AICE Drama Midterm Vocab

Acting area

the space in which the actor may move in full view of the audience. Also known as the playing area or performance space.

Acting style

a particular way of acting that reflects cultural and historical influences, for example naturalistic, melodramatic, comedic.

Action

the movement or development of the plot or story in a play; This could be created by passage of time or character motivation. Action is also commonly used to refer to the activity on the stage at a given time for in a scene, although strictly this refers to film rather than live theater.

Adaptation

a play that has been created using material from another artistic medium such as a novel, short story or poem.

Analysis

the process of examining how the elements of practical drama relate to each other in performance.

Alienation effect

theatrical techniques designed to remind the audience that they are watching a play, and so distance from them identifying emotionally with the characters and events depicted. Examples might include the use of placards or back projections that comment on the action, or actors who step out of the character to address the audience directly about the issues raised in the drama. Central to the dramatic theories of Bertolt Brecht.

Animation

live action sequence used as part of a plays special effects, often in an interactive way.

Antagonist

are you talking the opponent or adversary of the hero or main character of a drama; One who opposes and actively competes with another character in a play common most often with the protagonist.

Apron

the apron is any part of the stage that extends past the proscenium arch and into the audience or seating area.

Arena Stage

type of stage without a frame or arch separating the stage from the auditorium, in which the audience surrounds the stage area.

Articulation

clarity or distinctness of speech.

Aside

lines spoken by an actor to the audience that are not supposed to be overheard by other characters on the stage.

Auditorium

the part of the theater, concert hall, or other space in which the audience sits. Audience configuration refers to the placing of the audience in relation to the performing space.

Back projection

a method of projecting images onto a translucent screen from behind often used for projected scenery or special effects.

Backdrop

a flat surface, the width of this stage, on which a scenic design is painted or projected. It is hung up stage of the acting area; Sometimes also called a back cloth or cyclorama.

Beat

a momentary pause or delay in which there is a subtle shift in mood, thought or feeling.

Black box

A1 room theater, without a proscenium arch; Interior is painted black, including walls, floor and ceiling, and any drapes are also black. Typically used for small scale studio productions.

Blackout

I guess a lighting queue where all stage lights go off simultaneously. Often used to signal the end of a scene.

Blocking

a traditional term used to describe the path traced by an actor's movement on stage, including entrances and exits. It is usually determined by the director with assistance from the actor, and often noted in the script during rehearsal. Staging

box set

I sat with three walls leaving the 4th wall to be imagined. The box set can represent a real room with doors and windows that work.

Brechtian

Drama influenced by the theory and practice of the 20th century German theater practitioner BERTOLT BRECHT.

Business

physical activity used to show character, fill a pause and dialogue, or establish a scene. It is often unscripted or improvised and sometimes comic in intention. A playwright may suggest "business End Quote to indicate the need for some activity at that point in the performance.

Catharsis

one aspect of aristotle's theory of tragedy, which attempts to describe the feeling of release felt by the audience at the end of a tragedy; The audience expresses catharsis or is set free from the emotional hold of the action, after experiencing strong emotions and sharing in the protagonists troubles.

Character

a person portrayed in a script or devised play, novel, or other artistic piece.

Characterization

how an actor uses body, voice and thought to develop and portray a character.

Choreography

the organized movement of actors and dancers, often to music.

Choral Speech

A group or ensemble speaking together in one voice. It often involves using combinations of different or contrasting voices to bring out meaning or tonal qualities in a text.

Chorus

a group of performers who sing, dance, or recite in unison. In Greek drama, the chorus was the group of performers who sang and danced between episodes, narrated off- stage action, and commented on events.

Cloth

A piece of painted or plain scenic canvas. A backcloth hangs at the rear of the scene.

Comedy

A play that treats characters and situations in a humorous way. In Shakespeare’s time a comedy typically revolved around complex relationships and potentially disastrous situations but with a happy ending. In Ancient Greece, comedies dealt almost exclusively with contemporary figures and problems. Low comedy is a physical rather than intellectual comedy; high comedy is more sophisticated, emphasizing verbal wit more than physical action.

Comic relief

A break in the tension of a play provided by a comic character, a comic episode, or even a comic line.

Composite set

A set that contains more than one location.

Concentration

The actor's focus, also called centering; focusing on the work at hand, being in character, or being in the moment.

Conflict

The internal or external struggle between opposing forces, ideas, or interests that creates dramatic tension.

Contrast

Dynamic use of opposites or significant differences to create dramatic effect. For example: movement/stillness, sound/silence, light/darkness.

