1. Theatre Terminology and Stage Directions

2. 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

3. 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

4. Apron
The section of the stage in front of the curtain

5. Arena Theater
A stage without a proscenium arch and with seats on three or four sides, allowing close association between actors and spectators

6. Aside
A line spoken directly to the audience

7. 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

8. Backstage
The area behind the set that is not visible to the audience, including dressing rooms, the greenroom, etc.

9. 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

11. Blackout
Stage direction to turn off all stage lights suddenly

12. Blocking
Movement and groupings on the stage

13. 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

14. Cheat
A stage technique in which an actor who is facing sideways pivots the torso and turns the face toward the audience

15. Closed Audition
A tryout open only to union members

16. Cold Reading
A tryout during which an actor uses material never seen before

17. Cross
To move from one position to another on stage

18. Cue
The last words, action, or technical effect that immediately precedes any line or business
A stage signal

19. Curtain Calls
The appearance of a play’s cast in response to an audience’s applause
Bows at the end of the play

20. Cut
To stop action
To Omit

21. Cyclorama (Cyc)
A white background curtain on which lights or other effects can be projected

22. Dress Rehearsal An uninterrupted rehearsal with costumes and props
The final rehearsal before the first performance

23. Flat
A wooden frame covered with cloth used as the basic unit of structure of a box set

24. 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

25. Follow Spot
A long range lighting instrument capable of picking up or following a person moving on the stage

26. Fourth Wall
The imaginary wall through which the audience watches the action of the play

27. Gel
A transparent color medium placed on lighting instruments to produce different colors

28. Gobo
A stencil placed in the gel holder of a spotlight to project a pattern

29. Grand Drape
The curtain hung just upstage of the proscenium that opens and closes at each act or scene
Also called an act curtain

30. Greenroom
A waiting area offstage used by actors
We use the choir room

31. Holding for Laughs
Waiting for an audience to quiet down after a humorous line or scene

32. Improvisation
The impromptu portrayal of a character or a scene without any rehearsal or preparation

33. Legs
Narrow drapes, usually hung in pairs, stage left and stage right, to mask the backstage area

34. Monologue
A speech by a single actor

35. Motivation
The reason behind a character’s behavior

36. Objectives
The goal of a character; what the character wants or is striving for in a scene

37. Off Book
Rehearsal without scripts

38. Off Stage
Off the visible stage
Also called “off”

39. Open Audition
Tryout open to nonunion actors

40. Periaktoi (Prisms)
Sets made up of three flats, shaped as triangles mounted on a wheeled carriage that can be pivoted

41. Pit
The front part of the auditorium where the orchestra might be located – often below stage level

42. Projection
The control of the volume and quality of the voice so that it can be heard clearly by everyone in an audience

43. Proscenium Arch
The arch opening between the stage and the auditorium

44. 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

45. Scrim
A drop made of fabric that seems almost opaque when lit from the front and semitransparent when lit from behind

46. Stealing a Scene
Attracting attention from the person to whom the center of interest legitimately belongs

47. Strike To remove an object or objects from the stage
To take down the set

48. Tableau A scene presented by silent, unmoving actors
For more info, see Pageant of the Masters

49. Thespian
An actor

50. Understudy
A person who learns a role and who can perform it in the absence of the actor

51. Wings
The offstage areas to the right and left of the set

52. Stage Directions UP RIGHT LEFT DOWN Audience UC UL RC C LC DR DC DL
Up Right UR
Up Center UC
Up Left UL
RIGHT
LEFT
Right Center RC
Center C
Left Center LC
Down Right DR
Down Center DC
Down Left DL
DOWN
Audience