Useful Theatre Terms

actor: a person who performs in a play

blackout: when all lights are simultaneously turned off to indicate the end of a
scene

blocking: a plan that indicates where an actor stands and moves

center stage: the middle portion of the stage floor

cue: a signal that tells an actor when to speak or move

downstage: the area of the stage that is closest to the audience

improvisation: a drama that is not scripted, but is made up as you go

monologue: a scene when only one actor speaks

offstage: the area of the stage that is not seen by an audience

onstage: the area of a stage where actors perform

pantomime: a story performed without words  

proscenium: a decorative frame that arches around the stage's acting area

stage directions: instructions given to actors to tell them when and where to
move on stage

stage left: the area of stage that is on the actor's left

stage right: the area of stage that is on the actor's right

upstage: the back of the stage or the area that is the farthest away from the
audience
A Brief History of Theatre

When watching the television show, “Gilligan’s Island” there are some
features that are reminiscent of the Greek and Roman theatre. For example,
the opening credits on “Gilligan’s Island” explain the story of what events
took place before the action of the show starts to kind of catch the
audience up to speed and give them a little background to help them
understand what the situation is when the episode begins. This is similar to
the role that the Greek chorus played. They served, partly, as narrators to
explain the action and background behind the play to help the audience
understand what the play was about. The chorus was a very important part
of the Greek theatre as is the theme song at the beginning of “Gilligan’s
Island.” They both allowed major portions of the plays/shows action to be
given ‘off stage’ so that the main plot could be focused on. It allows the
writer to get to the point of the play/show quickly without losing any
important pieces and still giving the audience a full picture of the message
that he/she is trying to convey.
Another similarity is the use of stock characters in ‘Gilligan’s Island.”
The role of the protagonist is played by the Skipper and the role of the foil
is played by Gilligan. The Skipper is strong and pretty smart and Gilligan is
scrawny and not very smart at all. It is sort of hard to definitively assign
the other character types because they seem to fluctuate from episode to
episode. For the most part, however, the Professor plays the role of the
raissoneur or the confidante because he always seems to have the right
answers for how to do things. The rest of the characters such as Ginger and
the millionaire and his wife seem to be the stereotypes. Finally, the
antagonist role changes the most from episode to episode. Sometimes, it is
played by someone who comes to the island that they are on or sometimes, it
is just the island itself because they are always unable to leave for some
reason or another. Like in the Greek and Roman theatre, using stock
characters allows the audience to relate to the characters that are being
portrayed and gets the audience to feel like they are more involved with
what is happening. This makes the jokes funnier and the action more
believable because the character types are familiar to the audience in
contexts outside of the performance.
 The last major similarity is the continuity or lack thereof between the
different episodes of “Gilligan’s Island.” Each individual episode of the show
has a beginning, middle, and end, and the characters never seem to get
anywhere by the end of the episode. They at least never get off the island
by the end of the episodes. This means that all of the episodes can be
watched in no particular order and the events will still make sense because
it’s just the action in the middle of the show that changes from episode to
episode. This is similar to the way that the theatre festivals were
performed in Greek and Roman times. The plays were performed over
several days and they all related to each other but they all didn’t necessarily
go in a particular order. This could be a good thing because if one misses and
episode of “Gilligan’s Island” or if one misses one of the plays being
performed they won’t be behind when the next show/play is on.
Many of the modern television shows can be compared to the Greek
and Roman theatre styles in this same way. There are probably even more
elements that can be compared that aren’t as significant or as evident in our
modern TV shows. What is evident though is the way that people entertain
themselves today is very similar to the way that people entertained
themselves in Greek and Roman times. The predominant themes and
techniques are recycled over and over and are still just as effective as they
were when they were first used.
 Women's Experiences in the Pre-World War I Period
Women on the ranching and agricultural frontiers worked
year-round. They provided food, clothing, and performed
outside labour such as caring for the farm’s livestock, making
butter, and growing gardens. For many women in southern
Alberta the idea that men and women occupied separate
spheres – men in the work force and women in the home –
was not a reality. In many cases, particularly in the early
homestead years, husbands and elder sons left the homestead
to engage in labour that could bring to the family farm
necessary cash for farm implements.
A Pioneer Woman
While their husbands were away, women ran the farm, planted
Courtesy of the Glenbow Collection
crops, and cared for children. Mrs. Mae Olstad of Camrose,
Alberta, in 1975 recalled life on the farm: "You know I was
the veterinary on the farm and everything else…. He was no
good at that at all and so if any animal got sick it was me. Oh I
can remember helping a young heifer with her calf. She
couldn’t have it…and I knew my husband was gone… When
he went, he didn’t come back for awhile." Source: Harvest Yet
to Reap, p. 54. In rural areas doctors were usually scarce and
women cared for the sick and injured. Pregnant women relied
on their neighbours or community midwives for assistance
during childbirth.
Women shared farm work equally with men
Legally, women had few rights: they lacked basic property
Courtesy of the Glenbow Collection
rights, In urban centres like Calgary and Lethbridge women
likewise enjoyed fluid boundaries between the private and
public spheres. Yet, their lives differed from rural women
because they enjoyed more frequent social contacts, and
young single women frequently worked before marriage. The
types of employment women could take and train for,
however, was limited.

