Basic Terms
Batten
(pipe) a length of rigid material, usually pipe or wood on which lights and scenery are hung.
Asbestos or Fire Curtain
A fire-resistant curtain located at the proscenium opening immediately downstage of the act curtain. For most stages it is required by law. Since asbestos is now illegal, it has been replaced by fiberglass woven fabrics. The most common brand name is Zee-tex. Often a small border of asbestos (Zee-tex) is hung on an electric to keep lighting instruments from burning draperies.
Coves
Many houses will have a permanent boom built into the side walls of the auditorium. These, again, have myriad conflicting names such as cove, flipper, cheek, side slit, etc.
Center Line
The center line is the major reference line for measuring laterally on stage. It is the line running directly down the middle of the stage separating stage left from stage right. All measurements on the stage are made up and down from the plaster line and left and right from the center line.
Grand Drape
The first (downstage) border; often very ornamental in older theaters. It is the visual determiner of the height of the proscenium opening (called the trim height). It is not the main curtain that opens and closes.
Tormentor or Torm
The first (downstage) leg. It can be a soft drapery but is often framed and solid. This is the fist visual determiner of the width of the stage.
Production Design Team
The producer, director, and scenic, costume, lighting and sound designers who develop the visual and aural concept for the production.
Heads Up
Words of caution that are used to warn people on stage that there are dangerous circumstances are happening on the stage.
Traveler Curtain
a curtain that opens from the center to the sides
Sky Drop
a flat fabric drop at the back of the stage used for sky effects without wrapping downstage like a cyclorama. It is sometimes referred to as a cyc.
Border
a horizontal drape used to control the area of the stage seen by the audience and hide from view items in the fly loft such as lighting equipments and scenery.
Balcony Rall
a mounting position on the front edge of the balcony. Some theaters have multiple balcony rail positions on their multiple balconies. Most balcony rail positions are so low that the lighting angle is low and unflattering, and is often of limited value.
Light Plot
a plan view of the stage with the lighting instruments superimposed showing where each is hung, what type it is, what dimmer it is patched into, what circuit it is plugged into, and what color it is gelled. Some light plots are drawn directly over a ground plan of the stage, while some are drawn in a schematic style and not necessarily done to the scale of the stage. The light plot is provided by the company's lighting designer to the presenter.
Section
a side view of the stage as seen through the middle of the stage. This is not a required drawing, but can be very valuable for larger, more complex facilities. Its primary value is to allow a designer or technician to see if the show will mask. To mask a show is to hide all extraneous elements from the audience using a combination of the scenic elements, legs and borders.
Curtain Line
a term similar to the plaster line, in that it is a reference point for measuring up and down stage. It is not as accurate a measurement as the plaster line, however, since the act curtain can measure anywhere from a foot to two feet Wie at the bottom, and heating and air conditioning can make it shift as much as four feet. The plaster line is the preferred measurement to use.
Scrim
a transparent gauze material used for stage effects such as ghosts, clouds, or any effect requiring something to appear and disappear. When lit from the front, it becomes opaque when back lit, it becomes transparent. A scrim is often used in front of a sky drop to give it more sense of depth. The most common fabric for a scrim is called sharkstooth; other fabrics are opera net or bobinette.
Set
a unit of scenery
Leg
a vertical masking piece hung at the sides of the stage used to hide the wing spaces an define the width of the stage. A series of legs and borders is the most common form of masking for dance.
Boom
a vertical pipe used for mounting lighting instruments. On-stage booms are usually portable. The terms tree, tower, and ladder are often used as variations for portable boom. When mounted in the auditorium, they are usually a permanent fixture. House booms are permanent booms mounted to the auditorium wall. Box booms are mounted in or on a box seat. Balcony booms are mounted in the balcony.
Electric
also known as an electric batten. It is an on-stage batten with cable and connectors mounted on it specifically used for hanging instruments. The electric can fly in and out with the other battens in the fly system. Electrics can be parallel to the proscenium like most of the fly system, or they can be perpendicular to the proscenium mounted at the sides of the stage. These are called side electrics and are most often used for dance. The term electric is also used in dead-hung houses.
Fly Loft
also known as the fly gallery. It is the space directly above the stage area where draperies and lighting instruments are hung. Ideally, the height is three times as high as the proscenium arch to allow scenic elements to be flown out of sight. Many theaters now, however, have a reduced fly loft or none at all. If the theater claims to be a proscenium theater but has a ratio of less than three to one, let the company know because it can be an issue when producing shows.
