Grade 8 Drama Notes; Copy
at least twenty of the most important notes into your notebook.
ACT
1) Subdivision between sections of a play. A short play is a
"One-Act-er", a play with one interval has two Acts etc. Acts are
subdivided further into Scenes.
ACTING AREA
That area within the performance space within which the actor may move in
full view of the audience.
(Also name of early
AD LIB
The presence of mind by an actor to improvise when;
1) another actor fails to enter on cue
2) the normal progress of the play is disturbed
3) lines are forgotten
4) It may also be a bad habit developed by some actors whereby unnecessary
'gags' are introduced into the dialogue.
APRON
Section of the stage floor which projects towards or into the theatre.
BACKSTAGE
The part of the stage and theatre which is out of the sight of the
audience. The service areas of the theatre.
BEGINNERS
A call given by the SM to bring those actors who appear in the first part
of a play to the stage. e.g. "Act One Beginners to the stage, please".
The actors/actresses are then called by name.
BLACKOUT / BO / B.O.
Complete absence of stage lighting. Blue working lights backstage should
remain on except during a Dead Blackout (DBO), when there is no onstage light.
Exit signs and other emergency lighting must remain on at all times.
BLACKS
1) Black clothing worn by stage management during productions.
2) Any black drapes or tabs, permanently or temporarily rigged. Used for masking
technical areas.
BLOCKING
The process of arranging moves to be made by the actors during the play,
recorded by stage management in the prompt script. (using terms such as
"Gardner X DSL" meaning the Gardener crosses to downstage left.)
BOOK
FLAT
Two-fold piece of scenery. Book flats are free-standing when angled open,
allowing quick setting and compact storage.
BOX
SET
Naturalistic setting of a complete room built from flats with only the
side nearest the audience (the fourth wall) missing.
BREAK
A LEG
A superstitious and widely accepted alternative to "Good Luck"
(which is considered bad luck).
CAST
The members of the acting company.
CASTING
The process of the director choosing actors to perform the characters in
the play.
COMIC RELIEF
A comic scene (or line)
included in an otherwise straight-faced play to provide a relief from tension
for the audience.
COMPANY
The cast, crew and other staff associated with a show.
CUE
The command given to technical departments to carry out a particular
operation. E.g. Sound Cue. Normally given by stage management, but may be taken
directly from the action (i.e. a Visual Cue).
CURTAIN
CALL
At the end of a performance, the acknowledgement of applause by actors -
the bows.
DIALOGUE
The spoken text of a play - conversations between characters.
DRESS
REHEARSAL
A full rehearsal, with all technical elements brought together. The
performance as it will be "on the night".
ENSEMBLE
An acting group. Normally used to describe a group of actors who work well
together, with no-one outshining the others.
FRONT
OF HOUSE (FOH)
1) Every part of the theatre in front of the stage. Includes foyer areas
open to the general public. The
backstage areas of the theatre are known as Rear of House (ROH).
IN
THE ROUND
Theatre in the Round is a form of audience seating layout where the
acting area is enclosed on all sides by seating.
INTERVAL/
INTERMISSION
Break between sections of a performance, normally half way through a
standard length performance (approx 1 hour each half) and is usually 15 or 20
minutes in duration.
MATINÉE
Afternoon performance of a show. (From the Latin for "of the
morning", but who does theatre in the morning?)
OVERTURE
Introductory musical
piece played before a musical which contains many of the musical motifs and
themes of the score.
PROPS
(Properties) Furnishings, set dressings, and all items large and small which
cannot be classified as scenery, electrics or wardrobe.
RUN
1) A sequence of performances of the same production. (e.g. "How long is
the run of this show?" or "This show runs for two weeks")
2) A rehearsal of the whole show or a section of it (e.g."This afternoon's
rehearsal will be a run of Act II followed by notes").
SET
1) To prepare the stage for action. (verb) - e.g. "Have you set the chairs
for Act 1?"
2) The complete stage setting for a scene or act. (noun) - e.g."What's the
set for the finale?"
SOLILOQUY
Lines delivered by an actor on stage as if to her/himself.
STAGE LEFT / RIGHT
Left/ Right as seen from the Actor's point of view on stage. (ie Stage Left is
the right side of the stage when looking from the auditorium.)
The
TABS
Any stage curtains including a vertically flying front curtain (house tabs) and
especially a pair of horizontally moving curtains which overlap at the centre.
TYPECAST
An actor who is regularly cast in the same kind of roles is said to be TYPECAST.
If an actor has played similar roles for a while (e.g. muscle-bound baddie) and
is cast in a completely different role (e.g. a nanny) he's said to have been
cast AGAINST TYPE.
UPSTAGE
1) The part of the stage furthest from the audience.
2) An actor drawing attention to himself away from the main action (by moving
around, or over-reacting to onstage events) is upstaging.
VISUAL CUE
A cue taken by a technician from the action on stage rather than being cued by
the stage manager. Often abbreviated to "
WINGS
The out of view areas to the sides of the acting area.
WALK-ON
A small acting role with
no lines. Also known as SPEAR CARRIER.