backstage theatre

Soundscape

All the music and sound effects in a production considered as a whole.

Cyclorama

Also called a "cyc" (pronounced "sike"). A large light coloured backdrop, sometimes curved, located at the back of the stage and lit to produce various effects such as sky, fire, coloured washes. Can also be used as a surface for projected scenery and effects.

House

An abbreviation of Front of House; also used to describe the audience.

Understudy:

An actor who learns the lines and blocking of one of the principal characters in the play. Should one of the principal actors be unable to perform, the understudy would step in at a moment's notice. Understudies are rare in all but the largest theatre companies.

Vomitory:

An auditorium entrance or exit that emerges from the theatre's seating area to connect a thrust stage with the area below the seating. Dates from ancient Rome where it was a common architectural feature of coliseums.

Masking

Any flats or curtains that hide the backstage area from the view of the audience.

Autocratic Directing

Authoritarian; "It's my way, or my way the other way"

Consensus Building

Collaborative, takes input from others.

Wings

Curtains or flats at the sides of the stage that mask the offstage area from the audience; also, those areas offstage and to the sides that have been masked. The term is used in a general way to describe all areas at the sides of the stage.

Impact Driver

Driving larger screws or lag bolts into wood

Glow Tape

Glow Tape Used for safety to indicate corners, edges, spike positions in low light areas

Box Office

Part of the theatre front of house area where audience members can buy tickets. Most Box Offices are now computerised, and offer phone reservations. Some offer online (internet) bookings also. Also known as the Ticket Booth.

Rehearsal:

Period before the performance of a play during which the director and the actors agree on the meaning of the lines, discover how to tell the story of the play, develop interesting characters and set the blocking.

Stage Right:

Right side of the stage as determined by the actor standing in the center of the stage facing the audience.

Proscenium

The arch that forms a frame at the front of a stage.

Canadian Actors' Equity Association

The association representing actors, directors, stage managers, dancers, choreographers and singers.

Cue (verb):

To "cue" means to signal by word or by light that a technical cue or actor move must be carried out.

Air Compressor & stapler

Used for stapling or nailing Luon or Masonite

Gaff Tape

Used for taping down electrical cables and anywhere you would use Duct tape

Spike Tape

Used for taping out set elements in a rehearsal room and for "spiking" the placement of movable Set elements (tables, chairs etc.)

Running Crew

the crew who work backstage and in the booth during a performance

Tripping

folding up a piece of flying scenery as it goes out (saves space and is faster)

Front Elevatons

giving a view of the elements of the set from the front and showing details like windows or platforms

Naturalism

•A form of more extreme realism; •We play as if there was a "fourth wall" •The set reproduces details with great precision - real food, cobwebs, dust, creaky doors, etc. •Uses only real (unpainted) and usable objects;

Realism

•A painting of reality; it gives the illusion of reality •The "fourth wall" is generally respected - the invisible, imaginary wall that separates the performers from the audience.

Stiffening

•A stiffener is usually a horizontal stiffening member (1x3 on edge) •When a header is added on top of a flat, a vertical stiffener is required.

Fixed or Permenant Joining

•Flats can be permanently joined together by using a strap or cleat(a small piece of plywood or 1x3) Usually a scrap piece. •Tight-pin hinges can also be used so that two flats can unfold into a larger size. •The joint/seam is covered by a Dutchman, a strip of muslin that is painted with the flats.

Assembly Joining

•Loose-pin hinges are frequently used to join flats together.

Symbolism

•Relies on the use of symbols, the combination of feelings and thoughts, figures and shapes to represent reality. •Seeking to evoke an atmosphere, to represent an atmosphere rather than to reproduce a specific place. •The scenic elements suggest the subtle nuances of impressions and moods.

TV Style Flat (broadway flat)

•The TV style flat is built with a 1x3 frame "on edge". •It is covered with a thin plywood called "Luon". •Standard size is 4' by 8'. •Heavier and thicker than a theatre flat. •More durable

Arena Stage

•The audience encircles the stage and is usually raised. •The actors enter through the aisles which go through the audience. •The configuration is extremely limiting to the designer. •The visual elements have to be confined to low units that don't obstruct sightlines. •Suggestions of scenery to stimulate the audience's imagination to fill in the rest. •Everything must be well constructed and finished since it will be closely scrutinized. (Furniture, hand props, costumes, make-up and wigs.)

Procesium Arch

•The audience is arranged on one side of a raised stage area. •The enclosed stage is open to the audience through the proscenium opening - called the arch. •The proscenium wall masks the stage machinery, lights and storage areas from view. •The area which encompasses the stage and its machinery is called the Stage House •The stage house often includes a Fly Loft. The area above the stage. •The area accessible to the audience, seating area and lobby is called the Front of House or FOH.

