Theater arts

Stage

The area where actors perform for the audience.

House

The space where the audience sits.

Onstage

Anything on the stage that is visible to the audience.

Offstage

Anything outside the view of the audience.

Main

The main curtain in a theater that is closest to the audience.

Wings

Area on stage to the left and right of the audience's view where actors wait if they are about to come onstage.

Legs

Multiple rows of black curtains that hang behind the Main and separate the wings.

Apron

A section of the stage that extends forward in front of the main.

Pit

A lowered area in front of the stage (below the audience) where musicians in the production perform from.

Stage right

The right side of the stage when standing on stage and facing the audience (left side to the audience).

Stage left

The left side of the stage when standing on stage and facing the audience (right side to the audience).

Centerstage

The middle of the stage.

Upstage

The area of the stage furthest from the audience.

Downstage

The area of the stage closest to the audience.

Script

Contains the dialogue, lyrics, and stage directions for the production.

Stage directions

Describes how the production should look to the audience. Contains the physical appearance of the stage, the location of each character, and important actions by each character.

Blocking

Where, when, and how each character moves on stage.

Stage business

The actions your character performs onstage.

Stage props

Objects for dressing the stage.

Acts & scenes

How a production is divided up. Acts are the main sections of division and scenes usually take place in different settings.

Intermission

10 to 15 minute break in a production, usually between acts 1 and 2.

Cue

A dialogue line or action that triggers another line or action.

Off book

The point when you have your lines, music, and blocking memorized.

At Rise

When the curtain or lights go up.

Black out

The end of a scene, act, or play.

Subtext

Thoughts that underlie words.

Breaking character

Becoming yourself on stage.

Motivation

Your character's reason for doing or saying something.

Discovered

Already on stage when the scene begins.

Gestures

Actions performed with your hands, arms or head.

Ad lib

Make up words or actions.

Projecting

Being heard and seen throughout the theatre.

Picking up the cues

Shortening the interval between speeches.

Upstaging

Making another actor face away from the stage.

Cross

Movement from one location to another on stage.

Counter-cross

Movement by another actor in response to someone's cross.

Technical theater

Involves all technical aspects that go into creating a theater production other than the actors themselves.

Technical rehearsals

When all elements of the production are first brought together to be integrated into one performance.

Dress rehearsals

The final rehearsals before the production opens for an audience- including tech, costumes, scene changes, etc.

Lighting design

The process of using the distribution, movement, intensity, and color of light to help tell the story that is being performed on stage.

Lighting cue

A group of lights at the desired intensity, color, and direction for a specific part of the production.

Light board

A computer-controlled device that can control the intensity, color, and movement of stage lights that are hung in the theater.

Follow spots

Spotlight that follows one person across the stage, keeping them in the center of the light.

Set/scenery

All the decorative elements of stage design, including walls, furniture, platforms, stairs, and anything else that is used to show the setting of the production.

Costume design

The process of creating a wardrobe for characters on stage to tell the audience about each character.

Technical director

Responsible for maintaining and operating the theater's technical equipment, such as lights, microphones, lightboard, soundboard, and tools.

Stage manager

Leads the stage crew and is responsible for cueing scene changes, prop organization and placement, and making sure that actors are in place.

Spiking

Marking the location of set pieces on stage with tape to ensure they are moved to the correct spot on stage.

Crew

Helps the technical director and stage manager successfully integrate all aspects of technical theater into production.

Zeus/Jupiter

King of the gods/sky- Thunderbolt.

Hera/Juno

Marriage- Peacock.

Poseidon/Neptune

God of the sea- Trident.

Demeter/Ceres

Harvest, earth- Crop.

Apollo

God of music and medicine- lyre.

Artemis/Diana

Goddess of the hunt- bow and arrows.

Ares/Mars

War- war like symbols.

Athena/Minerva

Wisdom- Owl.

Hephaestus/Valcan

God of the forge- Anvil and Hammer.

Aphrodite/Venus

Love- dove.

Hermes/Mercury

Messenger of the gods- The caduceus/messer like symbols.

Hestia/Vesta

Family, hearth and home- fireplace.

Dionysus/Bacchus

Wine- Grapes.

Hades/Pluto

Underworld- Helm of Darkness.

Persephone/Proserpina

Spring and nature/Goddess of underworld- pomegranate.