intro
Terms
undefined, object
copy deck
- house right/ house left
- right and left from the audience's viewpoint facing the actor
- blocking
- director decides on positions of the actors ("stage picture"), when they move and where; literally every move an actor makes on the stage is called an actor's blocking
- design elements
- line, shape, form, color, value, texture, and space
- lead
- usually a vocal, a solo, or a lead instrument
- beat
- the basic unit we use to measure time; the regular pulsation heard in music; usually what we tap our foot to
- lighting designer
- decides on how to light the stage; chooses gel colors, types of lighting
- stage right/ stage left
- right and left from the actor's viewpoint facing the audience
- character
- the person in the story being portrayed by a human being
- harmony
- the movement and relationship of intervals and chords; harmony is vertical
- line
- a graphic symbol
- the fourth wall
- an imaginary glass wall which allows the audience to look into the lives of the characters in a play without their knowlege
- thrust stage
- a theatre space where the audience surrounds the stage/ acting area on three sides
- business
- small pieces of blocking that involve an actor's interaction with a prop, the scenary or another actor; usually comic, also called a "bit" or if it is an old "bit" like getting a pie in the face or slipping on a bannanna peel it is called a "schtick"
- time signature
- the numbers placed at the begining of a musical piece which signify a certain "meter"
- exterior set
- scenery depicting an outdoor scene
- green room
- a place backstage where actors assemble before and during the show; a waiting room
- lines
- the words in the script which the actor memorizes and then speaks in the play
- projection
- speaking loudly enough to be heard in the back of the house
- proscenium
- a theatre space where the audience faces one direction and watches the play through a frame or arch
- director
- the guiding hand on the production of the play; the ultimate authority on casting, design, interpretation of the text and all aspects of the production
- properties
- also called props; these are smalled hand-held items like glasses, books, papers, phones, etc; whoever brings the prop on stage is responsible for the getting the prop where it needs to be later on
- "cheating"
- always trying to keep your face (therefore your voice and your lines) toward the audience
- rythm
- the element that organizes movement in time; refers to the length or duration of individual notes
- set designer
- decides how the scenary will look and how it will be built; choses paints colors and all materials; produces scale drawings for technical director to use in construction
- vicarious experience
- experiencing from a safe distance what the actor is experiencing
- bar lines
- the vertical lines across the staff which helps measure musical notation
- follow spot
- the large movable spotlight used to illuminate a solo actor or singer as they move around the stage
- instrumentation
- the art of using different kinds of instruments by a composer- how and when and what kind of instrument is used throughout a composition
- musical texture
- the interweaving of melodic and harmonic elements in the musical "fabric"
- cues
- the line said just before your line; also the line or event in a play just before a lighting or sound change
- organic theory of play production
- the idea that every production should be a unified whole
- staff
- the five horizontal lines on which music is written
- arena stage (in the round)
- a theatre space where the audience surrounds the stage/acting area on all sides
- tempo
- the rate or speed
- curtain call
- when the actors bow infront of the audience after the story of the play is finished; normally begin with minor roles and progress to larger ones; it is the audience's chance to thank the actors for their work
- interior set
- scenery depicting the inside of a building or room
- musical form
- a rational arrangement of music; a work's structure or shape
- syncopation
- when the accent is shifted to the weak beat or the off beat
- fills
- short phrases that occur in a space between the leads
- understudy
- another actor who knows a role and can subsitute if the need arises; still paid in the professional world even if they do not preform
- foundation
- the main rythmic figure; usually the beat
- unit set
- scenery which rarely moves and can represent many different locations in the story of the play
- actor
- the human being on stage pretending to be a character in a story
- pad
- long sustaining notes or chords
- strike
- taking it all apart when the show is done
- dynamics
- the volume
- stage manager
- "calls" the show as a conductor conducts an orchestra; coordinates the execution of all light and sound and SFX cues; assists director by writing all blocking and notes on his script; second in command of the production
- "off book"
- when the actor knows the lines; the book is the play script
- rest
- a rythmic notation which signifies a specific time of silence with a measure of music
- costume designer
- decides on how costumes will look; choses all fabrics and colors; makes patterns for costume technicians to use for construction; responsible for historical/ stylistic accuracy
- "break a leg"
- this is the traditional way to say "good luck" to an actor
- pitch
- the relative position (high or low) of a tone or sound in music
- motivation
- the reason a charater does something; blocking should help make this clear; every piece of blocking must look motivated
- melody
- a musical horizontal line; a coherent succession of single pitches; usually what we remember and hum and wistle
- Design
- the organization of parts into a coherant whole