My Theatre Vocabulary List for the Classroom

My Theatre Vocabulary List for the Classroom

I apologize.

It never occurred to me that teachers needed a list of vocabulary for their theatre classes.

Theatre is such a major part of my life, I’d forgotten not everyone comes into teaching theatre classes as I did. However, as I think about it, I remember what it’s like getting started teaching a theatre class.

It’s tough to get started.  Although there are colleagues who will advise you, sometimes you need someone sort of “at your finger tips” to help you.  That’s me!

Here are a few vocabulary words your students should be familiar with in order to understand the subject more fully.  

Actor to Choreography:

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

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

Apron    The section of the stage floor which projects towards or into the auditorium. In proscenium theatres, it’s the part of the stage in front of the house tabs, or in front of the proscenium arch, above the orchestra pit

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

Blocking     The planning and working out of the movements of actors on stage

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 to Ellipsoidal:

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.

My Theatre Vocabulary List for the Classroom

Entrance      When the actor comes on the stage

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

Exit to Musical:

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.

My Theatre Vocabulary List for the Classroom

Myth to Strike:

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

Pantomime    A  form of performance with no spoken word

Proscenium  The most traditional stage set-up. The stage is removed from the audience and framed by an arch that separates it from the audience.

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

Script           The written text of a play

Sight Lines    Any of the lines of sight between the spectators and the stage or playing area in a theater

Soliloquy     Monologue expressing a character’s inner thoughts addressed to the audience

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.

Stage Properties    An object ( movable or portable) used on stage by actors during a performance or screen production

Strike    To remove a piece of scenery from the stage or to take down the production elements, such as the set pieces, stage properties and costumes.

Swing to Wings:

Swing   Usually off-stage, the swing is a multi-talented performer who’s responsible for learning many ensemble tracks so that s/he can “swing on” when someone is ill, injured, or missing the performance for any reason

My Theatre Vocabulary List for the Classroom

Tableau       A silent and motionless depiction of a scene created by actors, often from a picture

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 in the Round  A space for theatre in which the audience surrounds the stage.

Thrust Stage   A stage that protrudes directly into the audience, shattering the fourth wall and allowing seating on three sides of the stage.

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

Turn Table    A revolving circular stage floor piece which turns for the audience to view the production from various perspectives

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.

*There are two ways to spell theater.  Either way is acceptable.  The “er” spelling is an American spelling

Instead of copying all of these words and making printables for your students, check out this WORD WALL:

Everything is provided for you.  Check it out at: Word Wall

I hope this helps you.  Please feel free to contact me at DhcBaldwin@gmail.com or DeborahBaldwin.net