Theatre Quiz #2 Vocabulary

Front 1

The placement and movement of the actors on stage moment by moment, usually planned by the director

Back 1

blocking

Front 2

A type of improvised performance that emerged in Italy during the 16th century.

Back 2

Commedia dell 'Arte

Front 3

In the Middle Ages, a series of short plays dramatizing events drawn from the Bible, often extending from the Creation to Doomsday

Back 3

Cycle Plays

Front 4

Performance that achieves a sense of mutual support and overall unity, as opposed to one that seems merely a collection of individual actors

Back 4

ensemble playing

Front 5

a type of medieval drama that treated the spiritual trials of ordinary persons, usually an allegory about the temptations besetting all human beings

Back 5

morality play

Front 6

the set of rules, conventions, and beliefs that dominated much drama and theatre from the Renaissance to the end of the 18th century. (tragedy and comedy, never mixed) plays written in 5 acts, observe the unities, and uphold poetic justice in their endings

Back 6

Neoclassicism

Front 7

both actors are on a line and at quarter position

Back 7

sharing a scene

Front 8

when an actor stands upstage of another actor. this is considered very bad manners and should only be done when the director directs you to assume such a position for a dramatic effect

Back 8

upstaging

Front 9

turn toward the audience

Back 9

open up

Front 10

turn away from the audience

Back 10

close up

Front 11

like open up except it is smaller movement, hopefully so the audience won't notice

Back 11

cheat

Front 12

to deliberately hide an action from the audience

Back 12

cover

Front 13

this means that after your partner has moved, you try to get in a position that is on a line with him. This is common courtsey so you won't upstage him

Back 13

dressing the stage

Front 14

turning toward the audience as you turn

Back 14

stage turn

Front 15

turning as you normally would making no special efforts to stay open

Back 15

natural turn

Front 16

what we want the audience to center their attention on. it may be an actor, a motion he makes or a particular word

Back 16

focus

Front 17

what a character wants in a particular scene

Back 17

objective

Front 18

the best objectives are active ones- things that actively, usually physically, can be done

Back 18

active objective

Front 19

the methods the character uses to get their objective

Back 19

tactics

Front 20

what the actor is literally doing- washing their hair, eating an apple, etc

Back 20

action

Front 21

how much something matters to a character.

Back 21

the stakes

Front 22

saying one thing and acting another

Back 22

playing against the line

Front 23

there are 2 uses of this term. one is a "pause" as in "take a beat before saying that". the other use means a mini-scene or "bit". after we break large scenes into mini-scenes, each mini-scene is called a "bit".

Back 23

beat

Front 24

using a known experience to portray an unknown one- using the memory of a bad splinter in portraying getting stabbed

Back 24

substitution

Front 25

what happens to the character off-stage the moment before they enter

Back 25

the moment before

Front 26

the reaction when you see or hear something in a scene

Back 26

discovery moment

Front 27

often the most important moment for an actor- the moment when they change their mind, perphaps change direction

Back 27

transition

Front 28

another important term. what makes your fellow actors choose to say or do something. often it is your job to motivate or "set up" another actor's actions or speech

Back 28

motivation

Front 29

the physical actions of an actor such as setting the table, etc.

Back 29

business

Front 30

laughing, smiling or in any way breaking out of what the character is doing

Back 30

breaking character