Theatrical Logic
In is down, down is front
Out is up, up is back
Off is out, on is in
And of courseLeft is right and right is left
A drop shouldn't and a
Block and tackle does neither
A prop doesn't and
A cove has no water
Tripping is OK
A running crew rarely gets anywhere
A purchase line buys you nothing
A trap will not catch anything
A gridiron has nothing to do with football
Strike is work (In fact a lot of work)
And a green room, thank god, usually isn't
Now that you're fully versed in Theatrical terms,
Break a leg.
But not really !
"They just put a man on the moon. If you miss a cue, no one will die." -submitted by Shelli Aderman, SMA.
"Your job is to facilitate." -- submitted by Shelli Aderman, SMA.
"There are no problems, there are only solutions." -- submitted by Shelli Aderman,
SMA.
"On a day no different than the one now dawning, Shakespeare sat down and
started Hamlet, Leonardo stepped to an easel and made the first strokes of the
Mona Lisa, and Beethoven took out a sketch book and began the Ninth
Symphony." -- adapted from Robert Richardson, Emerson: The Mind on Fire
"The two happiest days in a theatre person's life: The day you start on a new show
and the day the damned thing closes." -- Unknown.
"Any smoothly functioning technology will have the appearance of magic." -Arthur C. Clarke.
"Create an atmosphere in which anything is possible." -- Thomas Kelly.
"Keep your head when all about you are losing theirs and blaming it on you." -Rudyard Kipling.
"Perhaps, therefore, ideal stage managers not only need to be calm and meticulous
professionals who know their craft, but masochists who feel pride in rising above
impossible odds." -- Sir Peter Hall, director of the Royal Shakespeare Company
and the National Theatre of Great Britain.
"A stage manager is as creative as any other member of the production." -- Daniel
Ionazzi.
ACTING AREA:
The area of the stage where the play is performed.
Also called the Playing Area.
APRON:
The extension of a stage projecting outwards into
the auditorium. In certain types of theatre the
apron can be quite large. See also forestage.
BEGINNERS:
The request for cast and crew to take their
positions for the start of the performance. Also
“Places”.
BLACKOUT:
A fast shutdown of all lighting to complete
darkness.
BLACKS:
Curtains hung both to mask the back-stage area
and to shape the on-stage area.
BREAKAWAY:
A prop specifically made to break at a certain point
in the play.
CALL
The notification to cast and crew of rehearsal or
performance. Also the countdown to curtain
provided by stage management, usually half-hour
call, fifteen minute call, five minute call, and
beginners.
CALL-BOARD:
The bulletin board used by stage managers to post
any information important to actors and crew, such
as rehearsal schedules and costume fittings.
CENTRE LINE:
An imaginary or real line that divides the stage
area into two equal parts, running from downstage
to upstage.
CENTRE STAGE:
The middle area of the performance space.
CREW:
The backstage group of people who perform all the
technical tasks during the show.
CROSS:
In blocking, to move from one area of the stage to
another.
CROSSOVER:
A passage way behind the stage for actors and
technicians to cross from one side of the stage to
the other.
CUE:
The signal for an action by an actor or a technician
during a performance. Actors cues are mostly
verbal, but for technicians they may be given
verbally over the intercom by the stage manager or
visually by a cue light.
CUE LIGHTS:
Specific lights used by the deputy stage manager
to cue back stage technicians and actors.
CUE SHEET:
The page(s) used to note the cues called by the
stage manager to the different technicians.
CUE SYNOPSIS:
A written list if lighting cues including their
position in the script, time, and nature of lighting
change.
CURTAIN:
In addition to its normal definition relating to
draperies, a term used to indicate the start or end
of a performance such as "Five minutes to curtain
up" (five minutes to the start of the performance).
CURTAIN LINE:
The final line in the play.
CURTAIN LINE:
The imaginary line across the stage immediately
behind the proscenium which marks the position
of the house tabs when closed.
CYCLORAMA:
Plain, curved, stretched cloth or rigid structure
used as a background to a setting, giving an
illusion of infinity.
DARK THEATRE:
A day or night when there is no performance.
DIMMER:
An electrical apparatus used to control the
intensity of the lantern to which it is circuited.
DOWNSTAGE:
DRESSER:
Portions of a stage nearest the audience.
A member of staff who helps actors to get in to
costume
DRESS RUN:
A dress rehearsal.
DRY TECH:
A technical rehearsal without actors.
FIRE CURTAIN:
A non-flammable curtain hung directly behind the
proscenium that protects the audience from fire or
smoke emitting from the stage.
