Words and terms you should know Theatre Vocabulary Words and terms you should know

Section 1: theater Structure Parts and places inside a theatER.

First things first… 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.

The Actor’s perspective… 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.

The Audience perspective… 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.

Checkpoint: Define these terms Catwalks Front of house Orchestra pit Green room Upstage Stage Left Stage Right Center Stage Downstage Booth Backstage/offstage

The big Picture… 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.

Now you see it, Now you don’t… 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.

Checkpoint: Define these terms Proscenium Teaser Tormentor Cyclorama Grand drape Apron Fly Rail Battens Electric Backdrop

Theatre Structure Quiz: Scavenger Hunt 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!

Section 2: Acting Vocabulary “Speak the speech, I pray you, as I pronounced it to you, trippingly on the tongue…”

Who Are you? 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.

Moving about… 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).

Checkpoint: Define these terms Actor/Actress Director Ensemble Stage Crew Stage Manager Blocking Cross Position Gesture Tableau

Oral exam… 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.

Feelings, nothing more than feelings… 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.

Checkpoint: Define these terms Volume Projection Vocal Quality Pitch Articulation Sense memory Subtext Objective Motivation Characterization

Section 3: The page From Billy Wiggle-sticks, to Eric Bogosian, it all starts with a script.

Set the action to the word… 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.

A Comedy of Errors… 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.

Checkpoint: Define these terms Text Dialogue Monologue Play Stage Direction Genre Style Dramatic Structure Tragedy Comedy

The Plot thickens… 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.

…and thickens… 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.

Checkpoint: Define these terms Plot Rising Action Protagonist Antagonist Conflict Exposition Crisis Rising action Climax Denouement

Section 4: The Process Once more… WITH FEELING!

2 Minutes to shine 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.

I’ll take Theatre Styles for 800, Alex. 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, heart- tugging 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.

Checkpoint: Define these terms Cold Reading Dress Rehearsal Tech Rehearsal Pacing Informal Theatre Formal Theatre Improvisation Melodrama Mime Musical Theatre

Theatre styles for 1000. 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.

Where does he get those wonderful toys… 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.

Checkpoint: Define these terms Pantomime Puppetry Theatrical Conventions Wagon Properties Set piece(s) Masks Makeup Costume