Theatre Terminology

Proscenium

End Stage

Thrust

Traverse or Alley

Theater-in-the-Round or Arena

Flexible Stage (blackbox)

Site Specific, Immersive, & Promenade

General Idea

General cutaway of a proscenium theater space. There are 7 basic scenic elements.

Curtains

Ground row

Hides lights at bottom of cyclorama or backdrop

Flats

False walls on stage

Also flats

flats don’t have to be just rectangles

Platforms

Anything to raise an actor or object above stage height

Sculptural Piece

Built scenery that is neither a flat nor a platform

Atmospherics

Particulates in the air, haze, fog, snow, confetti, etc.

Set Dressing

All furniture and objects on stage

Fly Space

Wing and Border: Down from Above

Wing Space

Sliding or traveling on from the wing

Trap Space

Stage Traps: Up from below

Wagons: Jack-Knife

pivot onstage

Wagons: Rolling or Tracking

Roll around as necessary

Rotating Scenery: Turntable

One large unit that turns

Rotating Scenery: Periakoti

Multiple small units revolve