Chap. 6-7 Theatre

Front 1

action

Back 1

the characters' deeds, their responses to circumstances, which in turn affect the course of the story

Front 2

antagonist

Back 2

the character who stand in the way of the protagonist's goals.

Front 3

back story

Back 3

dialogue about what happened to the characters before the play began and what happens between the scenes and offstage; also called exposition

Front 4

climax

Back 4

the point of the greatest dramatic tension in the play; the moment the antagonist is defeated

Front 5

closed-shop union

Back 5

sometimes called a union shop, is a union to which all employees must belong and which employer formally recognizes as their sole collective bargaining agent.

Front 6

dark moment

Back 6

the end of the middle section of a formula play, when the protagonist fails, the quest collapse, and the goal seems unattainable.

Front 7

denouement

Back 7

the outcome of the play, a short final scene that allows the audience to appreciate that the protagonist, because of the preceding events, has learned some great or humble lesson.

Front 8

dialogue

Back 8

the spoken text of the play.

Front 9

disturbance

Back 9

an inciting incident that upsets the balance and starts the action of a play by creating an opportunity for conflict between protagonists and antagonists.

Front 10

Dramatists Guild of America (DGA)

Back 10

the playwrites' union of the United States; an open-shop union.

Front 11

enlightenment

Back 11

the protagonist's realization of how to defeat the antagonist; often related to the theme of the play.

Front 12

event

Back 12

an unusal incident, a special occasion, or a crisis at the beginning of a play that draws the audience's interest.

Front 13

exposition

Back 13

dialogue about what happened to the characters before the play began and what happens between the scenes and offstage; also called back story

Front 14

genre

Back 14

a category of artistic works that share a particular form, style, or subject matter.

Front 15

major dramatic question

Back 15

the hook (or question) that keeps an audience curious or in suspense for the duration of the play; an element in the beginning of a formula play that results from the disturbance and the point of attack.

Front 16

open-shop union

Back 16

a union in which membership is optional, such as Dramatic Guild of America.

Front 17

parenthetical

Back 17

a short description to help the actor or the reader interpret a particular line of dialogue.

Front 18

plot

Back 18

the casual and logical structure that connects events in a play.

Front 19

plot-structure

Back 19

that playwright's selection of events to create a logical sequence and as a result to destill meaning from the chaos of life.

Front 20

point of attack

Back 20

the point in the beginning of a formula plot where the protagonist must make a major decision that will result in conflict.

Front 21

protagonist

Back 21

the main actor (ancient Greek)/ now, the central actor who pushes forward the action of a play.

Front 22

rising action

Back 22

the increasing power, drama, and seriousness of each subsequent conflict, crisis, and complication in a play.

Front 23

stage directions

Back 23

notes that indicate the physical movements of the characters.

Front 24

subtext

Back 24

the hidden meaning behind a line of dialogue; the real reason a character chooses to speak

Front 25

theme

Back 25

a play's central idea; a statement about life or a moral

Front 26

Writers Guild of America (WGA)

Back 26

the closed-shop union that represents screen and television writers

Front 27

Actors' Equity Association

Back 27

The union that represents stage actors

Front 28

American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA)

Back 28

the trade union, affiliated with the AFL-CIO, that represents talk-show hosts as well as announcers, singers, disc jockeys, newscasters, sportscasters, and even stuntpeople.

Front 29

blocking rehearsal

Back 29

a series of rehearsals in whch the director and actors work out the blocking, or movement of the actors on stage during the play.

Front 30

callback list

Back 30

during auditions, a list directors keep of actors they want to call bacl for subsequent auditions as they narrow the field of candidates.

Front 31

cattle call

Back 31

an audition to which anyone may come and be given a minute or so to perform for the director; also known as an "open call".

Front 32

character flaw

Back 32

an inner flaw that hampers a character's good judgment and leads the character to make unfortunate choices, sometimes called fatal flaw or tragic flaw.

Front 33

cold reading

Back 33

audition in which actors read from a script without any preparation.

Front 34

dark night

Back 34

the one night of the week they play is not performed and the theatre is closed; typically monday night.

Front 35

dress rehearsal

Back 35

the final rehearsals, when costumes and makeup are added, before play opens.

Front 36

emotional memory

Back 36

an acting technique pioneered by Konstantin Stanislavsky in which the actor recalls the visual and auditry images, or physical circumstances, of a real-life even in order to relive the emotions accompanying it. also called sense memory or affective memory.

Front 37

empathy

Back 37

the ability to understand and identify with author's situation to the extent of experiencing that person's emotions.

Front 38

Equity waiver

Back 38

an exception to Actors' Equity Association wage standards that allow memebers to work for free in small productions.

Front 39

final dress rehearsal

Back 39

the last rehearsal before an audience is invited

Front 40

general working rehearsal

Back 40

rehearsals during which the director and actors work on individual scenes and concentrate on understanding the characters' motivation, emotions, and personality.

Front 41

given circumstances

Back 41

character-analysis approach that begins with examining characters' life circumstances.

Front 42

inner conflict

Back 42

some sory of unfinished business that is so compelling that it handicaps that character until it is confronted.

Front 43

International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)

Back 43

is a system for transcribing the sounds of speech; it is independent of any particular language but applicable to all languages

Front 44

magic if

Back 44

a technique pioneered by Konstantin Stanislavsky for developing empathy with a character. It involves searching for the answer to the question "What would I do if I were this character in these circumstances?"

Front 45

method acting

Back 45

this system of realistic acting was distilled by followers of Konstanin Stanislavsky and has been taught primarly since the 1930s in America

Front 46

motivation

Back 46

the conscious or subconscious reason a character takes a particular action.

Front 47

off-book rehearsal

Back 47

the rehearsal when the actors must have their lines memorized because they no longer have the script with them on stage.

Front 48

run-through

Back 48

a rehearsal to go through an act ot the entire play from the beginning to end with a few interruptions as possible.

Front 49

Sceen Actors Guild (SAG)

Back 49

the union that represents film and television actors

Front 50

special rehearsal

Back 50

a rehearsal for a special element, such as a fight scene, musical numbers, dance numbers, or dialects

Front 51

Stanislavsky system

Back 51

an individualized, psychological approach to acting pioneered by Stanislavsky; also known as method acting

Front 52

substitution

Back 52

replacing an actors' emotions with unrelated personal emotions; a technique used when the actor has not had the experience or emotional reaction of the character

Front 53

superobjective

Back 53

the driving force that governs a character's actions throughout the play.

Front 54

synthespian

Back 54

digital actor created by computer animators

Front 55

table work

Back 55

the first step to the rehearsal process; the actors read through the play while seated around a table.

Front 56

technical approach

Back 56

acting from the outside in, concentrating on physical details.

Front 57

tech rehearsal

Back 57

rehearsals that include the lights, sound, costumes, more complex props, and final set pieces.

Front 58

tragic flaw

Back 58

an unchangeable trait in a character that brings about his own ruin.