THEATRE I THEATRE FACTS
1. -A script is a written
copy of the dialogue that
the actors will speak.
2. -Dialogue is the
conversation between
actors on the stage.
3. -A playwright is one
who writes plays.
4. -Blocking is planning
and working out the
movements and stage
grouping for a play
5. -Projection is the
placement and delivery of
voice elements used
effectively in
communicating to an
audience.
6. Diaphragm-the stomach
muscle used to control
breathe which also allows
you to properly project
without straining your vocal
chords.
7. black-box theater -flexible room for theater
performances where the
audience seating and
playing areas can be
rearranged in any way
that suits the needs of
the individual production.
8. Tablea-A still image,
frozen moment, or a
“photograph.” Created
by posing still bodies.
9. A monologue is a
dramatic sketch
performed by one actor.
10. -Striking is the cleanup of set pieces and
props.
11. -To "Cheat Out"
means that the
performer readjusts
his or her body so
that the audience
gains a better view.
This might mean that
the actors stand in a
way that's not quite
natural -- which is
why it cheats reality
just a bit.
12. -An aside is a line
spoken by an actor to the
audience but not
intended for those
onstage.
13. -A playbill is the
program of a play.
Playbills usually include
the cast and crew list,
show order, bios, and
advertisements.
14. -Footlights are lights
placed along the front
of the stage at the foot
level of the actors.
15. Cold reading-an audition
where you read from a
script that you have not
previously seen or
rehearsed.
16. -Members of the Greek
chorus wore masks,
usually similar to each
other but completely
different from the leading
actors to help create a
sense of unity.
17. -In some Greek masks
the wide open mouth
contained a brass
megaphone enabling the
voice of the wearer to be
projected in the
auditorium.
18. -The comedy and
tragedy masks have come
to represent theatre. They
were first created in
Ancient Greece and used
for religious and
entertainment functions.
19. -Neutral masks are
plain white masks without
any features.
20. -The earliest known
allusion to mask use was
found in a cave in
Southern France. It is
believed to have been
painted around 20,000BC
and depicts a person
masked in the skin and
antlers of a deer.
21. -Cosmetics have been
around since at least 4000
BC, but the earliest
recording of a stage
performer taking advantage
of it was in the 6th Century
B.C. when Thespis wore it to
stand out from the rest of
the men.
22. -Benjamin Emmet
Nye was a renowned
makeup artist for the
Hollywood film industry
for over four decades,
from the 1930s to the
early 1980s. He worked
for such films as Gone
with the Wind (1939),
Miracle on 34th Street
(1947), The King and I
(1956) and Planet of the
Apes (1968).
23. Musical theatre
originated in England.
24. September 21st,
1896 Florenz
Ziegfeld's debuted as
a Broadway producer.
Ziegfeld was best
known for his
theatrical
productions on
Broadway known as
Ziegfeld Follies.
25. -Show Boat, first
premiering in 1927, is
considered the first true
American “musical play.”
26. -Beauty and The Beast,
premiering in 1994, was the
first Disney musical to play
on Broadway.
27.
New York City
houses the greatest
number of theatres, as
well as number of seats
per capita!
28. The Phantom of the Opera became
Broadway’s longest running show ever when
it overtook the record set by Cats with its
7,486th performance on January 6th 2006. It
is the only Broadway show ever to celebrate
anniversaries through 18 to 25 years.
29. -Elizabethan
theatergoers could
purchase apples and
pears to eat during the
show. These snacks were
often thrown at the actors
by dissatisfied members
of the audience.
30. -The academy
award winning
musical West Side
Story is based on the
story of Romeo and
Juliet.
31. -The Globe Theater
audience never had time to
get bored. In just two weeks
Elizabethan theaters could
often present “eleven
performances of ten
different plays”.
32. -It was in Italy, during
the Restoration, that the
first steps were taken
toward the development of
the proscenium, or "picture
frame", stage with which we
are so familiar today.
33. -After the Exeter
theatre fire in 1887, fire
curtains were introduced
in all British theatres.
34. On October 6th,
1927 in New York,
the very first spoken
voice in a feature film
was heard. The voice
belonged to Al Jolson
in the movie the Jazz
Singer.
35. -The first successful
permanent theatre
showing nothing but
films was “The
Nickelodeon”, which was
opened in Pittsburgh in
1905.
36. -Motion pictures
developed gradually from
a carnival novelty to one
of the most important
tools of communication
and mass media in the
20th century.
37. -A black cat is
supposed to be an
infallible source of good
luck about a theatre and
all dark felines are treated
with the greatest care and
consideration.