Stage direction: the front of the stage, or that portion of the stage closest to the audience.
Drama
A literary work, such as a play, that tells a story through dialogue intended to be performed by actors. In theatre, the quality of being dramatic. In modern usage, the term drama has come to denote mean the opposite of comedy.
Dramatic Theory
Study and analysis of the dramatic arts, their form, construction, values and their impact on society.
Dramatist
A playwright, or one who writes plays.
Dress Rehearsal
Rehearsal, usually late in the schedule, just before actual performances, in which lighting, costumes, makeup, costume changes, set changes, properties, sound effects, and special effects are used. Also called a " full dress rehearsal".
Fabula
Generic Latin term for a play. In Rome the term included several types of plays including: the fabula atellanae, or atellan farce, an early form of folk-based drama; fabula palliata, which were based on translations from earlier Greek texts; and fabula togata, which was a more topical, native type of drama, such as those written by Plautus.
French Scene
The action which takes place between one actor's entrance and exit.
Fresnel
A lighting instrument with a graduated lens that throws a soft, generally defocused beam of light. Most fresnels allow for some control over the focus of the beam by means of a sliding mechanism.
Futurism
Movement that originated in Italy in the early 20th Century, which spanned all of the arts. It emphasized the impact of technology on society.
Improvisation
A situation in which the actors are provided with background on the setting and characters and then spontaneously invent dialogue and action.
Incidental Music
Music written especially for a particular play and which seldom survives its production (as opposed to Broadway and Vaudeville tunes). Originated in Elizabethan English Theatre, but has been used in such modern productions as Tennessee Williams' Glass Menagerie and Truman Capote's Holiday Memories.
Inner Proscenium
See, False Prosecenium. Structure, usually consisting of side flats with a transverse piece, that serves to temporarily reduce the opening of the permanent proscenium.
Interlude
From the Latin interludium (between the play), the term refers to a short dramatic sketch in early English drama. The short, light pieces would be performed between the acts of more serious plays.
Kabuki
The popular theatre of Japan -- as opposed to the more formal and aristocratic noh play. The name derives from ka -- singing; bu -- dancing; and ki -- acting.
Kitchen-Sink Drama
Term coined in 1950's British theatre to refer to plays in which the characters were less affluent than those of conventional drama -- spending their time going about domestic tasks such as washing and ironing.
Legitimate Theatre
Also referred to as " Legitimate Drama". Term coined in the 19th Century to distinguish the formal five-act plays produced by licensed theatres from those performed in the unlicensed theatres that began to spring up at that time -- particularly those featuring dance and choral numbers as a primary feature, such as revues.
Little Theatre
See, Community Theatre. Little Theatre actually pre-dates Community Theatre in the modern sense of those terms. Little Theatre groups in Europe formed a part of the inspiration for similar theatres in the United States at the turn of the century -- from these modern Community Theatre can trace its heritage.
Mark
The place on stage, in relation to the set and scenery, where a player is to deliver a particular line or commence some action. During rehearsals, actors practice " finding their marks".
Mask
Head-dress used to cover the face and enable the wearer to portray a particular character or animal. In theater, the term often refers to the masks worn by actors in Greek tragedy. Some accounts, perhaps apocryphal, state that these masks, in conjunction with devices contained in them, were necessitated by the vast size of Greek ampitheatres (the largest of which could hold between 15, 000 and 20, 000 spectators). It is more likely, however, that they were used for traditional reasons of permitting one actor to play more than one role and to lend dignity and mystery to the portrayal of the character.
Melodrama
Originally referred to popular plays in the late 18th and 19th centuries featuring incidental music. Generally involved gothic settings in which virtue triumphed over vice. In the modern sense, the term refers to any piece in which emotions are exaggerated.
Middle Comedy
Term applied to the last two plays of Aristophanes in ancient Greek theatre, and to those of his immediate successors in the early and middle 4th Century B. C. Plays of the Middle Comedy emphasized plot more and contained less revelry and broad satire than the plays of Old Comedy.
Monodrama
Short solo piece for one actor or actress supported by a chorus or silent figures.
Monologue
Long speech by a single actor. Similar to soliloquy. The speech is generally made by the actor as if speaking to himself and is revealing of his or her thoughts or feelings.
Muses, The
There were nine muses in Greek mythology -- the daughters of Mnemosyne, the goddess of memory. Three of these were particularly connected with theater: Melpomene, the muse of tragedy; Terpischore, the muse of dancing; and Thalia, the muse of comedy.
Musical
Play in which the story is told through a combination of spoken dialogue and musical numbers. Originally, the plot was slight and the musical numbers had little connection to, and did little to advance the plot. Development of the musical was particularly advanced by innovative plays such as Porgy and Bess and Oklahoma!
Realism
Movement in the theatre at the end of 19th Century to replace the declamatory style of the " well-made play". While Shakespeare may have had Hamlet instruct the actors to move and speak " naturally" this was probably very different than what we would think of today -- being more advice against the over-emotional acting of farces. Proponents of realism advocated a more realistic depiction of everyday life and movement on stage. Out of this movement grew naturalism as expounded by Constantin Stanislavsky and, ultimately, the Actor's Studio.
Rehearsal
Session during which the director works with the cast and crew, preparing a play for production before an audience.
Scene
From the Greek skene, which was set up on the circumference of the acting area and provided a place for the actors to change masks, etc. The skene is actually the precursor of scenery in modern drama, because it came to be used to represent locations in later Greek comedy. The word scene, as used in modern theatre, denotes a unit of dramatic action in which conflict occurs.
Scenery
Term used to describe everything on stage (except props) used to represent the place at which action is occurring.
Scene Shop
The backstage area in which scenery is designed and built.
Stage Direction
Indications in a script for entrances and exits, and for movement in relation to the set within a particular scene.
