Dramatic Terms

Front 1

Alternative Theatre

Back 1

Drama that sets itself against the established bourgeois theatre (i.e. it advocates principles that are not typically used in a traditional theater)

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Amphitheater

Back 2

A semicircular rising gallery in a theater containing part of the seats for spectators

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Anagnorisis

Back 3

A disclosure, discovery, or recognition in a play usually concerning a character's identity/nature or the essence of life

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Ancient Greek Theater

Back 4

Drama of ancient Greek city-states which utilized masks, choruses, all-male casts, and cranes (for a deus/dea ex machina)

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Antagonist

Back 5

A figure that opposes the protagonist

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Arena Stage

Back 6

A stage surrounded by spectators (a.k.a. central stage, island stage, or theater-in-the-round)

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Aristotle's Dramatic Unities

Back 7

The unities of time, place, and action in a tragedy (i.e. the action takes place within 24 hours and is unified, uninterrupted, and set in one location)

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Aside

Back 8

Speech by a character that is heard by the audience but not the other characters on stage

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Blocking

Back 9

The director's specifications for movement on stage

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Box Set

Back 10

Flats connected to form three walls with movable doors and windows

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Catastrophe (or Denouement)

Back 11

The change or revolution which produces the conclusion or final event of a play (e.g. Medea flying away on her chariot)

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Catharsis

Back 12

The purging or purification of emotions that is allegedly experienced by the spectators of a tragedy

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Chorus

Back 13

A group of singers/dancers in a play who either provide background information, comment on the action, or interact with the protagonist

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Closet Drama

Back 14

A play intended for reading instead of acting

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Comedy

Back 15

A play characterized by a light, amusing nature as well as a happy ending

Front 16

Comic Relief

Back 16

Humorous episodes in a tragedy with the intention to lessen or provide relief from the tragic effect

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Deus (or Dea) Ex Machina

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Greek for "god of the machine"; a god, divine instrument, or unexpected device used to quickly resolve a conflict and end a play

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Downstage

Back 18

Front half of the stage closer to the audience

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Dramatic Irony

Back 19

A tragic reversal of a character's expectations

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Dramaturgy

Back 20

The theory and practice of dramatic composition

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Expressionism

Back 21

Dramatic movement that portrays the subjective experience instead of objective reality

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Falling Action

Back 22

The action of a play after the climax; may involve a reversal or catastrophe

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Farce

Back 23

A play designed to make the audience laugh; usually little character development and based on amusing situations rather than subtleties of language

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Foil

Back 24

A character who sets off another character (usually the protagonist)

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Futurism

Back 25

A movement characterized more by gestures and motion than by verbal structures; distinctive qualities include speed, fragmentation, surprise, and simultaneity

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Guerilla Theatre

Back 26

Drama that attempts to throw audiences off of an oppressive bourgeois government

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Harmartia

Back 27

A tragic flaw, error, shortcoming, or weakness

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Hybris (or Hubris)

Back 28

Excessive and overreaching pride or arrogance

Front 29

Kabuki Theatre

Back 29

Japanese drama characterized by highly stylized singing, miming, dancing, and acting; all-male casts

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Masque

Back 30

An event in Renaissance-era courts where noblemen performed in a dignified play that was usually mythological and allegorical

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Melodrama

Back 31

Drama where clearly virtuous or vicious characters are pitted against one another in suspenseful situations until justice triumphs

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Metatheater

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Drama that emphasizes its theatricality and explores the nature of theatre

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Method Acting

Back 33

An acting style where the actor attempts to reproduce a character's emotional state by altering their own physical state or understanding the character's motivation

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Morality Play

Back 34

A medieval play that allegorically dramatizes aspects of one's moral life (e.g. "Everyman")

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Naturalism

Back 35

A dramatic movement influenced by evolutionary thought that portrayed its characters as creatures defined by their heredity and environment

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"Noh" Drama

Back 36

A traditional Japanese play that utilized masks, dance, mime, and song (e.g. "Atsumori" and "Pining Wind")

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Peripeteia

Back 37

A reversal that occurs when an action produces the opposite effect of what was originally intended or expected

Front 38

Proscenium Stage

Back 38

A stage framed in the front and separated from the audience

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Protagonist

Back 39

The chief character in a play

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Rising Action

Back 40

The action after the beginning and before the climax

Front 41

Roman Theatre

Back 41

Drama of the Roman Empire that, in addition to traditional play elements, included chariot races, gladiatorial fights, and dancing

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Satyr Play

Back 42

A play that features a chorus of lewd satyrs; usually followed tragedies and involved burlesqued heroic figures

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Slapstick

Back 43

A type of farce that relies on physical humor and/or assault

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Soliloquy

Back 44

A monologue in which a character utters his/her thoughts aloud while alone (e.g. Hamlet's "To be or not to be" speech)

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Strophe

Back 45

In Greek choral and lyric poetry and imitations of it, a series of lines forming a system, the metrical structure of which is repeated in a following system known as the antistrophe

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Surrealism

Back 46

A movement that embraced the unconscious and irrational; surrealist plays present dream-like worlds and maintain that the unconscious mind grasps reality while the conscious does not

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Theatre of Cruelty

Back 47

Drama that seeks to shock audiences out of their logical or civilized worldviews and unleash their suppressed primitive instincts

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Theatre of the Absurd

Back 48

Drama that attempts to reflect the absurdity of our existence in a Godless universe

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Tragedy

Back 49

A play that faces evil, depicts suffering, and ends with the death or spiritual destruction of the protagonist

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Tragic Hero

Back 50

The protagonist of a tragedy; usually admirable in some way

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Tragicomedy

Back 51

A play that mixes tragedy and comedy

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Upstage

Back 52

The back half of a stage farther from the audience