Curtain

In older theatres, an instruction to lower the curtain, signaling to the audience that the play, or scene, has finished.

Cyclorama

the fabric drop hung from a curved or segmented bar, or a curved wall at the back of the stage, upon which light can be cast to create effects. Cyc for short.

Denouement

the moment in a play when the essential plot point is unravelled or explained, and the tensions that have driven the drama are resolved.

Design elements

a general term to refer to props, costume, set, lighting and sound.

Des ex machina

A person, object or event that appears suddenly and without prior introduction at the play's climax and saves the situation, often implausibly. The term comes from ancient Greek and Roman drama, when an actor playing a god or goddess would be lowered onto the stage by a crane.

Development

Progression of the plot or conflict of a play

Devised drama

Drama that is developed through collaboration tot create an original piece of work. It may derive from a range of starting points and use techniques of improvisation. The devising process refers to the collective shaping and structuring of the device piece. It will often involve research, sharing of ideas, drafting of material and practical experimentation comma leading to a working script or outline of the piece.

Dialectics

drama in which characters offer two or more opposing points of view on social or political issues and see to establish the truth through reasoned discourse. Central to Brechtian theatre.

Director

The person responsible for deciding the artistic interpretation of a performance of a play; They work with the actors and designers to bring their vision to the stage. A director will usually decide on staging or blocking, and will guide or assist actors in developing an effective performance of their role.

Downstage

a position near the audience or at the front of the stage.

Drama

the making and performing of plays; Drama involves the acting out of a story to an audience, and the deliberate shaping of the story to have an effect on the audience.

Duration

the time during which something continues.

Dynamics

variations in levels of energy, physical movement, pace or emotional intensity in a scene. Also used in technical theater to describe the difference between levels of sound.

End on

traditional audience seating layout where the audience is facing the stage from the same direction. The seating layout is that of a proscenium arch theater.

Ensemble

an approach to theater making that focuses on the combined output of all the members of a group of performers working together, rather than emphasizing individual performances.

Epic theater

brechtian dialectical theater in which the performers often interrupt the storyline to address the audience directly with commentary or argument. Epic in this context is not connected with the scale or scope of the drama.

Epilogue

same as prologue

Exposition

the part of the play that introduces the theme, main characters and current situation in the story.

Expressionism

a highly influential style of non naturalistic theater that developed in Germany in the early 20th century its characteristics include a dreamlike atmosphere, fragmented or declamatory dialogue, stylized movement, minimalist sets and heightened emotional intensity. Characters are representational types or caricatures rather than individuals. Visual elements are often distorted or grotesque.

Falling action

parts of a plot which occur after the climax but before the end of the clay. Often experienced as part of the resolution or denoement.

Farce

an extreme form of comedy that depends on quick tempo and flawless timing and is characterized by improbable events and far fetched coincidences; From the French meaning "to stuff".

Flashback

in a nonlinear plot, to go back in time to a previous event; The flash forward would move the action into the future.

Flat

a wooden frame usually covered with painted cloth used to create walls or separations on stage.

Focus

in acting, the act of concentrating or staying in character. It is also used to refer to the way actors and directors can direct the audiences attention to somebody or something on stage. In lighting, the adjustment of the size and shape of beam of light and or the direction in which it is aimed.

Forum theater

theater in which the audience is invited to step into the drama and show how they would change the outcome of a given situation. Created by the Brazilian theater maker Augusto Boal.

Fourth Wall

the illusion of an invisible wall of a set through which the audience sees the action of the play. Breaking the 4th wall refers to the moment when an actor directly addresses the audience through the 4th wall, breaking the illusion.

Genre

the type of drama for example tragedy comedy satire melodrama.

Gesture

any movement of the actor's body that is used to convey meaning, attitude or feeling.

Gestus

Brechtian technique in which a gesture represents a social or political attitude rather than an emotion.

House lights

the lights that illuminate the auditorium before and after the performance and during intermission.

Imaging

a technique that allows performers to slow down and focus individually on an issue the performers sitting quietly with eyes closed allow pictures to form in their minds these images may be motivated by narration, music, sounds, smells, etc.

Immersive theater

theater in which the stage is removed so that the audience can be immersed in the play, whether as witnesses to the action or participants. Often performed in unusual locations.

Improvisation

the spontaneous and imaginative use of movement and speech to create a character or object in a particular situation and develop the scene. It is also a form of live theater in which plot characters and dialogue are made-up on the spot, often based upon a suggestion from the audience.

Inflection

Change in pitch of the voice, specifically the way the voice rises and falls. A rising inflection is commonly used to indicate that the speaker is asking a question, while a falling inflection suggests a statement. Inflection may be used by an actor to communicate meaning and intention in dialogue.

