Performing Arts Key Terminology

Glossary of BTEC and Theatre Terms:

ACT: Apart from being what actors do on stage, the term also denotes a division in the performance of a play. Each act may also have several scenes. Nowadays full-length plays typically have two or three acts. Often, though not invariably, there is an intermission between the acts.
ANALYSE: Break down a complex topic into simpler parts, exploring patterns and explaining significance.
ASSESS: Examine the strengths & weaknesses.
AUDITORIUM: Strictly it’s an enclosed space in which an audience gathers to hear a performance, so it’s more commonly applied to concert halls. Generally, in the theatre, the auditorium is referred to as the house—thus the expression, much loved by theatre managers everywhere—“full house.”
BACKDROP: A large drapery of painted canvas that provides the rear or upstage masking of a set.

BACKSTAGE: The area behind and around the stage that it is unseen by the audience. Some plays, such as Michael Frayn’s farce, Noises Off, and Ronald Harwood’s poignant drama, The Dresser, actually portray life backstage.
BALCONY: Strictly speaking, this is the second tier of seating in a theatre, elevated and protruding over the back rows of orchestra or main level seating.

BATTEN: A tubular metal bar, sometimes known as a pipe, to or from which overhead lighting instruments can respectively be attached or hung.

BLACKOUT: A theatrical blackout—as opposed to a power failure—is a sudden darkening of the stage. A slow darkening is described as "fade to black."

BLOCKING:: These are the stage movements and positions that the director works out with the actors in rehearsal for dramatic effect—and so they won’t bump into each. The stage manager makes a careful note of blocking directions for later reference.

BOOTH: An enclosed, windowed area, usually at the back of the auditorium, used for technical control purposes. Sometimes there is a separate booth for sound and lighting control. The stage manager may also operate from a booth rather than from backstage.

BORDER: A narrow, horizontal masking piece above the stage. Borders serve to hide the lighting rig and scenery—in theatres that can “fly” or raise scenery out of sight. Borders also define the upper limit of the audience’s stage view. See also, teaser.

BOX SET: A scenic design that includes three walls and sometimes a ceiling, usually to give a very realistic visual effect. It tends to emphasize the notion of a fourth invisible wall, the one at the front through which the audience observes the action.
CAST: The complement of actors in a play.

CATWALK: Narrow bridges above the stage from which scenery and lighting equipment can be handled. Some theatres also have lighting catwalks above the seating area.
COMPARE: Identify and explain the similarities and differences.
CONTRAST: Identify and explain the differences.
COVE: A position in the auditorium where stage lighting can be placed and hidden from the audience.
CREW: The team of theatre workers—often the unsung heroes—who take care of the physical aspects of a production at each performance.

CUE: A prearranged sign that indicates to a performer, crew member or stage technician that it is time to proceed to the next line or action. Actors also listen for cues in the text so that they know when it's time to say or do something.
CURTAIN CALL: What happens at the end of the play—even if there isn’t an actual curtain to signal the end—when the actors acknowledge the audience’s applause.
DARK: We say the theatre, or house, is “dark” when it’s closed to the public, as between productions or on nonperformance days.
DEMONSTRATE: Show awareness and understanding
DESCRIBE: Give a description of the major features.
DESIGNER: This is the person who designs sets and/or costumes for a play. Also, the person responsible for illuminating a production is often called the lighting designer.
DIALOGUE: Conversation in a play.
DIRECTOR: The person responsible for interpreting and bringing the text of a play to life on stage. The director also manages the overall artistic unity of the production.
DISCUSS: Present and examine clearly the various views on a topic or issue.
DOWNSTAGE: The front of the stage closest to the audience.

DROP: A large piece of fabric hung down onto the stage floor.

DRY ICE: Frozen carbon dioxide used to produce stage mist. Dry ice is so cold that when a lump of the stuff is lowered into boiling water it produces clouds of dense, heavy steam that can be pumped on stage to produce a low-lying mist. If a more generalized misty effect is required dry ice is replaced or supplemented by smoke generated by burning a special oil based substance.
EVALUATE: Examine the strengths & weaknesses.
EXAMINE: Lay out the essential elements of an issue and investigate in detail.
EXPLAIN: Show clearly knowledge and understanding of topic.
EXPLORE: Examine or investigate a topic or issues, often in an imaginative way.
FLAT: A flat piece of painted scenery often consisting of a wooden frame covered with stretched fabric, usually canvas.

FOOTLIGHTS: Once a common feature in theatres, this row of lights across the front edge of the stage is rarely employed today. Even so, you may still hear someone say of an actor: "She really projects across the footlights."

FRONT OF HOUSE: This usually refers to the public areas of the theatre but strictly includes everything in front of the proscenium. A front-of-house manager oversees staff members who work in this area.
GET IN: This is what happens when the set and props are moved into the theatre. The reverse is a “Get out.”

GHOST LIGHT: A light left on when a theatre is closed for the night.

