Vocabulary and Notes

Theatrical Vocabulary - Quarter 1

1) House - The area of the theatre for the audience

Ex: How does the house look tonight? Lots of people?

2) Shop - The area where props are built and sometimes stored

Ex: Let's store these lamps in the shop.

3) Props - Items carried on and offstage by an actor and used in a scene

Ex: flowers, sword, cup

4) monologue/dialogue - a monologue is speech made by one person; dialogue is speech by two or more people, like a conversation

5) blocking - movements made onstage by actors including entrances, exits, sitting, standing, fighting, etc.

6) cast and crew - the cast is everyone who performs onstage in a costume. the crew are the folks behind the scenes such as director, stage manager, technicians, costumer, and set builders. If working during the show, the crew usually wears black.

7) cold reading - a reading done in an audition during which an actor reads something he or she has never read before

8) actor etiquette - behavior appropriate for actors in a play

There are five elements of actor etiquette including teamwork, humility, respect, responsibility, and maturity

9) audience etiquette - how the audience should behave in a performance including quiet or clapping at appropriate times, no flash photography, no talking or using phone, and only entering or exiting at scene changes

10) grand drape - the colorful curtain that is the farthest downstage

11) curtain speech - a speech that is prerecorded or given live at the beginning of a show so that the audience will know what to expect and how to behave.

12) intermission - a break between acts one and two, sometimes strategically placed to make difficult transitions easier for the crew to handle

13) curtain call - when actors come out after the show is over and bow onstage, usually to music

14) overture - a piece of music at the beginning of act 1 and sometimes act 2 that uses bits of several songs from the musical; it is like a mashup of songs that the audience will hear in the show

15) Sides - snippets of the script used in callbacks

16) Ensemble - the chorus (singers and dancers) who do not necessarily have lines or solos

17) Call times - the times in which an actor is supposed to be at the theatre for rehearsals or auditions or shows

18) traveler - the curtain which closes in the center of the stage that masks upstage scenery or can make the stage more shallow

19) critic - a person who judges, comments on, and criticizes a performance

20) critique - (verb) to criticize a work of art or performance OR (noun) a piece of criticism.

21) slate - to tell your name, grade or age, and the piece you are performing at an audition

22) Compliment sandwich - feedback which consists of a compliment, an area for improvement, and another compliment.

23) break the fourth wall - when a character speaks to the audience

24)Proscenium - the archway above the stage

25) legs - long narrow panels of curtain at SR and SL that hide the wings

26) gel - a clear, colorful piece of plastic that is put into a light to change its color of light output

27) gel frame - a frame which holds the gel

28) cyclorama - cyc for short, it is a big, blank backdrop hung at the rear of the stage upon which light can be projected to change it different colors

29) gobo - a light stencil used to project shadows

30) catwalk - an elevated platform used to walk on in order to access lighting or other equipment that is high off the ground

31) batten - a long metal pipe for hanging things over the stage

32) ellipsoidal - a long, skinny, and strong lighting instrument

33) scrim - like a cyc, but see through when lit from behind

34) wagon - a piece of wood with wheels used for moving scenery on and offstage

NOTES on the audition process 9/10 and 11

1) Find and learn your one-minute monologue

2) Find out dates for auditions

3) Complete audition packet online or via hardcopy

4) Audition - be polite, friendly, and attentive. Project!

5) Find out when callbacks are

6) Check the callbacks list for your name

7) If your name is there, attend callbacks (you do not have to have anything prepared, but be on time!)

8) Find out when the final cast list will be posted

9) Check the list for your name

10) If you are cast, pick up your script, highlight your lines, and read it before the first rehearsal!