Theatre vocabulary Scene/character analysis 1. Given circumstances: the who-what-when-where-and-why detals of the imaginary world of the play 2.

Intention: what the character wants/the character s goals. Broken down into: the ultimate goal(the characters overall objective), the main goal or spine(the characters goal within the context of the plays events), the immediate goal(what the character wants or needs at the moment) 3. Action: anything done or said by a character in the pursuit of their intention. Expressed as an active verb. Strategy. 4. Obstacle: what gets in the way of the character fulfilling their intention. An obstacle can be: withing the character, between characters, a conflict between your character and the world they live in. 5. Beat: a unit of intention- from when it begins until it is either satisfied, or the character opts for another tactic to achieve it, or something more important comes along to change it. 6. Dividing into beats: breaking down a speech or scene into units of intention. 7. Subtext: the continuous thoughts of the character that give meaning to dialogue and stage action. Lines and dialogue 1. Build: to increasing the pace, intensity, or volume or all three in order to reach a climax. 2. Top: to build a line higher in intensity than the one before. In a scene, when two actors continually top one another, they are building the scene to the climax. 3. Cue: the last word of speech or the end of an action that indicates it is time for the next actor to speak or move. These must be memorized as carefully as the actual lines. 4. Pace: the rate of speed at which the actor speaks the lines, picks up cues, and performs actions. Stage areas 1. Apron: the part of the stage that extends in tfront of the main curtain. Also called the forestage. 2. Curtain line: the imaginary line where the main(front)curtain touches when close. 3. Center line: the imaginary line dividing the stage in half; this line runs perpendicular to the curtain line, from upstage to downstage. 4. Fourth wall: the imaginary side of the stage facing the audience, through which the audience watches the action unobserved. 5. Proscenium: the arched opening through which the audience views the play. It frames the fourth wall.