Theatre Terms

Front 1

Act Curtain

Back 1

Grand Drape, Main Curtain/
Falls behind smoke pocket

Front 2

Apron

Back 2

Area in front of prosenium

Front 3

Arena Stage

Back 3

Audience on all four side

Front 4

Asbestos Curtain

Back 4

Fire Curtain/ only found in prosenium theatres,

Front 5

A Vista

Back 5

Scene change in front of audience

Front 6

Backdrop

Back 6

Drop in front of cyc. usually painted

Front 7

Back Stage

Back 7

Anything not in view of audience/ past audience sight lines

Front 8

Batten

Back 8

Line/ pipe used to tie lights, scenes, etc. only in proscenium theatres

Front 9

Bays

Back 9

Coves/ lighting positions above audience, only in proscenium theatres

Front 10

Blocking

Back 10

choreography, movement of performers

Front 11

Border

Back 11

Fabric that masks anything flown, flown in front of legs

Front 12

Breasting Masking

Back 12

to move a leg

Front 13

Boom

Back 13

pole that lights are hung on

Front 14

Cat Walk

Back 14

Walk way above stage

Front 15

Center Line

Back 15

Line from upstage to downstage in center of theatre, measure an equal distance from both sides of proscenium or the center of seats

Front 16

Company Switch

Back 16

Tie in power, usually in a box

Front 17

Counter Weight

Back 17

Helps balance batten

Front 18

Cyclorama

Back 18

Last fabric drop, flown behind scrim

Front 19

Dead Hung

Back 19

Things that can't be flown

Front 20

Deck

Back 20

Stage floor

Front 21

Directions

Back 21

US (upstage), DS (downstage), SL (stage left), SR (stage right), HR (house right), HL (house left), C/C (center)

Front 22

Draw Curtain

Back 22

curtain that draws up (Like a swag)

Front 23

Drop

Back 23

An object that is flown (legs, backdrops, borders, etc.)

Front 24

East Coasting

Back 24

When show is being stored for long period of time it is put away properly

Front 25

Electric

Back 25

A batten with circuit and light

Front 26

Elevator

Back 26

Usually a part of apron that becomes orchestra pit

Front 27

False Proscenium

Back 27

Set that appears to be a proscenium

Front 28

Flat

Back 28

A set like a wall

Front 29

Flex Staging

Back 29

Rearrageble

Front 30

Floor Pocket

Back 30

Pocket in wings under deck where circuits are usually installed

Front 31

Flying

Back 31

Moving something in air

Front 32

Fly Rail

Back 32

?

Front 33

Fly Space

Back 33

Area where scenery is flown, not seen by audience

Front 34

FOH

Back 34

Front of house

Front 35

Footing

Back 35

To place your foot at base of an object when raising to prevent it slipping

Front 36

Front Elevations

Back 36

Drawing of set when looking straight from audience

Front 37

Gaff Tape

Back 37

Used on stage

Front 38

Ghost Light

Back 38

Safety/ Light used when stage lights are off, placed DS C/C

Front 39

Grand Drape

Back 39

See Act Curtain, Main Curtain

Front 40

Grid

Back 40

Walkable surface above flyspace

Front 41

Ground Plan

Back 41

Drawing of stage from an ariel perspective

Front 42

House

Back 42

Part of theatre where audience sits

Front 43

House Curtain

Back 43

See Main Drape, Act Curtain, Main Curtain

Front 44

In One

Back 44

Stage direction

Front 45

Legs

Back 45

Fabric drop that defines wing flown after border

Front 46

Line Set

Back 46

Overall sheet things are attached to

Front 47

Main Drape

Back 47

See Act Curtain, Main Curtain

Front 48

Masonite

Back 48

Top layer of deck

Front 49

Marley

Back 49

Dance floor

Front 50

Off Stage

Back 50

Area not in sightline of audience

Front 51

On Stage

Back 51

Part of stage in audience's sightline

Front 52

Orchestra Pit

Back 52

Space for musicians in front of stage or in apron often sunken

Front 53

Pin Rail

Back 53

Similar to fly rail

Front 54

Plaster Line

Back 54

Line from SL to SR starting on US corner of proscenium

Front 55

Platform

Back 55

Any surface raised from deck

Front 56

Properties

Back 56

Hand props

Front 57

Plugs

Back 57

Traps/ removable parts of flooring

Front 58

Revolve

Back 58

Part of floor that shifts or spins

Front 59

Rendering

Back 59

A sketch

Front 60

Running

Back 60

Length of time between show opening and closing

Front 61

Scrim

Back 61

Opaque fabric, typically black or white, that appears solid when light from front and sheer when light from behind. Flown in front of cyc

Front 62

Shifting

Back 62

To move on or off stage

Front 63

Shift Rehearsal

Back 63

Rehearsal for crew before tech rehearsal to learn the scene changes

Front 64

Sightline

Back 64

The area of stage that can be seen by farthest audience seats. Helps determine masking

Front 65

Smoke Pocket

Back 65

Pocket for fire curtain to prevent smoke from coming into house

Front 66

Soft Goods

Back 66

Soft scenery: legs, scrim, cyc, drop, etc.

Front 67

Spike Mark

Back 67

Helps determine placement of scenery mark US two corners

Front 68

Strike

Back 68

To get rid of something

Front 69

Thrust Stage

Back 69

Juts into audience, audience on 3 sides

Front 70

Tie Line

Back 70

Tie cables, non weight bearing rigging

Front 71

Tormentor

Back 71

Doors in proscenium

Front 72

Tree

Back 72

Boom

Front 73

Trip

Back 73

To pull excess line/cyc/scene up behind border and out of sight

Front 74

Wings

Back 74

Offstage space between legs

Front 75

Work Light

Back 75

Everyday lights