ABOVE

An actor move upstage

ACTOR
Person (male or female) whose role is to play a character other than his/her own.
Although the term 'actress' is sometimes still used for a female actor, many women
prefer to have the same title as the men.

AMDRAM
Short for Amateur Dramatics.

BAPAM
British Association for Performing Arts Medicine. Specialist health and safety sup-
port for performers and technicians.
British Association for Performing Arts Medicine website

BIT PART
A small role in a play, television production or film.

CANVAS
Used to cover flats as a less heavy alternative to plywood.

CASUALS
Part-time temporary technicians (paid by the hour).

COUR
From the French coté cour meaning Stage Left.

DIGS
Colloquial term for short-term accommodation for actors during the run of a show.
Originally short for diggings, the term appeared in the UK publication The Stage in
1893.

DOLLY
A small wheeled platform used to move heavy items. (E.g. a piano dolly).
Also refers to a wheeled camera trolley running on tracks used in the film industry.
DOUBLE
A member of the cast or crew who appears on stage in place of the leading actor
for a particular moment or sequence, either because the lead actor is doing a cos-
tume-change, or is in a different part of the venue at the time. A double is also used
for some illusion sequences where the lead actor 'magically' appears to have
moved an impossible distance in a short space of time. 
See also Stunt Performer. 

FIT-UP
Initial assembly on stage of a production's hardware, including hanging scenery,
building trucks etc.

HOUSE LIGHTS
The auditorium lighting which is commonly faded out when the performance starts.

INSET
A small scene set inside a larger one.

KILL
To switch off (a light/sound effect); to strike/remove (a prop).
(e.g. Kill channel 6 please)

O.P.

Opposite Prompt side of the stage. Stage Right. (ie Actors right when facing audi-
ence).
OVERTURE
Introductory musical piece played before a musical which contains many of the mu-
sical motifs and themes of the score.

PELMET
A narrow strip of cloth or wood at the top of a door or window to hide the fittings. A
PELMET CLIP can be used to fix a pelmet into place above a window on a piece of
scenery.

PREPRODUCTION
Planning phase of production before actors rehearse (or sometimes have even
been cast) and before sets are built. Brings together the production team in discus-
sions about style, possibilities and budgets.

R&D
Short for Research and Development.
This describes an experimental phase of a project when different ideas are played
with, as the piece of work is being created.

REPETITEUR
Répétiteur is an accompanist, tutor or coach of ballet dancers or opera singers.

SAND BAG
A canvas bag or sack, sealed at one end and tied at the other end, used to act as a
weight. A sand bag can be attached to an unused flying spot line to stop it running
back through the pulleys, and to enable it to fly in without fouling adjacent equip-
ment.

SEGUE
Musical term for an immediate follow-on. Now often used as jargon for any kind of
immediate follow-on.
Pronounded ‘segway'

TBC
To be confirmed. In a cast list, this can be taken to mean To be cast.

TEMPO
(Italian for TIME) Musical term for the speed or pace at which a piece of music
should be performed. A fast-paced piece is known as UP-TEMPO, and a slow
piece is DOWN-TEMPO. Modern music defines tempo in terms of beats per minute
(BPM). Before the invention of the METRONOME to measure and time BPM, clas-
sical music used descriptive Italian terms (such as ADAGIO (slow), ALLEGRO
(fast), PRESTO (faster)) for speed. The original Italian terms contain additional nu-
ances (e.g. ALLEGRO as well as meaning fast, also implies the piece should be
performed joyfully).