Basic Theatre Terms
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| Act | The main division of a play or musical
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| Action | The interplay between performers
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| Ad-lib | To improvise
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| Apron | The part of the stage in front of the curtain
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| Aside | A short remark made to the audience by one of the characters in the play
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| Audition | A process whereby perspective actors/singers/dancers perform in front of a group of individuals usually including the director and/or stage manager who are looking to cast specific roles and chorus
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| Backstage | Any area not seen by the audience, including dressing rooms
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| Bit part | A small role
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| Blackout | Quickly cutting the lights to make the stage area completely dark
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| Blocking | Providing the actors with their locations on stage and their actions
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| Box office | The place where one can purchase tickets to the show
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| Break a leg | An old theatrical adage meaning "good luck"
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| Breakaway | A costume or prop that is designed to come apart easily
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| Callback | When a director selects a few performers from auditions who are asked to return for a second try-out
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| Casting | The process of choosing performers to play the selected roles
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| Characterization | Adding the traits, quirks and mannerisms of a particular character.
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| Cold reading | Reading a part from a script that one has not rehearsed before
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| Company | Any performers, crew, stage hands, etc. associated with a particular show
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| Cover | To stand in front of someone else on stage, blocking them from the audience
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| Cue | That which signals when to enter, exit, play music, change lighting, etc.
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| Curtain call | Final bows at the end of a performance
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| Director | Although the director can fall under many subheadings, it is the person responsible for the overall artistic vision of the production
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| Double | To play more than one role in the same production
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| Dress Rehearsal | A final rehearsal with all make-up, costumes, sets, lighting, sound etc. A dry run of the exact performance, just without an audience
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| Extra | A person who is used to provide proper background but who doesn't have lines
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| Front of House | Can include lobby and box office. A place where audience members can mingle before the performance starts
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| Greenroom | A reception lounge for performers, waiting to go on
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| House | The place where the audience is seated
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| Houselights | Those lights that illuminate the audience area and are turned off before the show commences
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| Monologue | A long speech given by one character
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| Off Book | At a stage in rehearsals when the actors are no longer using their scripts as lines have been committed to memory
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| Prompter | Someone backstage who is following the script and can cue a forgotten line
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| Run | The number of performances of a particular production
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| Run-through | A rehearsal of a part of the script (without interruption)
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| Set | The furniture, props, backdrops etc. that transform the bare stage into the proper location for the performance
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| Scrim | A gauze or net curtain that becomes transparent when lit from behind
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| Sight gag | Visual humor - can involve a prop, costume, or movement
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| Spike | Marking the stage with tape to indicate positions of props, furniture etc. (Also referred to as marking out)
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| Strike | To dismantle the set
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| Technical Rehearsal | A rehearsal where lighting, scene changes, sound cues and special effects are rehearsed
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| Timing | Being able to deliver words or actions at the most effective moment
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| Trap | An opening in the stage floor where performers and/or props etc. can disappear
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| Understudy | A performer who is ready to take over a specific role if the original performer is unable to do a performance (usually due to illness)
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| Wings | Space at the sides of the stage, just behind the curtains. Performers enter and exit from the wings
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