Download Theatre Vocabulary

Words and terms you should know
Parts and places
inside a theatER.
 TheatER:
The structure within which
theatrical performances are given. Usually
includes an orchestra or seating area, and a
stage.
 TheatRE:
A collaborative art form including
the composition, enactment, and
interpretation of dramatic presentations
for an audience.
Center stage: The center of the area defined as
the stage.
 Downstage: The stage area toward the
audience.
 Stage left: The left side of the stage from the
perspective of an actor facing the audience.
 Stage right: The right side of the stage from the
perspective of an actor facing the audience.
 Upstage: Used as a noun, the stage area away
from the audience; used as a verb, to steal the
focus of a scene.
 Green Room: Our classroom, or the area
backstage where the actors wait during
performances.

Catwalks: Platforms and walkways above the
audience that are used by stage technicians to
access lighting, sound and effects instruments.
 Orchestra Pit: The area between the stage and
the audience where the orchestra plays.
 Front of house: The area in the theater where
the audience sits
 Offstage/backstage: The area of the stage
concealed by the proscenium and drapery that is
not seen by the audience
 Booth: Room above the audience wherein the
light board operator, sound board operator, and
stage manager run the show.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
Catwalks
Front of house
Orchestra pit
Green room
Upstage
Stage Left
Stage Right
Center Stage
Downstage
Booth
Backstage/offstage






Proscenium: 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.
Teaser: the border drapes across the top of the stage
that conceals the lighting instruments
Tormentor: The border drapes on the sides of the
stage that conceal the backstage areas
Cyclorama: The large muslin drape hung across the
extreme upstage area that represents the sky.
Grand Drape: The main curtain that conceals the
stage from the audience. Usually red.
Apron: The area of the stage on the audience side of
the grand drape.
 Fly
Rail: The ropes, pulleys, and arbors off
stage right that control the height of the
drapes, electrics, battens, and hanging
scenery.
 Battens: Pipes hung above the width of the
stage that can be used for hanging scenery.
 Electric: A batten affixed with electrical
outlets used for hanging and powering
lighting instruments.
 Backdrop: A large piece of painted fabric
hung behind the actors. Usually painted to
resemble a realistic location.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Proscenium
Teaser
Tormentor
Cyclorama
Grand drape
Apron
Fly Rail
Battens
Electric
Backdrop
 Select
a partner (ONE partner)
 Take out a SINGLE piece of paper for your
team.
 Number it from 1-21
 Find the numbers in the space, and write the
corresponding term next to the number.
 The first 3 teams to turn their quiz in to me
(all terms correct) get a prize!
“Speak the speech, I
pray you, as I
pronounced it to
you, trippingly on
the tongue…”





Actor/Actress: A male or female person who
performs a role in a play, television, or movie.
Director: The person who oversees the entire process
of staging a production.
Ensemble: A group of theatrical artists working
together to create a theatrical production.
Stage crew: The backstage technical crew
responsible for running the show. In small theatre
companies the same persons build the set and handle
the load-in. Then, during performances, they change
the scenery and handle the curtain.
Stage manager: The director’s liaison backstage
during rehearsal and performance. The stage
manager is responsible for the running of each
performance.
 Blocking:
The planning and working out of
the movements of actors on stage.
 Cross: A movement from one part of the
stage to another
 Position: The direction an actor is facing
relative to the audience, but from the
actor’s perspective.
 Gesture: An expressive movement of the
body or limbs.
 Tableau: A silent and motionless depiction of
a scene created by actors, often from a
picture (plural tableaux).
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Actor/Actress
Director
Ensemble
Stage Crew
Stage Manager
Blocking
Cross
Position
Gesture
Tableau
 Volume:
The degree of loudness or intensity
of a voice.
 Vocal quality: The characteristics of a voice,
such as shrill, nasal, raspy, breathy, booming,
and so forth.
 Projection: The placement and delivery of
volume, clarity, and distinctness of voice for
communicating to an audience.
 Pitch: The highness or lowness of voice
 Articulation: The clear and precise
pronunciation of words.
Sense memory: Memories of sights, sounds,
smells, tastes, and textures. It is used to help
define a character in a certain situation.
 Subtext: Information that is implied by a
character but not stated by a character in
dialogue, including actions and thoughts
 Objective: A character’s goal or intention
 Motivation: A character’s reason for doing or
saying things in a play.
 Characterization: The development and
portrayal of a personality through thought,
action, dialogue, costuming, and makeup.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Volume
Projection
Vocal Quality
Pitch
Articulation
Sense memory
Subtext
Objective
Motivation
Characterization
From Billy Wigglesticks, to Eric Bogosian,
it all starts with a
script.
 Text:
Printed words, including dialogue and
the stage directions for a script.
 Dialogue: The conversation between actors
on stage.
 Monologue: A long speech by a single
character.
 Play: The stage representation of an action
or a story; a dramatic composition.
 Stage Direction: The actions of a play
printed in the script by the publisher.





