ENG Technical Words Used in Drama and Theater Flashcards
The area where actors perform
Stage
Non-acting area behind the stage.
Backstage
The back wall of the stage which can be painted or lit.
Cyclorama
Area above the stage from where scenery/actors are flown in on pulleys.
Flies
Left-hand side of the stage where prompter and stage manager sit during a performance.
Prompt side
Short for properties–objects used by an actor.
Props
Audience follows the action on foot, moving from one location to another.
Promenade
To come on stage.
Enter
A remark to the audience only.
Aside
Blocks or platforms used to create levels.
Rostrum
An item placed on set, usually part of it e.g., a lamp, clock, picture.
Set prop
What the audience sees of the stage from where they are sitting.
Sight lines
A single lengthy speech, made when no other characters are on stage.
Soliloquy
Attitude or position of the body.
Stance
A stage picture, held without movement
Tableau
Speaking, moving, or pausing at exactly the right moment.
Timing
Door in a floor.
Trapdoor
Stairs
Treads
Recorded speech plated during a drama.
Voiceover
People watching a drama.
Audience
The area for the audience, generally filled with seats.
Auditorium
Audience seated on two sides of the acting area.
Avenue
The acting area is not lit.
Blackout
Canvas cloth which covers the back of the stage, can be painted.
Backcloth
Deciding where and when actors will move on stage.
Blocking
Specific person in drama.
Character
Clothes worn by actors for their character.
Costume
To change from one lighting/sound cue to another with no blackout/silence in between.
Crossfade
A conversation between two or more characters.
Dialogue
Actions or remarks whose significance is not realized by all the characters
Dramatic irony
Final rehearsal of a drama with all the theater arts.
Dress rehearsal
The stress on a word or phrase.
Emphasis
To leave the acting area.
Exit
Audience seated at one end, acting area at the other.
End on
Acting out an event in the past.
Flashback
Acting out a future or imagined event.
Flashforward
Wooden frames, joined together and covered with canvas, which can be painted.
Flats
Frames into which a door is built.
Door flat
Reading of a script done by an actor who has not previously reviewed the play.
Cold reading
A signal, either verbal or physical, that indicates something else, such as a line of dialogue or an entrance, is to happen.
Cue
The creative process of developing and executing aesthetic or functional design in a production, such as costumes, lighting sets, and makeup.
Design
The art and technique of bringing the elements of theater together to make a play.
Directing
A comedy with exaggerated characterizations, abundant physical or visual humor, and often, an improbable plot.
Farce
The particular literary structure and style in which plays are written.
Dramatic structure
Specific in-depth knowledge and literary resources to a director, producer, theater company, or even the audience.
Dramaturgy
A group of theatrical artists working together to create a theatrical production.
Ensemble
A spontaneous style of theater through which scenes are created without advance rehearsal or a script.
Improvisation
The height of an actor’s head actor as determined by his/her body position(Sitting, lying, standing)
Level
Cosmetics and sometimes hairstyles that an actor wears on stage to emphasize Facial features, historical periods, characterizations, and so forth.
Makeup
Coverings worn over the face or part of the face of an actor to emphasize to neutralize facial characteristics.
Masks
An incident art form based on pantomime in which conventionalized gestures are used to express ideas rather than represent actions; also, a performer of mime.
Mime
A long speech by a single character.
Monologue
The tempo of an entire theatrical performance.
Pacing
Acting without words through facial expression, gesture, and movement.
Pantomime
Highness or lowness of voice.
Pitch
The orientation of the actor to the audience.(Full front, right profile, left profile)
Position
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.
Proscenium
Almost anything brought to life by human hands to create a performance. Types of puppets include rod, hand, and marionette.
Puppetry
The placement and delivery of volume, clarity, and distinctness of voice for communicating to an audience.
Projection
A rehearsal moving from start to finish without stopping for corrections or notes.
Run-through
The written text of a play.
Script
The backstage technical crew responsible for running the show. In small theater companies the same person builds the set and handles the load-in. Then,during the performance, they change the scenery and handle the curtain.
Stage crew
The director’s liaison backstage during rehearsal and performance. The stage manager is responsible for the running of each performance.
Stage manager
Established characters, such as young lovers, neighborhood busybodies, sneaky villains, and overprotective fathers, who are immediately recognizable by an audience.
Stock characters