Intensity

The measurable amount, levels or strength of a given property (for example sound, light, emotion).

Interaction

The action or relationship between two or more characters.

Irony

An implied discrepancy between what is said and what is meant. There are several forms of irony. Verbal irony is when a writer or speaker says one thing and means something else (often the opposite of what is said). Dramatic irony occurs when the audience know more than the characters on stage. Situational irony can be described as a discrepancy between what is expected and what actually happens.

Isolation

Control of isolated body parts; the ability to control or move one part of the body independently of the rest.

Kinaesthetic awareness

Resulting from the sensation of bodily position, presence, or movement.

Language

In drama, the particular way in which a character speaks. This could include accent, idiom, dialect, vocabulary or phrasing to suggest class, profession, culture or personality.

Levels

The height or the positioning of a character compared to others. Levels can also refer to parts of the set that have been elevated or lowered to vary the height of the playing space.

Light

A term used to describe a situation where no physical set is used on stage. The 'set' is created entirely by means of lighting

Magic

A rehearsal technique developed by the Russian theatre practitioner Konstantin Stanislavksi to help actors create performances that are emotionally truthful. Performers ask themselves 'What would I do if I were in this situation?' and build the character accordingly.

Marking the moment

A dramatic technique used to highlight a key moment in a scene or improvisation. This can be done in a number of different ways, for example through slow-motion, tableau, narration, thought-tracking, lighting or music.

Melodrama

A style of play which developed in the nineteenth century, relying heavily on sensationalism and sentimentality. Melodramas tend to feature action more than motivation, stock characters and a strict view of morality in which good triumphs over evil. Also central to the impact achieved by melodrama is the heightened use of music to underpin the action.

Metatheatre

Theatre that draws attention to its own theatricality in any way, for example by referring to or directly addressing the audience, acknowledging that the events depicted are fictional or that the characters are really actors. The device of a playwithin-a-play is also an example of metatheatre, because it reminds the audience that they are watching a drama.

Mime

The art of portraying characters and acting out situations or creating narratives through gesture and body movement without the use of speech.

Minimalism In theatre

a focus on the very simplest use of design with as few elements as possible. At its most extreme, a minimalist set might consist of only a chair.

Mirroring

Copying the movement and/or expression or look of someone else exactly.

Mise-en-scène

The way that scenery, décor, lighting, sound, props, costume, etc. have been deployed in the playing area to tell the story

Moment

A very brief period of time in which there is a significant change in the drama

Monologue

A long speech made by one actor; a monologue may be delivered alone or in the presence of others. Not to be confused with a soliloquy.

Mood

The atmosphere or feeling of a performance, often created by the music, setting or lighting.

Motif

Any element of the drama that is used repeatedly to convey symbolic meaning. Examples might be a gesture, a spoken phrase, a snatch of music or a technical effect.

Motivation

The reason(s) for a character's behaviour; an incentive or inducement for further action for a character. Often also referred to as a character's objective, i.e. what they want from the situation.

Movement

Stage blocking or the physical movements of the actors onstage during performance. Movement also refers to the action of the play as it moves from event to event.

Multimedia theatre

Theatre that blends digital techniques with live performance to tell the story, usually requiring live actors to interact with recorded images. Sometimes known as digital theatre.

Multi-roling

When an actor performs two or more roles within one play, characterising each one by changes in physicality, voice, costume, etc. while making it plain to the audience that the same performer is playing different parts.

Naturalism

A style of drama that developed in the late nineteenth century as an attempt to escape the artificial theatricality of contemporary forms of playwriting and acting. Its prime objective was to portray reality on stage. Its greatest exponent was Stanislavski. Naturalism evolved into realism.

Non-naturalistic theatre

Any form of theatre that avoids representing an illusion of reality on stage, for example by the use of symbolic design, stylised performing, mask, audience interaction, fluid use of space, etc.

Non-verbal expression

Communicating feelings, responses or attitudes through gesture, physical movement, facial expression or sounds such as sighs or groans.

Pace

Rate of movement or speed of action, or the vocal delivery of the text. See tempo.

Parody

A mocking or satirical imitation of a literary or dramatic text or genre.

Pause

A short period of silence or stillness in a performance when the drama is communicated non-verbally. See beat.

Performer

Actors, singers, dancers, stand-up comedians, magicians, musicians are all examples of performers. Performers are seen by the audience and communicate the piece. They are often supported by many other (unseen) members of a theatre company, such as stage crew, technicians, designers, wardrobe staff, front of house, etc.