Theatre Architecture and Stage Terminology

Vocabulary flashcards covering key stage architecture, equipment, and scenic terms from the lecture.

Skene

Stage house at the back of the orchestra that hides actors from audience view

Paraskenia

Long, high walls that extended on either side of and parallel with the skene

Proscenium

Columned arch at the rear of the stage that supported a projection from the second story of the skene

Eccyclema

Wheeled platform used to move or change scenery

Periaktoi

Tall, three-sided forms that rotated on a central pivot, with each side painted with a different scene

Machina

Basket or platform lowered to the orchestra level from the second story of the skene

Cavea

Semicircular auditorium or seating area separated from the orchestra by a short wall

Scaenae frons

Single facade into which the skene was transformed

Velum

Awning covering the entire seating area

Pageant wagons

Platform stages mounted on wagons

Mansions

Small buildings or stations that made up medieval sets

Platea

Common playing area located in front of the mansions

Secrets

Stage machinery, including trap doors and rigging used to move things across the stage

Forced perspective

Visual distortion technique that increases the apparent depth of an object

Raked stage

Stage floor that is higher at the back than at the front

Stock set

Scenery designed to visually support a generalized location rather than a specific one

Drop

Large expanse of cloth, usually muslin or canvas, on which scenery is painted

Pit

Yard surrounding the stage that served as space for the lower-class audience, or groundlings

Inner below

Area at the upstage end of the stage platform

Inner above

Area above the inner below on the back wall; an acting area provided by the roof structure projecting onto the stage

Apron

Flat extension of the stage floor that projects from the proscenium arch toward the audience

Wings

Tall cloth-covered frames or narrow unframed drops placed on either side of the stage to prevent the audience from seeing backstage

Borders

Wide, short cloth drops suspended to prevent the audience from seeing above the stage