Genre: The main types of literary form, principally
tragedy and comedy, but also forms that are more
specific such as the revenge tragedy, or comedy of
manners.
Style: The distinctive and unique manner in which a
writer arranges words to achieve particular effects.
Usually associated with a historical era or period of
time it was most popular.
Dramatic structure: The particular literary structure
and style in which plays are written
Tragedy: In the classical sense, a play that
demonstrates a character’s fall from grace, power,
position, or moral standing through their own actions.
Comedy : A theatrical work that is intentionally
humorous.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Text
Dialogue
Monologue
Play
Stage Direction
Genre
Style
Dramatic Structure
Tragedy
Comedy
Plot: The ordered structure of a play as the
action progresses through the story.
 Rising action: The part of a plot consisting of
complications and discoveries that create
conflict.
 Protagonist: The character through whose eyes
we see the action of a play.
 Antagonist: A person or a situation that opposes
the protagonist’s goals or desires.
 Conflict : Opposition of persons or forces giving
rise to dramatic action.

Crisis: A decisive point in the plot of a play on
which the outcome of the remaining action
depends.
 Climax: The point of greatest dramatic tension
in a theatrical work.
 Denouement: The final resolution of the conflict
in a plot – the “tying up of loose ends”.
 Exposition: Detailed information revealing the
facts of a plot.
 Given Circumstances: the information laid out
in the exposition – where, when, socioeconomic
conditions, political climate, etc.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Plot
Rising Action
Protagonist
Antagonist
Conflict
Exposition
Crisis
Rising action
Climax
Denouement
Once more…
WITH FEELING!






Cold reading: A reading of a script done by actors who
have not previously reviewed the play.
Dress rehearsals:The final few rehearsals just prior to
opening night in which the show is run with full technical
elements. Full costumes and makeup are worn.
Tech rehearsals: Rehearsals where technical elements
such as sound and lighting are added to the show.
Pacing: The tempo of an entire theatrical performance.
Informal theatre: A theatrical performance that focuses
on small presentations, such as one taking place in a
classroom setting. Usually, it is not intended for public
view.
Formal theatre: Theatre that focuses on public
performance in the front of an audience and in which the
final production is most important.




Improvisation: A spontaneous style of theatre through
which scenes are created without advance rehearsal or a
script.
Melodrama: A dramatic form popular in the 1800s and
characterized by an emphasis on plot and physical action
(versus characterization), cliff-hanging events, hearttugging emotional appeals, the celebration of virtue, and a
strongly moralistic tone.
Mime: An incident art form based on pantomime in which
conventionalized gestures are used to express ideas rather
than represent actions.
Musical theatre: A type of entertainment containing
music, songs, and, usually, dance.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Cold Reading
Dress Rehearsal
Tech Rehearsal
Pacing
Informal Theatre
Formal Theatre
Improvisation
Melodrama
Mime
Musical Theatre
 Pantomime:
Acting without words
through facial expression, gesture, and
movement.
 Puppetry: Almost anything brought to life
by human hands to create a performance.
Types of puppets include rod, hand, and
marionette.
 Theatrical conventions: The established
techniques, practices, and devices unique
to theatrical productions.






Wagon: Any piece of scenery on a wheeled platform
designed to be moved on and off stage.
Props (properties): Items carried on stage by an actor;
small items on the set used by the actors.
Set Piece: Anything not carried by an actor.
Masks: Coverings worn over the face or part of the face of
an actor to emphasize or neutralize facial characteristics.
Make-up: Cosmetics and sometimes hairstyles that an
actor wears on stage to emphasize facial features,
historical periods, characterizations, and so forth.
Costume: Clothing worn by an actor on stage during a
performance.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Pantomime
Puppetry
Theatrical Conventions
Wagon
Properties
Set piece(s)
Masks
Makeup
Costume