TECHNICAL WORDS USED IN DRAMA AND THEATER

Stage: The area where actors perform

Backstage: Non-acting area behind the stage
Cyclorama: The back wall of the stage which can be painted or lit
Flies: Area above the stage from where scenery/actors are flown in on pulleys
Prompt side: Left-hand side of the stage where prompter and stage manner sit during a performance
Props: Short for properties – objects used by an actor
Promenade: Audience follows the action on foot, moving from one location to another
Enter: To come on stage
Aside: A remark to the audience only
Rostrum: Blocks or platforms used to create levels
Set prop: An item on set, usually part of it
Sight lines: What the audience sees of the stage from where they are sitting
Soliloquy: A single lengthy speech, made when no other characters are on stage
Stance: Attitude or position of the body
Tableau: A stage picture, held without movement
Timing: Speaking, moving, pausing at exactly the right moment
Trapdoor: Door in a floor
Treads: Stairs
Voiceover: Recorded speech played during a drama
Audience: People watching a drama
Auditorium: The area for the audience, generally filled with seats
Avenue: Audience seated on two sides of the acting area
Backcloth: Canvas cloth which covers the back of the stage, can be painted
Blackout: The acting area is not lit
Character: Specific person in a drama
Costume: Clothes worn by actors for their character
Crossfade: To change from one lighting/sound cue to another with no blackout/silence in between
Dialogue: A conversation between two or more characters
Dramatic irony: Actions or remarks whose significance is not realized by all the characters
Dress rehearsal: Final rehearsal of a drama with all the theater arts
Emphasis: The stress on a word or phrase
End on: Audience seated at one end, acting area at the other
Exit: To leave the acting area
Flashback: Acting out an event in the past
Flashforward: Acting out a future or imagined event
Flats: Wooden frames, joined together and covered with canvas, which can be painted
Door flat: Frames into which is a door is built
Cold reading: Reading of a script done by actors who have not previously reviewed the play
Cue: A signal, either verbal or physical, that indicates something is to happen
Design: The creative process of developing and executing functional designs in a production
Directing: The art and technique of bringing the elements of theater together to make a play
Dramatic structure: Particular literary structure and style in which plays are written
Dramaturgy: Specific in-depth knowledge and literary resources to a director, producer, or audience
Ensemble: A group of theatrical artists working together to create a theatrical production
Farce: Comedy with exaggerated characterizations, abundant physical humor, improbable plot
Improvisation: Spontaneous style of theater, scenes are created without advance rehearsal
Level: Height of an actor’s head actor as determined by their body position.
Makeup: Cosmetic/hairstyles to emphasize facial features and characterizations
Masks: Coverings worn over the face or part of the face to emphasize facial characteristics
Mime: Incident art based on pantomime, gestures are used to express ideas
Monologue: A long speech by a single character
Pacing: The tempo of an entire theatrical performance
Pantomime: Acting without words through facial expressions
Pitch: Highness or lowness of voice
Position: The orientation of the actor to the audience
Projection: The placement and delivery of volume, clarity, and distinctness of voice
Proscenium: View of the stage for the audience (proscenium arch)
Puppetry: Almost anything brought to life by human hands to create a performance.
Run-through: Rehearsal moving from start to finish without stopping for corrections
Script: Written text of a play
Stage crew: Backstage technical crew responsible for running the show
Stage manager: Director’s liaison backstage during rehearsal and performance.
Stock characters: Established characters who are immediately recognizable by an audience