elizabethan theatre

soliloquy

character speaking to themselves on stage

aside

character speaking to the audience directly, without being heard by other characters on stage (aka the Fleabag)

boys performing female roles

women not allowed to perform, required the actors to master the physical and vocal characteristics of the opposite gender

masque

elaborate productions that combined dance, music, poetry, and elaborate costumes and sets, often performed at court for special occasions (weddings and royal births)

eavesdropping

common plot device for the Elizabethan theatre

presentational acting style

actors using exaggerated gestures and vocal inflections to convey emotion and meaning (influenced by the ancient Greek and Roman theatre)

dialogue

lengthy, poetic speeches that explored complex themes and ideas, wordplay and metaphors

'heavens'

the pillars that supported the roofs, were hiding places for the performers and were also used for 'dramatic entrances'

‘Frons Scenae'

a highly decorative screen above the door area

'Lord's rooms'

immediately above the stage walls, stage galleries for the actors and the nobilities

'gentlemen's rooms'

balconies in both sides of the 'lord's room, made for the rich patrons

'firing rooms'

changing rooms behind the stage walls

'huts'

roofed 'house like' structures above the tiring houses

'hells'

trapdoors in the stage floor

‘pit’

often called the "yard," open-air, where commoners known as "groundlings" paid one penny to watch performances