Drama Key Words

Act

A section of a play

Antagonist

The opposite of a protagonist

Anti-Climax

A disappointing end to a sequence of exciting events

Artistic Intention/Vision

What message you want to send or effect you want to have on the audience

Atmosphere

The mood of a scene

Auditorium

The part of the theatre where the audience sits, sometimes known as the 'house'

Backstage

The part of the stage which is out of sight of the audience, behind, beneath and around the stage

Black Box Theatre

A small theatre, often painted black, the seating is flexible and can be rearranged into any shape or totally removed

Blackout

Turning off/Fading out the stage lighting

Blocking

The process of arranging moves to be made by the actors during the play, recorded by stage management in the prompt script

Body Language

The way posture can communicate feelings without words

Character Arc

The way a character changes over the course of a narrative

Characterisation

Creating a character, can be helped by the description, in the use of stage directions of advice from the director

Choral Speaking

When two or more actors speak the same words at the same time

Climax/Rising Action

A significant moment in the plot of the play when things change or reach a very emotional moment, where everything comes together and reaches a conclusion

Comedy

A performance where there is a happy ending, the performance's purpose is to entertain the audience

Composite Set

A set which covers multiple locations at the same time, eg: stage left is 1950, and stage right is 2020

Context

The circumstances of a piece of drama such as location, period of time and attitudes of characters

Cross-Cutting

Changing between scenes, each scene has a cutting point in which one scene freezes and another scene continues

Cross Fade

Replacing one lighting state with another, also applicable to music, can be shortened to XF

Cue

A command given to lighting/sound operators to carry out an action/A line of dialogue or action that indicates something should happen on stage

Cyclical Structure

A plot which starts and ends at the same point in the narrative

Dialogue

The spoken text of the play, conversations between characters

Diction

The quality or style of speaking of a character within a play, consisting of components such as accent, inflection, intonation and enunciation

Director

The role involves being responsible for the overall artistic intention of a production, they will often have the initial creative concept and will work with actors and designers to realise this idea into a performance

Documentary Theatre

A genre which tells real life stories using factual resources

Dramatic Irony

When the audience knows more about a situation than the characters on the stage

Dramatic Tension

Moments in the drama where the audience feel a sense of expectation of what is going to happen next

Episodic

A play with a series of scenes (or episodes) that can stand alone and can be set in a large number of places over a large period of time, unlike a normal play which is often set over a few hours or days, and in only one or two locations

Fade

A change in lighting or sound level

Flashback/forward

A moment in the play when the past/future is presented

Flat

A wooden frame covered with canvas which is painted and used as scenery

Floodlight

A lantern which lights up a large part of the stage

Form

The type of drama eg: play, musical, within drama. Aristotle said there are 4 forms, comedy, tragedy, melodrama and drama

Foreshadowing

A warning or hint that something will happen later

Fourth Wall

The imaginary barrier between the stage and the audience

General Cover/Wash

Lanterns that fill the stage with light

Genre

A way of grouping different types of drama, a play may be grouped into multiple genres, eg: tragedy, comedy, history

Gesture

The use of hands to communicate emotions or a message

Historical Context

The time the play was set in, or the period the playwright was writing in

Inflection

Speaking a word to stress emotion

Intonation

The rise and fall of a person's voice

Lantern

The term used for a unit of lighting

Lights Up

An announcement that a section of a performance has begun or an increase in light level

Make Up

Products applied to the face or body of an actor to change or improve their apppearance

Mannerism

A repeated physical or vocal habit that helps communicate character

Mask

A genre of theatre where an actor's face is covered with a mask

Melodrama

A performance that exaggerates the plot or characters in order to appeal to emotions

Monologue

A speech which is delivered by an actor alone on stage

Narration

Dialogue that tells the story or gives new information

Naturalism

A style of performance that is like real life

Pace

The speed the dialogue is delivered to the audience

Physical Theatre

Performances which focus on the movement of the piece

Pitch

How high or low the tone of an actor's voice is, generally male voices are lower pitched and female voices are higher pitched

Playwright

The author of a play

Plot

The storyline of the play

Projection

Using voice loudly and clearly

Promenade Theatre

A type of theatre in which the audience stand and walk around with the actors to different performance spaces

Prop

Small items that actors can carry as part of the action

Proscenium Arch

A type of theatre where all the seats point to the end of the room where the stage is, eg: Lyceum

Protagonist

The leading character or hero in a play who has to fight/oppose the antagonist

Proxemics

The distance between the actors/characters on stage, this can represent their feelings towards each other

Rapport

The feeling created by a cast working together

Realism

Presenting the audience with an accurate display of the real world

Rostrum

A raised platform, to allow for different levels on stage

Scene

A section of an act

Semiotics

How meaning is created by non verbal means, eg: costume, coloured lights and sound effects

Setting

The place where the scene or play is set

Sightline

The view of the stage from the audience

Social Context

The society and values of that society which form a background to the play

Split Stage

When different parts of the stage are used to represent different times or places

Spotlight

A lighting state that follows an actor on stage

Stage Directions

Instructions given by the authors about how a play should be staged, when actors should make their entrances and exits and how lines should be delivered

Stage Left/Right

Left/Right is from the actor's point of view

Stillness

Using a quiet voice and subtle body language to create a calm atmosphere on stage

Stock Character/Stereotype

A role that is easily recognisable, for example an old man with a limp

Structure

The way a piece of drama is put together

Style

The way actors perform, the visual features of the setting and costumes and the choice of conventions

Stylised

Highlighting and often exaggerating features of design or characteristics or a role

Subplot

A second plotline within the performance

Subtext

Meanings that are below the surface of whats being said or done, underlying theme

SX (Sound Effects)

Shorthand for sound effects

Symbolism

Using symbols to suggest meaning to the audience

Tableau

A still but dramatic grouping of characters

Theatre in the Round

The stage area is in the centre and the seats surround it (normally in a circular or square shape)

Thrust

A stage that extends into the audience, so the seating goes around it in a U shape, eg: Crucible

Tone

The way words are spoken to demonstrate the emotion behind their meaning

Trap

An opening in the stage floor to allow actors to come up from below/descend under the stage

Traverse Stage

A long narrow stage with seating on two sides of it (like a corridor)

Treads

General name for any stage staircase or set of steps

Uplighting

Lights coming from below to create large shadows behind the actors

Understudy

An actor who learns multiple roles and performs when another actor is unable

Wings

The space at the side of the stage where actors wait, unseen by the audience, before coming on

The Performance Space

Cultural Context

The culture in society at the time

Conventions of a Text

Common features found in a text

Theatrical Setting

The scenery, properties, or background, used to create the location for a play

Performer/Audience Relationship

The connection between performer and spectator during a live performance

Apron

Any part of the stage that extends past the proscenium arch and into the audience or seating area

Site Specific

Performed at a unique, specially adapted location other than a standard theatre