GOBO: An etched plate, usually metal, put in front of a spotlight so that a pattern is cast on stage. Gobos can be used in all kinds of ways, for example, to imitate the effect of light filtered through foliage or to create the effect of a neon sign. A gobo can be placed in a rotating holder to create a dynamic effect such as the light reflected from rippling water.

HOUSE: The place where the audience sits to enjoy the performance on stage.


HOUSE LIGHTS: The lights in the house or auditorium. Dimming of the house lights customarily signals the start of a performance.
IDENTIFY: Pick out and describe the main points.
INTERPRET: Clarify or explain the meaning.
INVESTIGATE: A careful and systematic inquiry into a topic or issue.
JUSTIFY: Provide reasons why something is valid.
LEGS: Vertical curtains or flats used to hide the wings from view and frame the audience’s view of the stage.

LINES: What actors learn and speak on stage. The word is also used technically to refer to the counter-weighted ropes or wires that may be used to lower scenery.


MASKING: Basically this is scenery or other visible material designed to hide
backstage stuff the audience is not supposed to see, such as the wings or the back wall.

MONOLOGUE: A lengthy speech by a single character delivered to other characters in a play; not to be confused with a soliloquy.
OFFSTAGE: Technically this refers to all stage areas outside the visible acting area.

ONSTAGE: The acting area of the stage floor.
OUTLINE: Identify the main features.
PROPS: Objects on the stage such as furniture that are not part of the actual scenery. Hand props are objects the actors actually handle such as swords, books and cups.

PROSCENIUM: Sometimes known as the “proscenium arch”, this is an opening through the wall separating the stage from the auditorium. It is often ornately decorated to frame the stage. Modern theatre design, in order to allow greater flexibility and deemphasize the division between stage and audience, tends to avoid including a traditional proscenium.

RAKE: This is the slope of the floor of an auditorium or, where utilized, a stage.
RESEARCH: Use a variety of sources to establish facts or collect information.
REVIEW: Write a critical assessment.

SCENERY: The various flats, drops, etc. that are used to create a particular visual setting for a play.



SCRIM: This is a gauzy translucent curtain. The scrim may be plain or painted. When light is thrown on the front of a scrim it becomes opaque but if objects behind it are more brightly lit they will become visible. Balancing lighting levels behind and in front of the scrim is an effective way to create interesting visual effects and transitions.

SET: The scenery for a scene or entire production. In the latter case it is often known as a “unit set” when designed to serve as several different settings with only minor changes between scenes or acts.

SIGHT LINES: These are the imaginary lines drawn from the farthest seats to the stage. This determines where the action is placed onstage for optimum viewing. A well-designed theatre has good sight lines, meaning almost all seats—as at The Laguna Playhouse—have a great view of the stage.
SIGNIFICANCE: Consequence or importance.
SMOKE: Stage smoke is produced by the vaporization of various oil based substances. Smoke machines or “foggers” direct this nontoxic material on stage to create various effects.

SPOTLIGHT: A light that isolates a small area with a sharp divide between that and the remaining performance area.
SPECIFY: Identify clearly and definitely.
STAGE LEFT/RIGHT: These directions are from the actors’ perspective looking out towards the audience. So, if the stage direction calls for an actor to “exit stage left” it will be the opposite of the way the audience sees it.

STAGE MAKEUP: This is a makeup used to shape and define actors’ facial feature as seen on stage. It can be simple—just a little lipstick and eye shadow—or elaborate, involving such things as false chins and noses.

STAGE MANAGER: This is a very important person who gives instructions or “calls” for just about everything that happens on stage. Because directors usually leave soon after a show has opened, stage managers are also responsible for seeing that a production continues to be performed just the way the director wanted. Stage managers lurk unseen by the audience, either just out of sight in one the wings or in a booth at the back of the house. Depending on the arrangement of a theatre and scale of a production there may also be one or two assistant stage managers.
STATE: Provide information in a brief uncomplicated form.
STRIKE: Although unionized actors and crew have been known to strike, in the theatre this term is generally used to describe the process of disassembling the set when a production closes.
SUMMARISE: Give an account of the main points.











TABS: This term comes from “tableaux” curtains, drawn back and up to reveal a scene. Nowadays the term describes various curtains hung on stage. In theatres that routinely have curtains that hide the stage when the performance is not in progress, these are called the “house tabs.”

TEASER: This a type of border used in combination with tormentors to frame the audience’s window onto the stage.

TRAP: This is an opening in the stage floor. In cases where the design and construction of a stage permits it, a trap can be used for all kinds of effects. Generally, however, traps are rarely used in contemporary drama.

TRAP ROOM: The space below the stage used for accessing traps. It is useful as a storage area.

UPSTAGE: This is the area toward the back of the stage, away from the front edge. The term is also used to describe what happens when a performer tries to draw an audience’s attention away from another performer.

WASH: An even spread of light across the stage - usually in one colour but can be themed such as 'warm wash' - yellows/oranges etc.

WINGS: The areas to either side of the stage that the audience does not normally see.