Enactment

Usher

Assists the house manger, takes tickets and escorts audience members to their seats

Curtain Speech

The speech delivered right before a play begins that provides information to the audience about the evening and to remind them to turn off their phones

Bertolt Brecht

Twentieth century playwright who developed Epic Theatre

Time and Place

When and where the story takes place

Will Call

When tickets are held at the box office to be picked up before the show, they are held under the term "will call"

Method Acting

demonstrates an actor willing to invest in emotional physical extremes to transform into a character

Variety

difference in visual or aural elements

Ensemble

each member of the cast and crew working together High Concept Director- a type of director where the director's idea is given more weight than the playwright's intent

Arts Management

encompasses a wide array of art forms such as music, dance and visual arts

Motivated Sound

has a source occurs due to the circumstances of the play

Thought

ideas in a play

Music

in ancient Greek drama, most of the play was chanted and there was drum and lyre so that the chorus could dance

Talent

involves creativity and imagination

Actor Training

involves the brain and the body

The Canon

is a concept that suggests that great plays are created by (male) geniuses, and that by studying and understanding these plays we will have both a window to the past and special insight into the human condition

Rendering

large, detailed sketches of costumes that demonstrate the visual effect the design

Gels

squares of plastic put in front of a light's lens to change its color

Doubling

when an actor plays more than one character

Synthesis

when contributions have been integrated to form something new

Sophocles

Ancient Greek playwright who wrote Oedipus Rex, a play that explores the nature of fate and free will

The Poetics

Aristotle's treatise on theatre

The Laramie Project

A devised theatre piece about the murder of Mathew Shepherd, a gay man who lived in Laramie, WI

Susan Lori Parks

African American playwright who won the Pulitzer Prize for Top Dog/ Under Dog

William Shakespeare

An English playwright known for his ability to create complex characters, intricate plots and beautiful verse

Eugene Scribe

Nineteenth century playwright who is known for the Well-Made Play

Well- Made Plays

Plays with detailed exposition and intricate plot twists that lad to dramatic climax

Henrik Ibsen

Playwright known for his development of Realism and author of A Doll's House

Prompt Book

a book containing the script, designs, contact information, rehearsal schedule, blocking and cues for a performance

Cues

a command for an action, such as a light going on or an actor entering the stage

Moliere

a famous French playwright known for his ability to craft comedies that critique hypocrisy and human folly

Review

a general information about the play, such as its subject matte and setting and an evaluation of the production

Board of Directors

a group specifically designed to serve as administrators

Tragic Hero

a man in an elevated position in society who is neither good no bad, but who because of a flaw in his character, bring about his own downfall

Fast Change

a movement in which the actor must change clothes off stage quickly

Swatch

a piece of fabric from the material to be used for a costume

Box Office

a place (virtual or real) where tickets are sold. it can also refer to the amount of money earned by a show

Resident or Regional Theatre

a producing company dedicated to providing long-term live theatre for a particular area of the country

Production Meeting Notes

a record of all the decisions made in a meeting relevant to the show

Model

a three dimensional miniature of the set built to scale

Movement

a visual sense of rhythm or tempo produced by the line of the set

Auditioning

actors demonstrate their abilities for those casting a play

Sound Plot

all the sounds required by the script

Spectacle

all the visual elements in a production

Cue

commands to do something, such as change the lights or sound

Duke of Saxe Meiningen

considered the first modern director

Costume Plot

list of the costume requirements of each character

Gobos

metal cutouts placed in front of a lens that reveal a pattern when the light is projected through it

Rendering

often in color, a detailed drawing or painting of a set or costume

Costume Shop Manager

person responsible for executing the costumer's designs

Managing Director

possesses not only business acumen, but also thorough comprehension of the overall artistic mission of an organization or specific production

Props

props in a show include small objects carried by actors, as well as furniture used onstage

Epic Theatre

requires that the audience engage intellectually with a play rather than become submersed in emotion

Light Plot

reveals where the lights are hung and where they are to be focused on the stage

Calling a Show

saying the cues out loud so that the running crew can execute them

Artistic Director

servers as the artistic leader for the mission of an organization

Unit Set

sets that represent one place, such as the living room of a contemporary, middle class, suburban home

Period Transfer

setting a play in a different time and place than originally intended. A period transfer can only be performed on plays that are out of copyright restriction

Thumbnail Sketch

small, early sketches of the set

Unmotivated Sound

sound that may be coming from inside the actor's head or ambient music meant to reinforce the mood of the scene

Balance

symmetrical sets seem more balanced than asymmetrical sets

Enactment

the act of enacting the state or fact of being enacted

Perspective

the apparent spatial relationship between one object and the next

Unity

the appearance of things that go together. If a set is unified all the elements work together to create whole

Diction

the choice of words used by the playwright

Line

the direction and movement of the scenery

Dramatic Need

the elements required to produce the show as written by the playwright

Mood

the feeling evoke by the design

Color

the hue, tint and intensity of the settings, costumes and lights

Blocking

the movement and record of the actors' movements on stage

Running Crew

the people who move the scenery and props back stage

Technical Director

the person in charge of building the set; this includes executing technical drawings, working with he run crew and ensuring the safety of the ensemble and crew

House Manager

the person in charge of getting the audience into and out of the theater safely.

Choreographer

the person who serves as an assistant to the director for all movement in a musical theatre production

Music Director

the person who supervises all aspects of the band in a musical theatre production

Character

the persons or figures in a play that create the action and dialogue for Aristotle, characters drive the plot

Plot

the sequence of events in a play; for Aristotle this included a beginning, a middle and an end

Mass

the size and weight of the scenery in relationship to the actors who inhabit the world. If the set is massive, it is large and overpowering

Director's Concept

the thematic and visual emphasis of the production set forth by the director

Texture

the visual consistency of the set's surface

Research and Improvisation

two important elements in character preparation