Scenography

•The design of the scenic environment, the creation of spaces, places, shapes and colors; •It is influenced by painting and architecture (if you want to be a set designer, it is important to study the history of art and architecture)

End Stage

•Think Academic Hall •No "arch"

Black Box

•Think Studio Léonard Beaulne •Flexible space provides for easy changing of the stage/audience relationship.

The set should.....

•suggest the style and tone of the whole production •create mood and atmosphere •give clues as to the specific time and place of the action •offer creative possibilities for the movement and grouping of the actors

Block & Fall

(block and tackle) two pullies that work together to make an object easier to hoist

Cove

(box boom) a hole in the wall in FOH where lighting instruments are hung

Traditional Box Set

- Walls are made from stock Flats. -The "deck" or floor is made of risers or "platforms"

Bertolt Brecht

-Berlin Germany -Formed the Berliner Ensemble in 1949 -Marxist who combined political theory and practice ---Expressionism--- "Epic Theatre" -broke the 4th wall -showed the lights and the sides of the stages exposed

Laissez-faire

-Minimal decision making, the "wait and see" approach.

Constantin Stanislavski

-Moscow - Russia 1897 - Cofounded the Moscow Art Theatre Presented works by Tolstoy and Chekhov The Seagull, The Cheery Orchard, The Three Sisters --- Realism----- - created 4th wall

Robert Lepage

-Quebec -Ex Machina -Creative, Original approach to theatre -Use of new technologies -Works include: The Blue Dragon, The Tempest, Tectonic Plates

TWAN Week

-Technical work as needed

draperies

-boarders -legs -teasers -traveller

Masking (2 types)

-legs hung as a german (everything showing) -Legs hung as an italian (everything hidden)

Maquette

-miniature three-dimensional model showing how the set will look when finished.

Modernism

-plays a lot with time, space, scenic elements; •Allows: special effects (video, film, slides, hatches, etc.), visual set elements manipulated by the actors; •Often breaks the fourth wall; •The audience may be part of the show.

Cordless Electric Drill

-used for drilling pilot holes and screws

Ground Plan view

-view from the theatre above -shows the entire theatre and where the set will be located

Focus

1. For an actor or director, the focus in a scene is where the audience should be directing its attention. 2. The production staff refers to the "focus" as the time during which the lighting designer tells the electrical crew where on stage to aim and shutter each lighting instrument.

Front of House:

1. Generally used to refer to members of the theatre staff who sell and handle tickets and make reservations. It also refers to the ushers and other house attendants. 2. Also used to describe the part of the auditorium that is in front of the proscenium or where the audience is seated. Commonly abbreviated as F. O. H.

Rake

A stage or a riser that is built on an incline or slant. This may be done to help with visibility, or create a scenic effect.

Thrust Stage:

A stage that extends out into the auditorium with the audience surrounding the actors on three sides.

Gobo

A thin metal plate that has had a design cut into its center, which can then be projected by a lighting instrument. (The effect of a leafy forest floor or bars in a jail could be conveyed using a gobo.)

Gel

A colour filter for a lighting instrument made of heat-resistant coloured resin used to change the colour of the lighting.

Scrim

A drop made of a special weave and used to achieve revelations or other scenic effects. When lit from the front, a scrim is opaque; when an actor or object behind a scrim is lit, the scrim becomes transparent revealing the actor or object.

Drop

A flat piece (or pieces) of fabric, usually painted for a scenic effect, and most often hung from the fly floor. A "backdrop" would be hung in the farthest upstage position.

Flat

A flat piece of scenery consisting of a wooden or steel frame covered with wooden paneling or canvas. The surface is painted or decorated as required by the set design.

Traps (Trap Doors):

A part of the stage floor that can open and close allowing actors (or objects) to appear or disappear.

Preview:

A performance with an audience, which takes place before the official opening of a play. Playwrights, actors and directors use the preview to gauge audience reaction to various parts of the performance.

Prompter:

A person designated to give an actor his or her line when it has been forgotten.

Riser

A platform of any size used on stage to differentiate areas or create focus.

Turntable (Revolve):

A platform or a part of the deck that can revolve. A turntable can be used to move actors and scenery in and out of the view of the audience. It can also be used for special effects.

Panned:

A play that has been panned has been given a very negative review by the theatre critics. - bad review

Run-through:

A rehearsal in which the actors perform the play from beginning to end without interruption. Run-throughs are usually done toward the end of the rehearsal process when the actors' characterizations and onstage movements are virtually set. Early attempts to run through the whole play are sometimes called "stagger-throughs" because they tend not to go smoothly.

