Theatre 1 vocab quiz 1

Character part

a role in which an actor portrays traits that differ from his/her own

cheat out

a stage technique in which an actor who is facing sideways pivots the torso slightly so that he/she is facing more towards the audience (or downstage.)

cross

to move from one place to another on stage

countercross

movement in opposite directions by two or more actors

cue

the last words, action, or technical effect that immediately precedes (comes before) any line or movement on stage;  a stage “signal”

“doing nothing”

when an actor is on stage, and in a scene, but is not part of the focus of the scene at the moment;  the actor is in the background 

illusion of the first time

the goal of the actors on stage, which is for the audience to feel as if the action on stage is occurring for the first time

motivated sequence

the natural, four-step process that occurs when humans respond to stimuli

straight part

a role in which an actor and his/her character are very similar in appearance and personality

upstaging

improperly taking attention away from an actor who should be the focus of interest; one actor takes the audience’s attention away from another or draws attention to him/herself