Quarter Line
an imaginary line that runs from upstage to downstage at 1/2 the distance form center line to the onstage edge of the wing
Lighting Instrument
any dimmable lighting fixture on the stage. They are clamped to a pipe. This pipe is then called an electrical mounting position. Any pipe anywhere can be a mounting position for temporary situations, but the term mounting position refers to a pipe specifically mounted for hanging lighting instruments. this pipe will usually have an electrical raceway called a connector strip bolted to or adjacent to it with multiple dimmable circuits inside the strip. Some mounting positions are permanent, while others are portable. Mounting positions, especially in the front of house, can make the job of lighting a touring show in a short period of time very tricky.
Masking
any drapery or scenic piece to define the stage or impede the view of the audience. (masking terminology is an area with a great deal of duplication and incorrect application of terms)
Front of House (FOH)
any mounting position in the auditorium
Dead-Hung
many theaters do not have a fly loft or the ability to fly equipment and scenery in and out. Instead of a grid, there are non-moveable (or dead-hung) pipes. To hang or remove instruments, you must climb up to the pipes (rather than bringing them to the deck or stage as a fly system.)
Ground Plan
often just called a plan. An aerial view of the stage drawn to a specific scale (usually one-quarter inch equals one foot or one-half inch equals one foot) showing all the pertinent elements of the stage. It is a prime tool of theatre technicians for planning productions and communicating stage information with one another. Every theatre should have an accurate ground plan that should be included in any technical communications. (Don't use the architect's plans that were used to build the building. These don't have the proper information needed by technicians. "as built" and "as designed" are often two different things.
Technical Rehearsal
run-throughs, in which the sets, lights, props, costumes and sound are integrated in to the production
Teaser
term used to define the first horizontal masking piece. Used in conjunction with a tormentor, this first masking set of the tormentor and teaser becomes what is often called a portal. What is really a grand drape and what is a teaser is a grey area. In rigid definition, the tormentor and the teaser are the first framed, masking ;pieces used as a set to form a portal. Occasionally a theatre will have both a grand drape and a teaser. All horizontal masking pieces are not teasers; only the first piece is a teaser (the rest are borders), unless it's a grand drape.
Apron
the area of the floor that extends through the proscenium arch towards the audience.
Wing
the area off stage hidden from the view of the audience by masking. A wing is a space, not a drapery.
Act Curtain or House Curtain
the curtain that opens and closes, separating the audience from the stage. It is usually hung directly upstage of the grand drape. It can either open in the center (called traveling) or it can fly in and out (called guillotining).
Stage or Deck
the entire floor of the theatre inside the stage house under the grid. The term "on stage" denotes that area of the stage that is visible to the audience. The term "off stage" is that area hidden from the view of the audience.
Trim
the mark or to mark the height above he stage floor at which an electric, set or soft goods either store or "play"
Grid
the metal framework at the top of the fly loft or just below the stage roof (the ceiling of the fly loft). Everything that hangs or flies on the stage is suspended from the grid.
Wing
the offstage space between the legs
Proscenium Arch
the opening arch in the downstage wall separating the audience and the stage. In old theaters it was an actual arch but in more modern venues it is minimized to simple moveable panels or drapes.
Plaster Line
the primary reference point for determining measurements up and down stage. It is a line drawn across the stage at the upstage edge of the proscenium. For instance, if the upstage corner of the set is listed on the paperwork as being 33 ft 6 in, it means that the corner is 33 ft 6 in upstage of the plaster line. It is the determiner of the downstage limit of the stage separating the stage from the apron.
Bridge
the term used for an electric constructed from a large truss-work instead of the simple batten. The bridge was originally designed so a stagehand could move about on it to adjust the carbons of early carbon-arc spotlights.
Beam Slot
the term used for any horizontal ceiling mounting position parallel to the proscenium. The position got its name from the practice of building the auditorium with the ceiling mounting positions concealed within a decorative beam with a slot but in the upstage edge. There are a number of conflicting terms used for this position. Some people call them coves, some call them catwalks, and some simply call them slots.
Directions
these include stage left and stage right (from the performer's point of view) as well as upstage (towards the back curtain/wall) and downstage (towards the audience). House right and left are terms used by the box office to refer to the orientation of the audience member facing the stage.
Strike
to clear the stage, remove scenery and props for example
Spike Mark
to mark the position of a set piece or person on the stage floor, usually with colored tape
Cyclorama
usually called a cyc. A ver large fabric drop rigged at the back of the stage, with curved arms wrapping downstage enclosing the stage. It was designed to create sky effects and to five a feeling of great depth. A true wrap around cyc is usually not applicable for dance as the downstage curved portion provides a barrier that makes exits and side-lighting very difficult or impossible.