finished terms
Theater Terminology Links and Review
https://a.s.kqed.net/pdf/arts/programs/spark/theatervocab.pdf?trackurl=true
https://theatre.columbusstate.edu/pdfs/Theatre%20Appreciation%20Terms.pdf
https://www.sewanhakaschools.org/cms/lib/NY01001491/Centricity/Domain/2088/TheatreTerms3.pdf
Use the above links as starting points for answering the following questions:
Draw a rectangular stage and label the Audience, Center, Down Left and Up Right

What do you think it might it signify when an actor comes closer to the audience rather than moving farther away from the audience?
- When you come closer it's a more important part of the dialogue or scene
Explain where the audience is in Proscenium Stage vs. a Thrust Stage vs. Theater in the Round?
What is the most common type of stage?
- proscenium stage
Where is the orchestra often located in a traditional theater?
- In the front of the stage in the pit
What is the challenge of performing in a Theater-in-the Round space?
- There are people surrounding you so someone is always seeing you back
What is the difference between projection and enunciation?
- Projection is speaking loud enough for everyone to hear you
- Enunciation is fully pronouncing the words for emphasis
Why are gestures and facial expressions important to actors? What do they do?
- They help to show emotion and they are important because they help the actor act
What is the difference between a prop and a set piece and a costume piece? Give examples of each.
- A prop is usually used by an actor to make the motion more convincing. A set-piece is used in the background to help portray the story. A costume piece is like a prop but its only to enhance a certain character like for a certain time age
What is the difference between a play and a musical?
- A play is a story with no music and a musical is a story with music
What is a sitzprobe?
- Rehearsal with orchestra
How can music set the tone for a scene? Give an example.
- Yes like sad music makes a scene sad
What is devised theater?
- frequently called collective creation - is a method of theatre-making in which the script or performance score originates from collaborative, often improvisatory work by a performing ensemble
What is a follow spotlight and give an example of when a director or lighting designer might like to use a follow spot? (2 pts)
- A follow spot is a spotlight that follows the main actor on stage they might want this for a monologue
When speaking on stage, even in a stage whisper, actors need to --------- in order for the audience to hear the lines being spoken.
- Project
What is the difference between a monologue and dialogue spoken in a scene?
- A monologue is someone thinking dialogue is actually spoken
What is improv? In improv, why should actors never say "no"?
-improv is lines made up on the spot
If you forget what to say while rehearsing scenes, you say “line,” and the stage manager, director, or whoever is on a book will prompt you. During an actual performance, what should you do?
-either say as much as you know or improv
What is motivation and why is it important to character development?
What is the given circumstances of a scene?
-“who, where, what, when, why, and how” of the characters
What words are usually written in italics in a script and refer to blocking, emotion, or other elements besides lines?
- Things like actions like moving to the left
Why might a director ask actors to consider and/or invent a backstory for their characters?
- So they can be more in character and connect more with the audience
In order to be best seen by the audience, a director may ask actors to alter the way they are standing or positioned by asking them to --------------------.
What pace should actors generally use when speaking lines (except under special circumstances)?
- You wanna talk and slowish because some audience members have trouble understanding
What is a common problem that inexperienced actors have regarding the pacing/tempo of lines?
- They talk too fast especially when nervous and they can start to slur there words and leave out emphasis
How are costumes used in creating character? Use a specific example of a character you have seen and how costumes were used to communicate something about the role to the audience.
What is blocking? Where should blocking get recorded (written down) while rehearsing?
- Blocking is like writing a script for movements on stage
Some plays require actors to contribute some original lines, often as filler. What is this called when actors put in original lines not written in their scripts?
Reaction is just as important as delivering lines. Why?
- So it makes the lines more believable.
Where are the wings and backstage on a proscenium type of stage?
- On the side
What is a curtain and a cyclorama in a traditional stage? Why don't we have those in the Black Box?
- It allows for set changes and stuff and we don’t have one in the black box because we don’t need one
What is a prologue and an epilogue in a play?
- The beginning of the beginning and the end of the end usually a what happened prior and after the movies started and ended
What is a flashback?
- Part of a scene when it shows something in the character's past life
Who is Constantin Stanislavski and why is he important to modern-day theater?
-he's a director and taught creativity of the mind
What are Uta Hagen's 9 Questions that actors should ask themselves about their characters and scenes?
- Who am I
- What time is it
- Where am I
- What surrounds me
- What are the given circumstances
- What is my relationship what do I want
- What is in my way
- What do I do to get what I want
Explain what a goal and an obstacle is in acting and how they create tension.
- The goal is to reach the climax of the performance and by adding an obstacle it adds tension by throwing the viewer off.
Explain the difference between a protagonist and an antagonist.
- the main character, often a hero. The antagonist is the character who opposes the protagonist, often a villain.
What is an overture in a musical?
-The orchestral introduction to a musical work
Explain the difference between a producer, technical director, director, musical director, and stage manager in professional theater.
- Producers usually focus on the financial aspect of the play, while the directors focus on the individual actors and what actually goes on during the play.
What is a raked stage?
-English theatre stages in the Middle Ages and Early Modern era typically sloped upwards away from the audience.
What is typecasting?
-The process by which a particular actor becomes strongly identified with a specific character
Who is Lorraine Hansberry and what is she famous for?
- The first woman to write a play on broadway.
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