm, body, head, or face that is expressive of an
idea, opinion, emotion, etc. The use of hand, body and facial movement to make the actor’s
dialogue more meaningful or to make a point without dialogue.
GIVE, GIVE STAGE: An actor give or move on stage so as to allow another more attention.
GREEN ROOM: Traditionally, a waiting room where performers rest or receive visitors. A small
lounge backstage where actors can relax and get ready to go on.
H
HALF-HOUR: the usual call for actors to be at the theatre, thirty minutes before curtain.
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HAM: To act with exaggerated expression of emotion; overact. “ham it up.” A performer who
overacts.
HEAVY: The role of a very serious leading character, or the role of a villain.
HIT: A successful play or performer.
HOLD: To hold for laughter or applause directs the performer to wait until the noise dies down.
To hold a scene instructs an actor to remain stationary at the end of the scene.
HOUSE: the audience or the theatrical building. The audience or the theatre itself. “We had a
full house.” Or “the house didn’t respond well.”
HOUSE MANAGER: the employee in charge of the audience during a performance, trains
ushers, runs the concessions, and troubleshoots seating problems.
I
IMPROVISE / IMPROVISATION: to make up as you go along; often used as a rehearsal technique
to make actors more comfortable with their characters; may be a part of some performance
situations. To adlib or invent dialogue not found in the script. Improvisational theater carries
this to its extreme by doing an entire show in this fashion while following a basic plot outline.
INGENUE: said of an actress who plays in the role of a sweet, naïve young girl. It also refers to
the role itself.
INTERMISSION: Intervals between the acts or scenes allowing for the set changes, audience
respite, costume changes, etc.
INCITING INCIDENT: (of a script or play) the launching pad of the play; the action or short
sequence of actions that constitute the point of attack.
J
JUVENILE: A young actor. The male counterpart of ingénue.
L
LEAD: The starring role in a performance.
LIGHTING DESIGNER: artist in charge of creating the lighting effects for a play.
LINES: (1) The lines of a play are its dialogue. (2) Line is another word for rope or wire. (3) Line
is also a director’s term dealing with focusing attention on characters or things.
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M
MAKEUP: cosmetics, wigs, hair colorings, or other items applied to the actors to change or
enhance their appearance.
MASK: (1) A part of costuming, dating back to the earliest theatre and still used for special stage
effects. (2) To hide from the view of the audience (with a masking flat, for example).
MATINEE: An afternoon performance.
MELODRAMA: play with exaggerated plot and emotion.
MILK: To milk an audience is to get all one can out of an audience. In an extremely funny
situation, an actor can milk his audience through double-takes, gestures and other forms of
over-acting.
MONOLOGUE: A dramatic presentation by one person.
MOTIVATION: The reason behind an actor speaking a line or making a movement. The quality of
a play is determined by the skill the actors and director have in finding this sometimes elusive
element.
MOVEMENT COACH: a person familiar with the ways people physically relate to one another in
different historical periods, as well as general historically and culturally accurate movements.
(How to properly use a fan, how women walk while corseted, where and how men and women
might stand in relation to one another, etc.)
N
NARRATOR: one who tells the story; speaks directly to the audience.
O
OBJECTIVE: what the character wants/needs/desires.
OFFSTAGE: areas on the stage which are not seen by the audience, like the wings or the
crossovers, where action can take place and be heard by the audience, or where actors can wait
for their entrances.
OPEN: To open refers to a new production being done. “We open in Hartford next week, and
then we open in Boston and New Haven before we open in New York.”
OPEN UP: As a direction to an actor it tells him to face the audience, a full front position or a
quarter open position. (see BODY POSTITIONS).
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P
PACE: The tempo of a production including the delivery of lines, movement and the picking up
of cues. Pace is of great concern to the director, for as soon as a show drags, the audience loses
interest. Good tempo depends on rhythmic control and speed selection varying from scene to
scene.
PANTOMIME: The acting out of a story without using words.
PICK UP CUES: a request to an actor to avoid pauses between lines.
PLACES: A call to the actors to get ready; the curtain is about to go up.
PLAYWRIGHT: author of a play.
PLOT: The story line of a play developed through a logical unfolding of a series of events. Plot
also is a production term meaning a very detailed layout. For example, a light plot will include
diagrams of the various ways the play will be lighted. A property plot will list by scenes all the
necessary props for the play.
PRINCIPALS: Those playing the lead and principal supporting roles in a play.
PROJECT: The voice, gesture and movement on stage should be bigger than life, a bigness that
will leave no doubt in the minds of the audience. To accomplish this, an actor must intensify his
speech and actions so that everyone in the theatre understands clearly what he is trying to
convey. This is a projection.
PROP: any moveable item used on the set of a play or handled by an actor.
PROSCENIUM: The open frame in the solid wall of the auditorium which discloses the stage. The
proscenium arch rises as a giant picture frame enclosing the opening which surrounds the
playing area of the stage. Also known as Proscenium Arch.
PROTAGONIST: the main character or hero of a play.
PUT-IN REHEARSAL: a special rehearsal called when an understudy is going to go on, so that the
rest of the cast has an opportunity to get used to the presence of a different actor.
R
READING, A READ-THROUGH: Performers reading a play aloud without movements, usually for
purposes of interpretation before cast goes into regular rehearsals.