The Youngs Sisters, owners of a newspaper and

stationery store. Four of the few female members
of Calgary's business elite, ca. 1908
Courtesy of the Glenbow Collection.

Marriage as an institution
Courtesy of the Glenbow Collection
Legally, women had few rights: they lacked basic property rights, divorce proceedings were harder for
women, they could not vote, and they could not sit on juries. Although single or widowed women could
acquire, hold, and dispose of property as a man, they could not homestead unless they were the sole
head of the family. Married women could not dispose of or acquire land without their husband’s
permission until 1906. Before the Dower Act was passed by the Alberta legislature in 1917, women
could be left with nothing if their husbands died. The Act gave widows security by stating that they
would receive the use of their husband’s homestead for life and that while he was alive he could not
mortgage, encumber, or sell the property without his wife’s consent. In regards to divorce, while men
only had to prove that their wives had committed adultery, women had to provide additional proof of
cruelty and desertion. The law was not changed until 1927 when the Alberta Domestic Relations Act
decreed that a woman could apply for judicial separation and alimony following a two-year separation
from her husband. Women did not acquire equal rights over their children until 1920. Electorally,
unmarried women who met certain property qualifications could elect and serve on school boards and, in
1894, widows and single women were granted the right to vote, but not hold office, in municipal
elections. The degree to which the legal system reflected the patriarchal nature of early twentieth century
society is evident in the punishment meted out for certain crimes: stealing cattle (14 years in prison);
assaulting a male (10 years and a whipping); assaulting a woman (no more than 2 years).

Women’s Experiences in the Pre-World War I Period

Questions

1. Describe the life experiences of women during this period. Include in your answer
how life in the city was different than life on a farm. What freedoms did women in
the city have that farming women did not?

2. How were property rights different for men than for women? When did this
change?

3. What were women’s rights like when it came to marriage and children? To the
legal system?

4. Which changes do you feel were most important for women at that time?
 Susan Glaspell Biography

Trifles: A Play in One Act

Susan Glaspell   (1882-1948)

BIOGRAPHY
Susan Glaspell grew up in Davenport, Iowa, where she was born in 1882.
Glaspell began her career as an author of sentimental short stories for
popular magazines. By 1915, she had turned her energies to the theater,
becoming one of the founders of the Provincetown Players, a group that
worked with experimental drama. In 1916, Glaspell moved to Greenwich
Village in New York with the theater company- which had changed its name
to the Playwright's Theater. She played an important role with the group as
a writer, a director, and an actor. This theater group came to have a major
influence on the way American drama developed. She worked with them for
two seasons. Trifles was written to be performed with a group of one-act
plays by Eugene O'Neill at the company's summer playhouse. She wrote
other, longer plays that also have a feminist perspective. They are The
Verge - which was written in 1921 - and Allison's House, which she wrote in
1931. The later is a Pulitzer Prize–winning drama based upon the life of Emily
Dickinson: a very famous American poet. All in all, Glaspell wrote more than
forty short stories, twenty plays, and ten novels. Her best works deal with
the theme of the "new woman," presenting a hero who represents the
American pioneer spirit of independence and freedom. She was one of the
first feminists in the theater. Susan Glaspell died in 1948.
1. When was Susan Glaspell born?

2. Where were her first stories printed?

a. in newspapers b. on the Internet
c. in magazines d. in a book of short stories

3. When did she begin to work in the theater?

a. 1915 b. 1951
c. 1916 d. 1921

4. Which of these did Glaspell NOT do in the company?

a. write b. produce
c. direct d. act

5. For how long did Glaspell work with the Playwright's Theater?

6. Who was Emily Dickinson?

a. an actor b. a playwright
c. a poet d. a director

7. Which play is about the life of Emily Dickinson?

a. Trifles b. The Verge
c. Allison's House d. Pulitzer Prize

8. How old was Glaspell when she died?

9. Which words describe Susan Glaspell according to the passage?

___a. director ___b. mother ___c. feminist
___d. authoritarian ___ e. democrat ___f. author
___ g. politician ___h. actress
Blocking a Scene

Read the first scene from “Trifles”. Design the scenery for that scene. Then block (place) the characters
on the stage, paying attention to the stage directions given in the play.

Audience
Complete this table for FOUR pieces of scenery that you have placed on the stage.

Scenery Describe what it looks Why did you put this part of the scenery where you
like did?

Circle the areas that the actors will use, and label it for each actor.

ACTOR ONE
How will this actor use this space? (walk, sit, stand, move around)? Describe it.

ACTOR TWO
How will this actor use this space? (walk, sit, stand, move around)? Describe it.
Make A Scene

In this assignment you will make a scene of your own. You will be
the director. You will cut THREE characters and ONE object from a
magazine, and position them on a stage. You will then write a script
to go with the scene.

