NRHS – THEATRE I DR. NEIGHBOURS Common Theatre Language ~ Let’s all talk the same, and know what one another means ~

 Theatre  USE THIS TERM  (Dr. N’s pet peeve)  This means the “entity” of theatre; theatre as art; the job of theatre; the essence of theatre THEATRE / THEATER  Theater  A building  Movie theatre  i.e. Harborview  Do not ever misuse this word

INVISIBLE FOURTH WALL This is the imaginary wall between actors and the audience  Illusion of the First Time - An actor’s tool to make everything new and fresh  Script - The text the playwright gives the actor to work from  Side – A portion of the script; usually used for auditions or when the script is large and the actor only has a bit part.  16 Bars - In music, this is the usual amount that an actor will sing at the audition

 Counter - A type of blocking move where an actor moves to open a window for other actors  Counter Cross - A blocking move across the stage to another position  Windows - Creating pockets on actors onstage so that every actor can be seen  Open Up - Physically turn your body so the audience can see you

3 MAIN STAGES  Proscenium -Type of stage that is shaped like a picture frame  Arena or “In the Round” - Type of stage where the audience surrounds the actors and the action taking place onstage  Thrust - Type of stage that juts out from the proscenium arch

 Black Box - Type of theatre (usually used for experimental theatre) where the stage and audience positions can be changed  Prop - Anything the actor picks up with his hands and moves around the stage  Set - The scenery, furniture, etc. that make up what the audience sees onstage; doesn’t move

BASIC STAGE DIRECTIONS  Upstage - The part of the stage farthest from the audience  Downstage - The part of the stage closest to the audience  Center Stage - The centermost part of the stage  Stage Right - Part of the stage to the actors’ right and the audience’s left  Stage Left - Part of the stage to the actors’ left and the audience’s right

 Improvisation - No set script; make it up as you go along  Motivation - Why your character does what they do  Pantomime - Using the body to tell a story without words  Reacting - What the actor who is not speaking does while other actors are speaking  Exposition - What we know about each character at the beginning of the action  Protagonist - The hero of the show; main character  Antagonist - Whoever is against the hero/main character  Chorus - (Usually in Greek theatre) the characters without names that move and speak together  Ensemble - All the actors that are not principal players  Climax - The highest point of the action – the turning point

CONTEXT THE SETTING TEXT THE ACTUAL LANGUAGE WHAT IS GIVEN SUBTEXT WHAT IS MEANT THE MEANING AND INTERPRETATION