THEATRE VOCABULARY

Actor A male person who performs a role in a play, work of theatre, or movie

Actress A female person who performs in a role in a play, work of theatre, or movie.

Articulate The clear and precise pronunciation of words.

Aside Actor’s lines spoken to audience, not to other actors

Audience The assembled spectators or listeners at a public event, such as a play, movie,

Audition Brief trial performance held to appraise an actor’s musician’s talent or suitability

Balance the Stage The arranging of the actors and set in a strategic way to produce a desired
effect. A director can create a feeling of order

Broadway The group of 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the
Theatre District centered along Broadway in New York city, NY

Callbacks Following an audition, the director may ask to see a short list of actors again –
they are asked to return for an additional audition to enable the director to make her/his
decision

Cast A set of actors in a play

Catharsis A moment of high tragedy at the emotional climax of a play is followed by an

emotional cleansing for the characters and the audience

Chanting A word or phrase repeated for an effect

Character A person in a novel, play, or movie

Choreography The art and craft of designing the moves, pace, flow, structure and execution
of a piece of dance, or any other piece of rehearsed movement.

Chorus A group of singers

Center Stage The center of the area defined as the stage

Comedy A theatrical work that is intentionally humorous.

Cue A signal, either verbal or physical, that indicates something else, such as a line of
dialogue or an entrance, is to happen
Debut An actor’s first performance

Design The creative process of developing and executing aesthetic or functional designs
in a production, such as costumes, lighting, sets, and makeup.

Dialogue The conversation between actors on stage.

Director The captain of the ship, ultimately responsible for all creative and artistic
decisions in the production

Down Center The stage area closest to the audience in the very middle

Down Stage The stage area toward the audience.

Ellipsoidal A type of stage light with a strong, well defined beam, and is very versatile.

Entrance When the actor comes on the stage

Enunciation The manner in which an actor utters or pronounces words or sentences.

Exit To leave the stage

Finale The last scene or musical number of a performance

Flat A lightweight timber frame covered with scenic canvas, or plywood.

Fourth Wall The imaginary wall of a box set through which the audience see the stage

Gesture An expressive movement of the body or limbs.

Grand Curtain This is the closed curtain seen by the audience before the show begins,
again at intermission, and after the show ends. It makes a barrier between the stage and the
audience.

Green Room A room close to the stage for the actors to meet and relax before or after going
on stage

House The area of the theater where the audience sits watching the production.

Interpretation A stylistic representation of a creative work or dramatic role

Improvisation A spontaneous style of theatre through which scenes are created without
advance rehearsal or a script

Masking Flat A flat which blocks backstage from the audience’s view.
Metaphor Used in theater to draw a comparison between two seemingly dissimilar things

Monologue A long speech by a single character.

Musical Similar to a play, only it employs music to aid in the storytelling.

Myth A traditional story, which may define how a particular civilization came into being,
or a tale with a clearly defined moral code designed for social education.

Narrator The narrator of a piece of theatre is a performer who speaks directly to the
audience to tell them part of the story, to give additional information, or to comment on the
scene or the behavior of characters

Off Stage Not taking place on the stage and so not visible to the audience

Rehearsal Practice sessions in which the actors and technicians prepare for public
performance through repetition.

Script The written text of a play

Spectacle A visually striking performance or display

Spike To mark the stage floor with tape or paint where the set pieces should be located

Stage Left On the left side of a stage from the point of view of a performer facing the
audience

Stage Right On the right side of a stage from the point of view of a performer facing the
audience

Stand-By An off-stage cover for the lead or star of a show, a standby is usually not in the
show in any way and often doesn’t need to be at the theater during the performance but must
check-in at the half hour.

Technique A particular acting method to create a character.

Tempo The pace in which the scene, play or music is taking–its speed or lack thereof.

Theater/ Theatre To imitate or represent life in performance for other people; the
performance of dramatic literature; drama, the milieu of actors, technicians, and playwrights;
the place where dramatic performances take place*
Tragedy A form of drama based on human suffering that invokes an accompanying
emotion

Understudy Usually a member of the ensemble, this actor will be responsible for learning
the part of a leading or supporting actor. They take over if the leading actor is ill or must be
absent.

Wings Wings are off-stage sides of the playing space, hidden from the audience view.