FIRST ELECTRIC:
The first row of lanterns hung on a bar behind the
proscenium.
FLAT:
A unit section of flat scenery, usually made of
wood or muslin on a wooden frame.
FLY:
To lift above the level of the stage floor by means
of sets of lines from the grid. The term flies is also
used as an abbreviation for fly gallery.
FORESTAGE:
Portion of the stage floor in front of the curtain
line.
FRENCH SCENE:
Scene that begins and ends with an actors entrance
or exit.
FRONT OF HOUSE:
Areas of a theatre on the audience side of the
proscenium wall or stage area are called FOH.
GEL:
Transparent plastic sheet placed in front of a
lantern to colour the light beam.
GOBO:
A metal cutout used in ellipsoidal reflector
spotlights that projects an image on stage. Also
called template.
GLOW/FLUORESCENT TAPE:
Tape that glows in the dark, placed in
small pieces around the set so the actors
and crew will not bump into anything
during a black out.
GREEN ROOM:
A back-stage room used by actors and crew as a
waiting and meeting area.
GROUND PLAN:
Plan of a stage on which is marked the position of
the scenery in a setting,(including borders,
hanging pieces and sometimes lighting equipment.
HALF-HOUR:
The 30 or 35 minutes warning before the
performance starts.
HOUSE:
The part of the theatre where the audience sits.
HOUSE LIGHTS:
Lights used to illuminate the area where the
audience sits.
LEGS:
Narrow curtains or cloth that hang vertically on the
sides of the stage to mask the backstage area. Also
called tormentors.
LIGHTING BOARD:
The console that controls all the lanterns. Also
called the Dimmer Board and Switchboard.
LIGHTING PLAN:
A plan that designates the placement of lighting
equipment relative to the set. Plan includes gel,
circuit and patch number for each lantern.
MASK:
To hide any equipment or offstage area through
the use of curtains, flats, etc.
OFFSTAGE:
Any position on the stage floor out of sight of the
audience.
ONSTAGE:
Any position on the stage within the acting area.
ON THE BOOK:
When either the deputy stage manager or an
assistant is following the script in order to help
actors when they stumble over lines.
PACE:
The tempo of the performance.
PAPER TECH:
A meeting between director, designers, and stage
management to define and record the series of
technical events required to operate the
production.
PRE-SET:
The setting on stage that the audience sees before
the play begins, refers to light, set and props.
PROMPT:
To help an actor with his lines when he either asks
or is stumbling.
PROMPT SCRIPT:
The book kept by the stage manager that contains
all paper work necessary to the production of the
play, including a script with blocking and cues.
Also called Prompt Book.
PROP TABLE:
The table backstage on which props are laid out,
usually mapped out order.
PROPS or PROPERTIES:
All objects, such as furniture, pictures,
carpets, flowers, books, implements,
weapons etc., used in a performance (but
not including scenery). Categorised into
"hand props" and "set props" (or "set
dressing").
QUICK CHANGE:
A fast costume change.
READ-THROUGH:
Usually the first rehearsal at which the company
reads through the script.
RUN:
The total number of performances for a
production.
RUN THROUGH:
To rehearse the show by performing from
beginning to end without stopping.
SET DRESSING:
Props that are used to decorate the set and are
usually not handled by actors.
SNAP CUE:
A cue executed in an instant.
SPECIAL:
A lantern used for one specific object or effect.
SPIKE MARK:
A mark on the stage or rehearsal floor, usually a
piece of tape, that denotes the specific placement
of a piece of scenery or a prop.
STAGE DIRECTIONS:
Instructions indicating the movement, blocking, or
stage business of the performers or other
descriptions of the physical setting or atmosphere
of the play.
STAGE LEFT:
Actor's left.
STAGE RIGHT:
Actor's right
STRIKE:
Remove set, scenery, props, costumes or lights
from the acting area after they have been used,
usually at the end of a run.
TECHNICAL REHEARSAL:
The rehearsal or series of rehearsals in
which the technical elements of the show
are integrated with the work of the actors.
Also called The Tech.
THRUST STAGE:
A type of theatre in which the audience is
seated on three sides of the stage.
TRAPS:
Removable areas of the stage floor that allow access to the
area underneath the stage. Special purpose traps are grave
traps, dip traps and star traps.
TRAVELLER:
A curtain that can open to the sides of the stage.
UPSTAGE:
The portions of the stage furthest from the audience. (To
move upstage means to move away from the audience: to
move above a person or object means to move on the side
furthest from the audience.)
WINGS:
Offstage spaces to left and right of the acting area.
WORK LIGHTS:
Lights used for general illumination of the stage when not
in performance.