Have you ever been in the middle of a rehearsal and the director asks you to
move downstage left, in front of the proscenium,
and allow your character to breakthrough.
Then the director asks you for your justification?
Do you sit there and think... "What's a proscenium?
What's my character's breakthrough? What is a justification?"
Well RELAX! We have answers for you and answers we don't have yet, we'll get for you! Explore our theatrical
vocabulary and increase your knowledge in the theatrical arts!
If there is a word that you need defined and it is not on our list click here to submit it to us and we'll define it for you!
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ACTION (internal or emotional) - What you do to get what your character wants.
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ADJUSTMENTS - Changes in the directions (actions) you are given, or the choices you've made.
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AFFECTIVE MEMORY - Exploring, or creating a past event from your life for use in a scene or character. Also called emotional memory or emotional recall.
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ARENA STAGE - A stage where the audience is seated around three sides.
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ASIDE - When the character breaks away from the situation to talk to the audience without being heard by the other characters.
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AUDITION - A talent test. The procedure of observing the work of actors to determine who is best suited to play a role.
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BEATS - One unit of text denoting the beginning and end of an action. Or simply, a moment, as in "wait two beats and continue."
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BLOCKING - The physical arrangement of the actors' movements on stage.
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BREAKTHROUGH - The point at which you either overcome an obstacle and/or reach a new emotional level previously unattainable.
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CALLBACK - A request to repeat your audition.
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CHARACTER - The person whom you are playing.
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CHOICES - What you do or tell yourself in order to create the role.
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COLD READING - Reading aloud, from the script, with no rehearsal.
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COMEDY - The lighter side of drama. The dramatic components that make us laugh.
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CONCENTRATION (see focus) - The ability or act of focusing all your attention or energy where you want or need it.
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CRAFT - A collection of mastered techniques, designed to enhance, express, and develop artistic talent.
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CRITIQUE - Honest feedback on your work. What did work, what didn't, what we saw and what we didn't see.
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CUE - A predetermined signal to cause you to act, deliver a line, do stage business, gesture, or move on stage. A prompt.
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DOWN STAGE - The part of a proscenium stage that is closest to the audience.
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ENERGY - The vitality that is evidenced in your performance.
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ENVIRONMENT - The ability to create accurately the characters surroundings.
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EXPLORATION - All the different choices and ideas you try in rehearsal to arrive at a performance.
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FOCUS (see concentration) - The ability or act of focusing all your attention or energy where you want or need it.
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FOURTH WALL - The invisible, imagined, or implied wall through which the audience sees the performance.
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GIBBERISH (numbers, letters, etc.) - A technique using non-verbal sounds in place of the text or in place of words.
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GIVEN CIRCUMSTANCES - The information in the play set down for you by the playwright.
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HOMEWORK - The work that you do for yourself before class, rehearsals, or performance.
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IMAGINATION - That part of the mind that allows for the creation of images to bring us closer to solving a problem or to express more fully our true nature.
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IMMEDIACY - A quality to be strived for in making your work look like and exist in the present. Also, technique designed to justify a faster pace.
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IMPROVISATION - An unrehearsed scene, in your own, extemporaneous words.
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INDICATING - Pointing to what behavior is supposed to look like rather than creating genuine truthful behavior.
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INSTRUMENT - You.
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INTENTION - What you and/or your character will do.
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INTERNAL WORK - The part of the work that deals with feelings and emotions in order to create truthful behavior.
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INVOLVEMENT - The result of a full commitment to your part and your character.
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JUSTIFICATION - The reason you and/or your character take an action.
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LINE READINGS - Instructions on how to read or say a line.
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LINE REHEARSAL - A rehearsal specifically for running lines.
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LOAD IN - The process of putting the set together on stage. Unloading from the truck and assembling it for use in the actual performance.
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LOAD OUT - The process of taking the set apart and loading it into the truck, leaving the theatre space empty.
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MANNERISMS - Physical behaviors or 'ticks' pinpointing the uniqueness of the character.
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METHOD, THE - An acting process, based in nature, used to make an actor's performance truthful and believable.
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MONOLOGUE - A section of the play spoken by one actor as either part of a scene or alone on stage. See also Soliloquy.
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MOTIVATION - The reason for your action.
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MUGGING - Broad facial gestures designed to entertain the audience at the expense of genuinely playing your part.
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NOTES - Adjustments and/or critique given by the director.
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OBJECTIVE - What the character wants.
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OBSTACLES - The barriers that prevent you from doing what you want to do.
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OVER the TOP (O.T.T.)- Primarily a British term for playing the largest choice possible and making a full commitment.
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OVERACTING - Acting more than is necessary. Artificial acting. Pushing.
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PACE - Picking up cues in order to affect timing.
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PAUSE - A momentary stopping of either dialogue, movement or both, serving to continue dramatic action, not impede it.
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PRIOR CIRCUMSTANCES - The events in the play occurring before your scene or entrance that affect what you do. Sometimes called 'previous circumstances'.
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PROJECTION - Sending the voice to all areas of the theatre.
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PROSCENIUM - Literally, before the scenery. The stage or playing area in front of the scenery. The arch above the stage is also called the proscenium arch.
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REHEARSAL - The process of making ready a play or presentation by repetition and exploration.
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RELATIONSHIP - The connection between your character and the other characters in the play.
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SCENE STUDY - Utilizing a scene with two or more people to learn specific acting techniques to develop and refine a craft.
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SIDES - A part of a script. Usually one or two short scenes used for audition purposes.
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SOLILOQUY - When a character is alone on stage and speaks, usually to the audience.
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SPECIFICS - Focusing attention on particular details.
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SPEED-THROUGH - A rehearsal technique that involves going through the whole play very quickly.
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STAGE BUSINESS - The physical directions and the movement (spatially or with props) done on stage.
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STAGE FRIGHT - Fear, anxiety, nervousness, and panic at the idea of performing on stage in front of an audience.
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STAGE LEFT - Stage left is from the actor's point of view.
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STAGE RIGHT - Stage right is from the actor's point of view.
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SUBSTITUTION - Replacing the fictional elements of the scene with your own personal choices.
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SUBTEXT - The real meaning under the text. The intentions and reality behind what the character says.
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TASKS - The individual things an actor must do to create a truthful inner and outer character.
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THEATRE in the ROUND - A theatre, indoors or out, that has the audience surrounding all four sides of the stage.
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THEME - The playwright's statement through the text of the play. What the author wants you to know.
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THRUST STAGE - A stage permitting the audience to sit on all three sides. Similar to an arena stage.
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TRUTH - The expression of actions that are essentially true.
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UP STAGE - The part of a proscenium stage that is farthest from the audience. Also, physically stealing a scene from another actor.
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