Green Room:

A room backstage used by actors and crew members to wait for their entrances or cues.

Control Booth(s)

A room or rooms, usually above and behind the audience, from which the play's sound and lights are controlled. The rooms have a window to allow the stage manager and technical crew to watch the performance on stage.

Stage Left:

Left side of the stage as determined by the actor standing in the center of the stage facing the audience.

Stage Directions:

Indications in the script of specific exits, entrances, bits of business, etc.

House Lights:

Lights used to illuminate the auditorium.

The Simple Flat

The Simple Flat (Theatre style) -The frame is constructed using 1x3 pine, on "face" •It is covered with a canvas called "muslin", a lightweight cotton . •The vertical Stile must be between the horizontal Rails. •No higher than 16' no wider than 6'. •Very thin (1" thick) and easy to store.

Props

Short for "properties". All articles on stage except the scenery are known as props. Furnishings and other large items are known as set props. The objects handled by an actor during his or her performance are called hand props. Props carried on an actor's person such as pipes, watches or fans are known as personal props.

IATSE

Stands for the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees. IATSE is the union for stagehands and dressers, as well as some technical theatre and film professions.

Gridiron

Structure in the ceiling that supports the flys

Fasteners

The Robertson (or square head) screw is the most commonly used screw in theatre

Upstage

The back of the stage. To "upstage" another actor is to move upstage from him/her so he/she must turn away from the audience to address you, or to move or draw attention away from another actor.

Cue (noun):

The execution of a lighting or sound effect. An actor's cue is the dialogue line that comes before their next line.

Deck

The floor of the stage.

Downstage

The front of the stage. Historically, many stages were built on a "rake," a rising slope away from the audience.

Running Time:

The length of time it takes to perform the play, not including intermissions. The running time can vary somewhat from performance to performance depending on the speed and energy of the actors and audience response on any given night.

Cue Sheet:

The listing of cues to be called by the Stage Manager or taken by the technical crew. Usually the Stage Manager has a master list and each crew member their own list.

Prompt Book:

The master copy of the script that contains all the actors' moves on stage and all the technical cues for the production. Used by the stage manager to coordinate the running of the production. Sometimes called the prompt script or simply "the book".

Subtext:

The motivations and feelings underlying the words a character speaks.

Preset

The placing of props, costumes, scenic elements, etc. in place prior to the beginning of a rehearsal or performance. Also refers to actors being in place for their entrances.

Off Book:

The point in rehearsals when actors need to know all their lines and are no longer allowed to carry their scripts.

Collective Creation

The process by which theatre artists work together as a group to create a play. The group may be made up exclusively of actors, or it may also include a director, playwright and designers.

Curtain Call:

The reappearance of the cast after the end of the play during which they acknowledge the audience's applause.

Technical Rehearsal (Tech Rehearsal):

The rehearsal(s) during which all physical elements of the production and all performed elements come together.

Legging up a Platform

The sides of the platforms are usually faced with a thin plywood called luon or hardboard called masonite This will mask the legs.

Cue-to-cue:

The technical rehearsal that coordinates the technical aspects of the production to the play as it has been rehearsed. Only the dialogue that precedes (and sometimes follows) the actual cue is spoken.

Notes

The term used to describe the communication between the rehearsal hall and the various designers and other production staff. The stage manager is the main communicator of the notes to all the various departments. The director also has a "notes" session, usually after a rehearsal or performance, to give the actors, designers and production staff feedback on their work, analyze progress, request changes or suggest improvements.

Call (verb)

The verb describing the stage manager's directions given to the crew throughout a performance to ensure all cues take place at the right moment. This is known as "calling" the show.

Call (noun)

The warning a stage manager gives to the actors about the exact amount of time left before the curtain rises. The most common call times are half-hour, fifteen minutes, five minutes, and places. A call can also be a notice of rehearsal or performance posted on the callboard and reiterated by the stage manager.

Backstage

The whole area behind the stage, including wings, dressing rooms, control booths and green room.

Corpse

Theatre slang. To "corpse" for an actor means to lose control onstage during a performance or a run-through and laugh uncontrollably. It is often contagious among actors onstage. This is considered unprofessional conduct!

Apron

a section of the stage floor which projects towards or into the auditorium. In proscenium theatres, the part of the stage in front of the house tabs, or in front of the proscenium arch, above the orchestra pit.

Cut drop

painted background, hung, with scrim or cutouts showing through to a backdrop.

Environmental Theatre

performed in a park or anywhere

Strike

removal of everything of the show from the theatre