Theatre Terminology

and Stage Directions

Ad-Lib
 To improvise stage business or conversation,
especially when an actor has missed or
forgotten lines and other actors must supply
the missing information
 Amphitheater
 An oval or round
structure with no
roof that has tiers
of seats rising
from the center,
used for public
performances of
plays and other
productions
Apron
 The section of the stage in front of the curtain
 Arena Theater
 A stage without a
proscenium arch and
with seats on three or
four sides, allowing
close association
between actors and
spectators
Aside
 A line spoken directly to the audience
 Backdrop
 A large piece
of cloth, on
which scenery
is painted, that
is fastened to
battens and
hung at the
back of the
stage setting
 Also called a
drop
Backstage
 The area behind the set that is not visible to
the audience, including dressing rooms, the
greenroom, etc.
Black Box Theater
 A large square room with black walls and a
flat floor
 seating is typically loose chairs on platforms,
which can be easily moved or removed to
allow the entire space to be adapted to the
artistic elements of a production
Blackout
 Stage direction to turn off all stage lights
suddenly
Blocking
 Movement and groupings on the stage
Business
 Any specific action, other than a change of
location, performed on the stage, such as
picking up a book or pouring tea
 Used to establish atmosphere, reveal
character, or explain a situation
Cheat
 A stage technique in which an actor who is
facing sideways pivots the torso and turns the
face toward the audience
Closed Audition
 A tryout open only to union members
Cold Reading
 A tryout during which an actor uses material
never seen before
Cross
 To move from one position to another on
stage
Cue
 The last words, action, or technical effect that
immediately precedes any line or business
 A stage signal
Curtain Calls

 The appearance of a play’s cast in response to an

audience’s applause
 Bows at the end of the play
Cut
 To stop action
 To Omit
Cyclorama (Cyc)
 A white background
curtain on which lights
or other effects can be
projected
Dress Rehearsal
 An uninterrupted rehearsal with costumes and props
 The final rehearsal before the first performance
Flat
 A wooden frame
covered with cloth used
as the basic unit of
structure of a box set
Fly
 The area above the
stage where scenery
is hung when not in
use
 A system for
hanging drops
 Verb: to raise or
lower scenery
Follow Spot
 A long range lighting
instrument capable of
picking up or following a
person moving on the
stage
Fourth Wall
 The imaginary wall
through which the
audience watches the
action of the play
Gel
 A transparent color medium placed on
lighting instruments to produce different
colors
Gobo
 A stencil placed in the gel holder of a spotlight to
project a pattern
Grand Drape
 The curtain hung just upstage of the proscenium that
opens and closes at each act or scene
 Also called an act curtain
Greenroom
 A waiting area
offstage used by
actors
 We use the
choir room
Holding for Laughs
 Waiting for an audience to quiet down after a
humorous line or scene
Improvisation
 The impromptu portrayal of a character or a scene
without any rehearsal or preparation
 Legs
 Narrow
drapes,
usually
hung in
pairs, stage
left and
stage right,
to mask the
backstage
area
Monologue
 A speech by a single actor
Motivation
 The reason behind a character’s behavior
Objectives
 The goal of a character; what the character
wants or is striving for in a scene
Off Book
 Rehearsal without scripts
Off Stage
 Off the visible stage
 Also called “off”
Open Audition
 Tryout open to nonunion actors
Periaktoi (Prisms)
 Sets made up of three flats, shaped as
triangles mounted on a wheeled carriage that
can be pivoted
Pit
 The front part of the auditorium where the
orchestra might be located – often below
stage level
Projection
 The control of the
volume and quality of
the voice so that it can
be heard clearly by
everyone in an
audience
Proscenium Arch
 The arch opening between the stage and the
auditorium
Readers’ Theatre
 A form of theater in which plays are read to
an audience from a script and brought to life
by the readers’ voices, facial expressions,
and controlled movement
Scrim
 A drop made of fabric that seems almost
opaque when lit from the front and
semitransparent when lit from behind
Stealing a Scene
 Attracting attention from the person to whom
the center of interest legitimately belongs
Strike
 To remove an object or objects from the
stage
 To take down the set
Tableau
 A scene presented by silent, unmoving actors
 For more info, see
Pageant of the
Masters
Thespian
 An actor
Understudy
 A person who learns a role and who can
perform it in the absence of the actor
Wings
 The offstage areas to the right and left of the
set
 Stage Directions
UP

Up Right Up Center Up Left

R UR UC UL
I L
G Right Center Center Left Center E
H RC C LC F
T T
Down Right Down Center Down Left
DR DC DL

DOWN
Audience