KS5 Glossary Terminology Flashcards
Acting area
The area within the performance space which the actor may move in full view of the audience. Can be known as the playing area
Acting style
A particular manner of acting that reflects cultural and historical influences
Action
The movement or development of the plot or story in the play - the sense of forward movement created by sense of time and/or the physical and psychological motivations of the characters
Analysis
Responding to dramatic art, the process of examining how the elements of drama (literary, technical and performance) are used
Antagonist
The opponent of the hero (protagonist) or main character of drama. Someone who actively competes with another character in the play
Apron
The area between the front curtain and the edge of the stage
Arena stage
A type of stage without a frame or arch separating the stage from the auditorium in which the audience surrounds the stage area e.g. theatre-in-the-round
Articulation
The clarity or distinction of speech
Aside
Lines spoken by an actor to the audience that is not supposed to be overheard by the other characters on stage
Black box
A single room theatre without a proscenium arch. The interior is painted black including the walls, floor, ceiling and any drapes are black
Blocking
The path formed by the actor’s movement on stage, usually determined by the director with assistance from the actor. Often written down in a script using theatrical symbols
Business
A piece of unscripted or improvised action and often comic in intention, used to establish a character or scene or fill a pause in dialogue. An author may suggest this to indicate the need for action at that point
Catharsis
The feeling of release felt by the audience at the end of a tragedy or is set free from the emotional hold of the action after experiencing strong emotions and sharing in the protagonist’s struggles
Character
A person portrayed in a drama, novel, or other artistic piece
Characterisation
How an actor uses body, voice, and thought to develop and portray a character
Choreography
The movement of actors and dancers to music in a play
Chorus
A group of performers who sing, dance, or recite in unison. They were the group of performers who sang and danced between episodes, narrated off-stage action, and commented on events
Climax
The point of greatest intensity in a series or progression of events in a play that often form the turning point of the play leading to some kind of resolution
Comedy
A play that treats characters and situations in a humourous way. In Shakespeare’s time, a comedy was any play with a happy ending that typically told the story of a likable character’s rise to fortune. Low comedy is physical rather than intellectual comedy, high comedy is more sophisticated, emphasising verbal with more than physical action
Comic relief
A break in tension of a tragedy provided by a comic character, a comic episode, or even a comic line
Concentration
The actor’s focus (also called centering) that focuses on the work at hand, being in character or being in the moment
Conflict
The internal or external struggle between opposing forces, ideas, or interests that creates dramatic tension
Contrast
Dynamic use of opposites, such as movement/stillness, sound/silence, and light/darkness
Dénouement
The moment in a drama when the essential plot point is unravelled or explained
Development
Progression of the plot or conflict in a play
Dialogue
Spoken conversation used by two or more characters to express thoughts, feelings, and actions
Dynamic
The energetic range of or variations within physical movement or the difference between levels of sound
End on
Traditional audience seating layout where the audience is looking at the stage from the same direction (similar to proscenium arch)
Ensemble
The dynamic interaction and harmonious blending of the efforts of the many artists involved in the dramatic activity of theatrical production
Exposition
The part of the play that introduces the theme, chief characters, and current circumstances
Farce
An extreme form of comedy that depends on quick tempo and flawless timing and is characterised by improbable events and farfetched coincidences
Flashback
Used in a non-linear plot, to go back in time to a previous event, a flash forward would move the action into the future
Focus
The act of concentrating or staying in character
Fourth wall
The invisible wall of a set through which the audience sees the action of the play
Genre
A category of literary or dramatic composition and can be further divided into tragedy, comedy, farce, and melodrama, and these genres can also be subdivided
Gesture
Any movement of the actor’s head, shoulder, arm, hand, leg or foot to convey meaning
Imaging
A technique which allows performers to slow down and focus individually on an issue. The performers, sitting quietly with eyes closed, allow pictures to form in their minds. These images may be motivated by bits of narration, music, sounds, smells etc
Improvisation
The spontaneous use of movement and speech to create a character or object in a particular situation, acting done without a script
Inflection
Change in pitch or loudness of the voice
Interaction
The action or relationship among two or more characters
Irony
An implied discrepancy between what is said and what is meant
Verbal Irony is when a writer or speaker says one thing and means something else (often the opposite of what is said)
Dramatic Irony is when the audience perceives something that a character does not know
Situational Irony can be described as a discrepancy between expected results and the actual results
Isolation
Control of isolated body parts, the ability to control or move one part of the body independently of the rest
Kinaesthetic
Resulting from the sensation of bodily position, presence, or movement
Language
The particular manner of verbal expression, the diction or style of writing, or the speech or phrasing that suggests a class or profession or type of character
Mannerism
A peculiarity of speech or behaviour
