2013 Acting Terminology

Front 1

blocking

Back 1

the arrangement of actors and their movements onstage

Front 2

cross

Back 2

movement from one area of the stage/set to another. In writing it is abbreviated by X

Front 3

countercross

Back 3

a movement in the opposite direction in adjustment to the cross of another actor. The instruction usually given is "counter left" or "counter right".

Front 4

stage right

Back 4

the actor's right as the actor faces the audience

Front 5

stage left

Back 5

the actor's left as the actor faces the audience

Front 6

upstage

Back 6

away from the audience

Front 7

downstage

Back 7

toward the audience

Front 8

open position

Back 8

a position in which the actor is facing toward the audience, or nearly so

Front 9

closed position

Back 9

a position in which the actor is turned away from the audience

Front 10

cheating out

Back 10

angling your body partly toward the audience while still presuming to face the character you are in conversation with

Front 11

upstaging

Back 11

the term applied when one actor takes a position above another actor which forces the second actor to face upstage, or away from the audience. The term is also used when one actor takes focus away from another

Front 12

stage business

Back 12

simple tasks. Small actions such as smoking, eating, falling, telephoning, using a fan, tying a necktie, putting on makeup, etc

Front 13

props

Back 13

objects that the actors handle onstage

Front 14

objective (goal/intention)

Back 14

what your character wants from "the other"/ what your character "is fighting for".

Front 15

obstacle

Back 15

something that stands in the way of your character obtaining what you want, an obstacle can be physical, emotional or psychological

Front 16

tactic (aka action)

Back 16

the steps taken by your character to meet the objective. Tactics are active verbs. Examples: to beg, to encourage, to defend, to flirt

Front 17

physicalizing the action/tactic

Back 17

the ways in which a tactic/action is communicated through physicality or vocalization

Front 18

beats

Back 18

the breakdown of the text into specific sections according to actions: a new action is a new beat

Front 19

text

Back 19

what is written by the author and spoken by the characters

Front 20

subtext

Back 20

what is implied, but not said, by the character; the thought processes that motivate the character's actions

Front 21

scoring

Back 21

a system of notation used by the actor to analyze the script and character

Front 22

inner monologue

Back 22

what you (the character) are thinking during the times that you do not speak. The inner monologue helps to keep your character alive and truthful on stage

Front 23

given circumstances

Back 23

anything set forth by the writer or director that must be adhered to by the actor: location, dialects, time period, a limp, your blocking, etc. An actor must work within this framework. The "who, what, where, when" of the script.

Front 24

Fourth wall

Back 24

an imaginary wall between the actors and the audience

Front 25

indicating

Back 25

performing an action without an objective

Front 26

mugging

Back 26

exaggerated facial expression, usually associated with indicating

Front 27

aside

Back 27

a character's brief remark delivered directly to the audience. The other characters onstage are presumed not to hear it.

Front 28

soliloquy

Back 28

a speech given directly to the audience: sometimes given as a direct address, sometimes played as a character thinking out loud.

Front 29

moment to moment

Back 29

playing each individual moment of the scene instead of generalizing

Front 30

build

Back 30

to increase the tempo or the volume or both in order to reach a climax

Front 31

top

Back 31

to "build" a line higher than the one that preceded it

Front 32

sense memory

Back 32

stimulation and sharpening of the five senses either through personal recollection or focus and observation

Front 33

cue

Back 33

the signal to the actor to being a specific speech or action: a cue can be another actor's line/word or a piece of stage business.

Front 34

strike

Back 34

the direction given by the stage manager or director to change the setting for another scene or to dismantle it at the end of a performance

Front 35

arena stage

Back 35

a theatre space in which the audience surrounds the stage area on all sides. Also called "theatre-in-the-round."

Front 36

thrust stage

Back 36

a theatre space that extends out towards (or into) the audience with the audience sitting on three sides of the space

Front 37

proscenium stage

Back 37

a theatre space, usually accompanied by an arch, where the audience sits in front of the stage on one side

Front 38

house

Back 38

the area of the theatre where the audience sits

Front 39

AEA (Actors' Equity Association)

Back 39

the professional stage actor's union

Front 40

SAG-AFTRA (Screen actors guild american federation of television and radio artists)

Back 40

the professional actors union for screen/tv/radio artists