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Theatre -Terms #1
Elements of a Script & People in Theatre
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Act | Apart from being what actors do on stage, the term also denotes a division in the performance of a play. Each act may have several scenes. Nowadays fulllength plays typically have two or three acts. Often there is an intermission between the acts. |
| Antagonist | Present in almost every play, the role of this character is to oppose what the main hero, or protagonist is trying to accomplish. |
| Comedy | This term describes a play that is light in tone and designed to amuse. The ancient Greeks are credited with inventing comedies as a way to comment satirically on domestic situation |
| Denouement | A concluding scene in a play where the drama of the action is resolved—happily or otherwise. Some playwrights deliberately avoid a traditional denouement, leaving the drama effectively openended. |
| Dialogue | Conversation in a play |
| Exposition | The part of a play that fills in things that have already happened so you can make sense of who's who and why they're doing whatever. Sometimes narrators to do this by addressing the audience directly. Other times it is woven into the opening dialogue. |
| Monologue | A lengthy speech by a single character delivered to other characters in a play; not to be confused with a soliloquy |
| Protagonist | The character who generates the main action of the story. |
| Soliloquy | A playwright’s device for letting us know what’s on a character’s mind. It’s as if we’re listening in on the character’s thoughts. A soliloquy is different from a monologue in that it’s not being consciously directed at the audience. |
| Shakespeare | This person wrote one of the most famous soliloquies for Hamlet: "To be, or not to be?" And, of course, Hamlet never could quite make up his mind. |
| Actor | A performer in a play. |
| Actress | the grammatically correct female form of the word, is little used in the theatre world today although it is still sometimes used in film and television. |
| Artistic Director | This is the person who, in a nonprofit theatre, chooses the plays and the people—director, designer, actors—who will bring the plays to life on stage. They also carry out the mission of the theatre, oversees the quality and may direct particular shows. |
| Andrew Barnicle | This person is the artistic director of The Laguna Playhouse. |
| Cast | The complement of actors in a play |
| Crew | The team of theatre workers—often the unsung heroes—who take care of the physical aspects of a production at each performance. |
| Designer | This a person who designs sets and/or costumes for a play. Also, the person responsible for illuminating a production is often called the lighting designer. |
| Director | The person responsible for interpreting and bringing the text of a play to life on stage. Also manages the overall artistic unity of the production |
| Grip | A colloquial term for a stagehand. |
| Managing Director | Runs the business and general nonartistic operations of a nonprofit theatre. Also has some of the duties provided by a producer in commercial theatre since he or she is in charge raising the money to make the artistic director's vision come to fruition. |
| Richard Stein | This person is the executive director at The Laguna Playhouse. |
| Orchestra | In its ordinary sense this refers to a group of musicians but the term is also used in the theatre to refer to the seating area immediately behind the orchestra pit—even when there is no pit! |
| "the Stalls" | Instead of using the term orchestra seats British theatre refers to the seats right behind the music pit as this |
| Playwright | The person who writes the play. In the case of living playwrights they sometimes direct and may in rare cases even act in their own work. |
| Stage Manager | This very important person gives instructions or “calls” for just about everything that happens on stage. They make sure a production continues to be performed the way the director wants since the director leaves soon after the show opens. |
Created by:
tonilynne1
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