STEP ONE
Take a large sheet of paper and neatly drawn an outline of the stage on the paper.

STEP TWO
Using magazines find THREE characters and ONE object that you would like to place in
your scene. (You may also use pictures for scenery as well if you wish). Cut them out.

STEP THREE
Position your characters, the object, (and the scenery) on the stage as they will appear at
the START of your scene. Think about how to position them to show that they are
acting. Will one of the characters be in the power position? Glue them on.

STEP FOUR
Complete the table, making up information about your characters.

STEP FIVE
Write a piece of the script for the scene. In your script each character should speak
THREE to FIVE lines. Your script should use the proper format for a dramatic script that
we learned in class.
 MOTIVATIONS –
How does the
MOVEMENT – How character’s hidden
Character’s BEHAVIOUR - How LOOKS - How does VOICE – How does does the character use needs or experiences
Name does character behave? the character appear? the character speak? their body? influence them?

Make A Scene: Profile of Characters

English, Gr. 9 Name:
Scripts & Plays – Script Writing

Make A Scene
Meets the standard
Hand-in with distinction
with your
scene
(Level 4)
cut and paste meets the standard and ...
characters and object
scene chosen from the
magazine are creative or
unusual ... without
reading a script the scene
appears immediately
Communication interesting to the viewer
stage meets the standard and ...
there is a sense of action
blocking of created in the positioning
characters of characters and objects
Meets the standard
(Level 3)
three characters and one object are
cut from a magazine
the characters and object are neatly
cut, pasted and arranged on the
paper stage
characters are positioned to make
use of the entire stage, and the
power position
characters are positioned so it is
clear that they are interacting with
one another in some manner
Almost meets the
standard
(Level 2)
less than three characters
and one object are cut
from a magazine … the
cut and paste work is often
neatly done
two of three elements of
the standard are met
Needs work to
achieve the
standard
(Level 1)
less than three characters
and one object are cut
from a magazine … the
cut and paste work is
seldom neatly done
one of three elements of
the standard is met

characters are positioned so it is

Application
profile of meets the standard and ...
profiles of characters are
characters rich in detail … the
table characters are creative,
unusual, or particularly
interesting to the reader
Thinking
script format meets the standard and ...
script is neatly written or
typed
clear that they are interacting with
the object in some manner
all parts of the table are completed most parts of the table are about half of the table is
completed … a clear completed … a clear
a clear picture in words is created picture in words is created picture in words is created
about each character about two characters about one character
a list of the characters is given most elements of the one element of the
standard are met standard is met
lines of dialogue begin with the
name of the character in capital
letters followed by a ‘:’

stage directions are given in square

Knowledge
script content meets the standard and ...
the script would be
interesting to both the
reader and to someone
viewing the acted scene
… the dialogue slowly
reveals aspects of the
characters … the scene
creates an emotional
Thinking response in the
reader/viewer
brackets
introductory information is in
square brackets
introductory information provides two of three elements of one of three elements of
context for the scene the standard are met the standard is met
each character speaks at least one
line of dialogue
lines spoken are true to the profile
of characters table
enough stage directions are given
to help the director

script meets the standard and ... there are few flaws in grammar, there are several flaws in the flaws in grammar,
there are almost no flaws spelling, or punctuation grammar, spelling, or spelling, and punctuation
language in grammar, spelling, or punctuation interfere with
conventions punctuation communication
Application
Monologue Writing

Write a one page monologue. First complete this information to help you.

WHO?
Who is giving the monologue?
Choose a character from Trifles.

Person giving monologue:

WHERE?
Where is this person when they are speaking? Describe it.

WHO IS LISTENING?
This person is saying their monologue to an audience. Who are they?

WHAT IS THE MAIN THING THEY ARE GOING TO TALK ABOUT?

Your Monologue (Try to fill this space)

Show that the person talking is aware of who is listening.
ASSESSMENT

Monologue is on topic (A – 4 points)

Monologue is written for audience (C – 4 points)
Monologue is interesting to read or listening to (K – 4 points)
There are few flaws in language conventions (A – 4 points)
Activity

Write your own version of the scene beginning with when Mrs. Hale finding the bird in the
sewing box. Use the resources in Appendix D for this activity.

1. Before you write any dialogue do a scene plan, using the worksheet “Plan Your
Scene”. Use the play to help you decide who should be included in the scene and how
you would like to change it from what the author had happen. The reference sheet
“Scene Plan (How to Write a Scene for Your Story)” will give you some more ideas to
guide your writing.

2. Complete a profile of characters – appendix D – for each of the characters who will
appear in the scene.

3. Sketch the stage for this scene. Use the sheet “Blocking a Scene” for this activity.
Show what would be placed on the stage and indicate what the room should like look.

4. Write your script and give stage directions. Use the stage directions given in the
reference “Exit Stage Right”. Keep your stage directions simple as they are in the
example. Use the reference sheet “Stage Directions” for this activity.