Technical Words Used In Drama And Theater Flashcards
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 shoots 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 played during a drama
Voiceover
People watching a drama
Audience
The area for the audience, generally filled with seats
Auditorium
The height of an actor’s head actor as determined by his/her body position (e.g., sitting, lying, standing, or elevated by an artificial means)
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 face or part of the face of an actor to emphasize or neutralize facial characteristics
Masks
An incident art form based on pantomime in which conventionalized gestures are used to express ideas rather than represent actions.
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 (e.g., full front, right profile, left profile)
Position
The placement and delivery of volume, clarity, and distinctiveness of voice for communicating to an audience
Projection
The view of the stage for the audience; is in 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 include rod, hand, and marionette
Puppetry
A rehearsal moving from start to finish without stopping for corrections or notes
Run-through
The written text of the play
Script
The backstage technical crew responsible for running the show. In small theater companies the same persons build the set and handle the load-in. Then during performances, they change the scenery and handle the curtain.
Stage crew
The director’s liaison backstage during rehearsal and performance, is responsible for the running of each performance
Stage manager
Established characters, such as young lovers, neighborhood busybodies, sneak villains, and overprotected fathers, who are immediately recognizable by an audience
Stock characters
Audience seated on two sides of the acting area
Avenue
Canvas cloth which covers the back of the stage, can be painted
Backcloth
The acting area is not lit
Blackout
Deciding where and when actors will move on stage
Blocking
Specific person in a drama
Character
Clothes worn by actors for their character
Costume
To change from one lighthing/sound cue to another with no blackout/silence in between
Crossfade
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
Audience seated at one end, acting area at the other
End on
To leave the acting area
Exit
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 actors who have 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 of functional designs in a production, such as costumes, lighthing, sets, and makeup
Design
The art and technique of bringing the elements of theater together to make a play
Directing
The particular literary structure and style in which plays are written.
Dramatic structure
Specific in depth-knowledge and literary resources to a director, producer, in theater company, or even the audience
Dramaturgy
A group of theatrical artists working together to create a theatrical production
Ensemble
A comedy with exaggerated characterizations, abundant physical or visual humor, and often, an improbable plot
Farce
A spontaneous style of theater through which sense are created without advance rehearsal or a script
Improvisation
