Help
Options
Didn't know it?
click below
click below
Knew it?
click below
click below
Don't Know
Remaining cards (0)
Know
retry
shuffle
restart
0:00
Embed Code - If you would like this activity on your web page, copy the script below and paste it into your web page.
Normal Size Small Size show me how
Normal Size Small Size show me how
Acting/Theatre Terms
Quiz 1
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| ad lib | to improvise words and actions not contained in the text |
| apron | the forestage. Projects beyond the proscenium arch |
| arc cross | movement in a curved line |
| arena stage/theatre-in-the-round | theater space where the audience sits on all four sides |
| aside | unspoken thoughts of a character delivered directly to the audience with the other characters on stage but unable to hear what is being said |
| auditions | competitive tryout for a performer seeking a role in a theatre production |
| backdrop | large sheet of painted canvas or muslin that hangs at the back of a set |
| backstage | stage area beyond the acting area, including the dressing rooms |
| beat | specific moment in an actor's speech; a slight pause before continuing the speech; a break in the rhythm |
| blackout | a fast darkening of the stage, usually indicating the end of a scene |
| blocking | the arrangement of the actors' movement on stage |
| blocking rehearsals | rehearsal with emphasis placed on stage movement, as overseen or dictated by the director |
| body position | the actor's physical stance in relation to an audience |
| build | to increase the loudness, rate, and energy of a line, speech, scene or song in order to reach a climax |
| business | non-voiced action with or without props; activity performed by an actor during or in place of a speech |
| call | 1) announcement to performers or crews that they are needed for a rehearsal or performance; 2) warning to performers to get ready for an entrance |
| call board | a backstage bulletin board on which notices of concern to the actors are posted |
| center line | an imaginary line down the center of the stage, from upstage to downstage |
| cheat | move that does not attract attention to itself while managing to keep the actor in view of the audience. Director may say, "Cheat right" or "cheat open." |
| closed turn | turn made away and with the actor's back to the audience, usually considered a poor movement |
| counter or counter-cross | as one actor moves, another actor shifts his/her position to balance the composition of scene |
| cross | movement of an actor from one position on the stage to another |
| cue | signal to an actor or stage technician that the next line or stage function is to occur |
| curtain call | the appearance of the actors on stage at the end of a performance to receive the audience's applause |
| downstage | the part of the stage closest to the audience as you face the audience |
| drop | to skip a line or say it with insufficient volume to be heard clearly |
| emotional memory/recall | use personal experience, method acting |
| flat | frame constructed of 1-by-3 boards, covered with canvas, painted, and used most often for interior or exterior walls of a building in a stage setting |
| fly loft (flies) | space above the stage where scenery may be lifted out of sight of the audience |
| footlights | a series of lights placed on the stage floor along the front of the stage |
| fourth wall | an imagined partition closing to a three-sided set on the downstage side at the proscenium |
| gels | color medium made of dyed animal material. Used to change the color in any stage lighting instrument |
| gesture | a movement |
| give/take | when two actors are not equally open and one receives a greater emphasis than the other based on position, the actor emphasized is said to "take" the scene, and the other is said to "give" the scene to the emphasized actor |
| greenroom | traditional name of the room in which actors gather to wait for entrances |
| grid | framework of steel affixed to the stage ceiling, used to support rigging necessary for flying scenery or lighting |
| house | area of the theatre in which the audience sits to watch a performance |
| masking | the draperies or flats that hide backstage from the audience's view |
| monologue | uninterrupted speech delivered by one character in a play to other characters who are at least present, if not listening |
| mugging | a derogatory term for exaggerated facial expression |
| objective | the goal toward which a character is striving. The superobjective is the life goal that determines how a character acts |
| on (or off) book | unable (or able) to perform a scene without looking at a script; the stage manager following along in the script during rehearsal is also said to be "on book" |
| open turn | actor is to turn toward the audience |
| open up | actor is to turn front and face the audience |
| pacing | rate of performance (not just speed, but also precision, intensity, clarity, and frequency of new emotions, impressions) |
| pick up cues | to speed up or shorten the time between a cue and the next line |
| places | an order warning the actors to take their positions onstage |
| projection | actor's technique for making voice, movements, and gestures clear to all parts of the house |
| property/prop | material object that is carried by performers or is used on the set |
| proscenium (or proscenium arch) | mostly open wall separating the stage from the auditorium |
| raked stage | a stage that is slanted, either to increase visibility or produce false perspective |
| repertory | set group of productions that a theatre company has prepared for performance; also, the practice of alternating performances of different plays of the repertory |
| run-thorugh | rehearsal in which the actors preform long sections of the play without to gain a better understanding of the shape of the whole |
| shared stage | placing actors so all have equal focus and emphasis |
| soliloquy | inner thoughts of a character spoken alone on stage to explore the character's private thoughts; often lyric in style and highly emotional |
| stage left/right | left/right side of the stage, from the actor's perspective |
| stage picture | arrangement on a stage of performers and the visual production elements |
| strike | to remove a setting, props, or furniture from positions onstage |
| throw away | underplay a moment in a scene; de-emphasize a line reading or a piece of business |
| thrust stage/apron stage | wraparound theater space where the stage extends out into the audience and the spectators view the action from three side.s The main advantage to this setup is that more of the audience can be closer to the actors. |
| top | to "build" on a previous line's energy and/or volume; one actor tops the other, building tension and emotional impact |
| trap | opening in the stage floor, normally covered, which can be used for special effects, such as having scenery or performers rise from below, or which permits the construction of a staircase which ostensibly leads to a lower floor or cellar |
| upstage | area on the stage area farthest away from the audience. The term dates back to the days when the stage was raked away from the audience so that actors had to literally walk upstage. |
| upstaging | to cross deliberately to a place upstage of another actor and assume a full front or one-quarter position, thereby forcing the other performer to turn to a three-quarter position in order to talk with the upstager |
| wings | offstage areas right and left stage |
Created by:
tim.reynolds11
Popular Miscellaneous sets