All Drama Terms

Front 1

ARTICULATION

Back 1

The clear and precise pronounciation of words

Front 2

APRON

Back 2

the acting area of the stage that extends beyond the proscenium

Front 3

ARENA STAGE

Back 3

a performance space in which the audience sits all around the stage; sometimes called in-the-round

Front 4

DOWN STAGE

Back 4

the stage area toward the audience (closest to the audience)

Front 5

HOUSE

Back 5

the auditorium, or the area where the audience sits

Front 6

PRODUCTION CONCEPT

Back 6

how the play should look and feel

Front 7

PROSCENIUM STAGE

Back 7

a performance space in which the audience views the action as if through a picture frame

Front 8

STAGE MANAGER

Back 8

the director’s technical liaison backstage during rehearsals and performance

Front 9

SCENERY

Back 9

onstage decoration to help establish the time and place of a play

Front 10

THRUST STAGE

Back 10

a combination of proscenium and the arena stages, with the audience sitting on two or three sides of the acting area

Front 11

UPSTAGE

Back 11

the stage area away from the audience (farthest from audience)

Front 12

ARTICULATORS

Back 12

The parts of the bodythat create constant sounds

Front 13

GESTURE

Back 13

An expressive movement of the body or limbs

Front 14

IMPROVISE

Back 14

To speak or act without a script

Front 15

INFLECTION

Back 15

variety in speech

Front 16

PANTOMIME

Back 16

To act without words through facial expression and gesture

Front 17

PROJECT

Back 17

To make your voice fill the performance space

Front 18

RESONANCE

Back 18

A quality caused by vibration that enriches vocal tone

Front 19

RESONATORS

Back 19

The parts of the body that create vowel sounds

Front 20

SCRIPT

Back 20

The text of a play

Front 21

BEAT

Back 21

small section of a scene, divided where a shift in emotion or topic occurs

Front 22

COLD READING

Back 22

auditioning with a script that you have not had the opportunity to read before the audition

Front 23

CROSS

Back 23

to move from one place onstage to another

Front 24

FOCUS

Back 24

the intended point of interest onstage

Front 25

MASTURE GESTURE

Back 25

a characteristic gesture

Front 26

OPEN

Back 26

to keep your face and the front of your body visible to the audience as much as possible

Front 27

SHARED POSITION

Back 27

a position onstage in which one actor mirrors another actors body position

Front 28

SUBTEXT

Back 28

information that is implied but not stated by a character; thoughts or actions of a character that do not express the same meaning as the spoken words

Front 29

UPSTAGE (VERB)

Back 29

to stand upstage of another actor on a proscenium stage, forcing the downstate actor to turn away from the audience to communicate with the upstage actor; stealing the focus of a scene

Front 30

LEGS

Back 30

curtains used to masc the off stage areas

Front 31

WINGS

Back 31

the area offstage to the right or left of the stage

Front 32

CYCLORAMA

Back 32

a seamless piece of material used for design

Front 33

FLY

Back 33

to rise or lower a piece of scenery

Front 34

BATON

Back 34

a wood or metal beam on which lights or scenery is hung

Front 35

RAKE

Back 35

the gradually raise of the stage or audience

Front 36

SCRIM

Back 36

a drop that can be either transparent or opaque

Front 37

DROP

Back 37

a cloth upon which scenery is painted

Front 38

FLAT

Back 38

a wooden frame covered with cloth or wood

Front 39

BOOK

Back 39

to hing two or three flats together

Front 40

BLOCKING

Back 40

the actors movement on stage

Front 41

STRIKE

Back 41

to remove something from the stage

Front 42

FLOOR PLAN

Back 42

a drawing of the overview of the set

Front 43

TEASER

Back 43

a flat or drape side piece to narrow the proscenium opening

Front 44

TORMENTOR

Back 44

curtains or flats hung to adjust the stage opening

Front 45

FRESNEL

Back 45

a light that provides a flood affect

Front 46

ELIPSOIDAL REFLECTOR

Back 46

a light that provides a spot affect