Theatre Vocab Flashcards
Blocking
arranging the movement/position of actors on stage
Book
script of your scene/play
Off-book
actor that has their lines memorized
On-book
actor that has not memorized lines or a person who holds script for someone with partially memorized lines
Cue line
last words of one characters’ line that next actor uses as a signal to start
Cheating out
when actors position themselves toward the audience so they can be seen/heard better
Ground plan
the scaled plan showing the layout of the theatre and the exact position of all set pieces on stage floor
Devising
method of theatre making in which the script and/or physcial performance improves the idea
Stage Directions
provide instructions for the technical aspects of a production, insulin the character description/appearance/movement onstage (lighting, sound, scenery, props)
Affective Stage Directions
“impossible” explains the vibe on stage to motivate directors ideas, but not really happening
Tableau
actors stand in frozen pictures that represent a story
Subjective
based on personal feeling/opinions (not facts)
Emotion recall (method)
an acting technique taken from Stanislavsky and developed by less Strasberg in which an actor connects a character experience to a similar experience they’ve had
Psychological gesture
an acting technique developed by Michael Chekhov that claims the way we move and hold our bodies determines our emotions
Viewpoints
an acting technique developed by Anne Bogart that focuses on embodiment and physicality- embodying stories through movement
GOTE Method
Goal (what a character wants)
Obstacle (whats standing in the way of that character getting what they want)
Tactic (the different ways a character tried to overcome their obstacles)
End result (the way the character changed from this to that)
Given Circumstance
The world the character inhabited (who, when, where), including historical/cultural/familial context. Either given by the playwright to the actors, or details the actor developers through their own process
Scoring
writing action verbs (to …) by each lone in order to identify what tactics the character is using
Fourth Wall
An imaginary barrier that separates the actors from the audience (actors don’t know they are there)