REHEARSAL: the time period before a play opens involving the practice of the dialogue,
movement, rhythms and interpretations of the play.
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RISING ACTION: (of a script or play) the sequence of action and events that leads to the climax
of the play; the conflict becomes clear and tension builds as obstacles are presented.
RUN: (1) The length of a performance. “It had run of twenty-nine weeks.” (2) The running time
for an act might be fifty-five minutes. (3) To run a flat is to carry a flat. (4) A run through of a
play is an uninterrupted rehearsal.
RUNNING CREW: people in charge of moving scenery and props onstage during a performance,
and helping create live audio or visual special effects.
S
SCENE: (1) The subdivision of an act in a dramatic composition often indicating a change of time
and place. (2) The locale of the play. “The scene is the living room of the Brown’s home.”
SCENIC ARTIST: a painter or machinist who reproduces the scene designer's drawings in full
scale on the stage.
SCRIPT: the written words and stage directions created by a playwright.
SET: the scenery of the play; depicts time, place and mood.
SET DESIGNER: the artist in charge of creating the physical world in which the play will live;
usually creates in drawings and scale models.
SHARE: To share a scene means for an actor to take a position on stage so that his position
affords equal dramatic emphasis with another actor.
SIGHT CUE: A non-verbal cue usually given as stage business. For example, as a character wipes
his spectacles, another might make his entrance of that cue. Sound and light technicians use
these sight cues also.
SOLILOQUY: a speech given by a character alone on the stage where the audience gets to know
the inner thoughts and feelings of the character.
SOUNDBOARD OPERATOR: the person who discharges the correct sounds or music at the
appropriate moment in the play.
SOUND DESIGNER: the artist responsible for the creation of the sounds heard during a
performance, including music and special effects.
STAGE AREAS: The stage is often divided into nine or fifteen areas around which a director can
block movement and place furniture, scenery, etc. C=center, R= right, L=left, D=down, U=up.
STAGE BUSINESS: All visual activity an actor does on stage other than personal business. This
includes entrances, exits, crosses, sitting, rising, etc. (See PERSONAL BUSINESS).
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STAGE DIRECTIONS: Directions given to the actor by the director.
STAGE LEFT: side of the stage on the actors' left as they face the audience.
STAGE RIGHT: side of the stage on the actors' right as they face the audience.
STAGE MANAGER: person who coordinates all aspects of the production during production and
performance, runs or calls the show.
STAGE WHISPER: A very loud whisper uttered by an actor so that the entire audience can hear
it. It is accepted as a whisper by the audience since other characters on stage pretend they do
not hear it.
STEAL, STEAL A SCENE: A derogatory term referring to one actor drawing the audience’s
attention to himself rather than to allow another actor to have the rightfully deserved
attention. (See UPSTAGING.)
STOCK CHARACTER: A familiar character who appears in a variety of plays. This includes the
villain, the hero, the clever servant, the fool, etc.
STRAIGHT PART: A role that is played “straight” rather than in comic fashion.
STRIKE: To disassemble a set and remove it from the stage. Used as a verb, “Strike the set.”
SUBTEXT: the thoughts behind the words the actor speaks.
T
TAG, TAG LINE: The last line in a play, a cue for the curtain.
THEME: the main idea or ethical precept the play deals with.
THESPIAN: Relating to acting and drama. A thespian is another name for an actor. The term in
derived from a 6th century B.C. poet named Thespis. Thespis is credited with introducing the
first actor into a performance. Up to this time, dramatic presentations included only a chorus
and a leader.
THRUST STAGE: a stage set at one end of the room which extends out into the audience area;
audience surrounds the stage on three sides.
TIMING: this is the relationship between short physical action and the spoken word with which
they are associated.
TONY: awards given annually by the American Theatre Wing for outstanding contributions to
the theatre; officially the Antoinette Perry Awards.
TOP (IT): To speak a line louder and more intensely than the previous line.
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TRAGEDY: A play which excites pity and terror through a succession of unhappy events.
Traditionally, the leading character is brought to catastrophe as a result of his own passion,
limitation or “tragic flaw”.
TRANSLATION: taking a play in one language and converting it into another.
TYPE-CAST: Choosing an actor to play a part because he resembles the character in real life.
U
UNDERSTUDY: a person who studies a part so as to play that role in a performance should the
original actor become ill or for some other reason cannot appear in the show.
UPSTAGE (area): That part of the stage furthest from the audience.
UPSTAGE: When an actor walks upstage of another, forcing the other cast member to turn his
back to the audience. A phrase also used when the attention of the audience is drawn away
from the featured performer by the impromptu actions of expressions of another actor.
V
VILLAIN: The antagonist in a play. Most melodramas rely on a roguish, despicable character to
present the conflict.
W
WALK ON: A very small part in a play with or without lines. A policeman, for example, might
walk on briefly.
WALK THROUGH: A rehearsal at which the actors “walk through” their parts with the emphasis
on blocking and stage motion rather than lines. Lines, however, might be delivered “matter-offactly” as cues to their movements.
WARN: To notify of an upcoming action or cue.
WINGS: The offstage spaces at the sides of the set.
X
X (CROSS): In a script, an “X” means an actor crosses at that time.
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