Technical Theatre Vocabulary

Technical Theatre Vocabulary

Theatre I: Final Exam

Technical Theatre Vocabulary

Using the word bank above, write the correct word next to the definition.- 2 pts each

1. A signal from the stage manager to actor, stage crew, props manager, or lighting technician that some predetermined action, such as an entrance, lighting change, or sound effects, is required. It is a term also used by actors to mean the line directly before their own.

2. The feeling of release at the end of a tragedy experienced by audience members who have undergone feelings of fear and pity, shared in the troubles of the play’s protagonist, and now are set free from the emotional grasp of the action. Aristotle called this cleansing the pleasure of tragedy.

3. In Greek drama, the group of performers who sang and danced between the episodes of the play. They also narrated the offstage action, commented on events, and even moralized the situations.

4. The process of changing the scenery in full view of the audience.

5. The space, be it stage, platform, or floor, set aside for performing the play.

6. A group of actors and technicians who join together to present plays. The organization may be democratic, with voting to determine the plays to be done, or it may have a director in charge of such decisions. Either way, the members function as a team.

7. To improvise something – dialog, stage business- not given specifically in the script. It’s often unrehearsed and done in response to an emergency, such as actors forgetting their lines, or props and scenery breaking.

8. The area of the stage in front of the curtain line.

9. All the actions, excluding blocking, performed by the actors on stage, such as gesturing, opening doors or windows, serving food, writing letters, etc.

10. A protagonist who possesses none of the qualities of the traditional hero.

11. To turn the body out, partially toward the audience, while appearing to talk directly to another character on stage. This allows the audience to see the actors’ facial expressions.

12. An area backstage on which schedules, announcements, and even reviews are posted for the cast and crew.

13. To overact, flail about, or behave in an emotional manner, all out of proportion to the context of the scene.

14. The person responsible for the direction of the actors in the play, that is, one who determines such matters as the tempo and interpretation. The director supervises the players as they rehearse the piece and coordinates all the technical elements that support the performance.

15. One who performs a role or represents a character in a play.

16. A person in a play, or the personality of that person.

17. Determining the basic movement of the actors during a play.

18. The point of highest intensity of the action of a play, preceded by the rising action and followed by the falling action.

19. The decisions of the actor and director as to the way a character in a play will be interpreted in a given production.

20. Those on the cutting edge whose work is unusually experimental and unorthodox.

21. The movement in the play from the initial entanglement through the resolution.

22. An actor’s term for concentrating, focusing on the work at hand, and being in character.

Storytelling

List the 5 qualities that make a great storyteller: -5 pts each

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Mime

Fill in the blanks with the appropriate word.(No word bank)-1 pt each

  1. A mime artist was called a .
  2. Mime began in Ancient by . (He would wear a mask to perform, which was later replaced by white makeup.)
  3. Deburauwas the creator of the whiteface mime.
  4. Buster and Chaplin are 2 of the greatest silent film mimes.
  5. Modern mime is highly influenced by del Arte and Japanese Theatre.

Improvisation: Vocabulary and Concepts

Choose the correct word from the Word Bank for each definition.-2 pts each

  1. - Embracing the offers made by other performers in order to advance the scene.
  2. - The question asked of the audience in order to start a scene.
  3. - Stepping out of the reality of the scene by saying or doing something that refers to the fact that it's a scene being played.
  4. - To break up laughing while playing a scene.
  5. - Assigning attributes to another performer's character.
  6. - To take an idea and see where it leads, exploring its natural consequences while simultaneously raising the stakes.
  7. - A nonsense language.
  8. - The thing that a character in a scene is trying to achieve.
  9. - Any dialog or action which advances the scene.
  10. - A period during which a scene is not advancing.
  11. - A scene that involves a lot of standing (or worse yet, sitting) around talking rather than engaging in physical action.

Constructive Feedback

Fill in the blank with the appropriate word. (No word bank)-2 pts each

  1. Start with a statement.
  2. Use , instead of opinion, whenever possible.
  3. Be :Use details and examples.

In the space below, please provide an example of how you would phrase constructive feedback: -4 pts

Theatre: Stage Aesthetic

Fill in the blank with the appropriate word. No word bank. -3 pts each

  1. Creating various heights on stage is known as using .
  2. An actor should always move in to create the illusion of distance.

Please label the 10 areas of the stage below: -5 pts total

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