• ad lib:  To extemporize stage business or conversation.
• at rise:  Who and what are on stage when the curtain opens.
• back or backstage:  The area of the stage that is not visible to the audience.
• bit:  An acting role with very few lines.
• blocking yourself:  Getting behind furniture or other actors so that you cannot be seen by the audience.
• building a scene:  Using dramatic devices such as increased tempo, volume, and emphasis to bring a scene to a climax.
• business:  Any specific action other than movement performed on the stage such as picking up a book or turning on a TV.
• C:  They symbol used to identify the center of the stage.
• counter-cross:  A shifting of position by two or more actors to balance the stage picture.
• cover:  To obstruct the view of the audience.
• cross:  The movement by an actor from one location to another on-stage.
• cue:  The last words, action, or technical effect that immediately precedes any line or business; a stage signal.
• curtain:  The curtain or drapery that shuts off the stage from the audience; when written in all capital letter in a script, it indicates that the curtain is to be closed.
• cut:  To stop action or to omit.
• cut in:  To break into the speech of another character.
• down or downstage:  The part of the stage toward the audience.
• dressing the stage:  Keeping the stage picture balanced during the action.
• exit or exuent:  To leave the stage.
• feeding:  Giving lines and action in such a way that another actor can make a point or get a laugh.
• foil:  An acting role which is used for personality comparison, usually with the protagonist or main character.
• hand props:  Properties such as letter or luggage, carried on stage by an individual player.
• hit:  To emphasize a word or line with extra force.
• holding for laughs:  Waiting for the audience to quiet down after a funny line or scene.
• left and right:  Terms used to refer to the stage from the actor's point of view, not that of the audience.
• milk:  To draw the maximum response from the audience from comic lines.
• off or offstage:  Off the visible stage.
• on or onstage:  On the visible stage.
• overlap:  To speak when someone else is speaking.
• pace:  The movement or sweep of the play as it progresses.
• personal props:  Small props that are usually carried in an actor's costume, such as money, matches, a pipe, or a pen.
• places:  The positions of the actors at the opening of an act or scene.
• plot:  To plan stage business, as to "plot" the action; to plan a speech by working out the phrasing, emphasis, and inflections.
• pointing lines:  Emphasizing an idea.
• principals:  The main characters in a play.
• properties or props:  All the stage furnishing, including furniture.
• ring up:  To raise the curtain.
• role scoring:  The analysis of a character.
• script scoring or scripting:  The marking of a script for one character, indicating interpretation, pauses, phrasing, stress, and so on.
• set:  The scenery for an act or a scene.
• set props:  Properties placed on stage for the use of actors.
• showmanship:  A sense of theatre and the ability to present oneself effectively to the audience; stage charisma.
• sides:  Half-sheet pages of a script which contain the line, cues, and business for one character.
• stealing a scene:  Attracting attention from the person to whom the center of interest legitimately belongs.
• subtext:  Character interpretations which are not in a script but are supplied by the actor.
• tag line:  The last speech in an act or a play, usually humorous or clever.
• taking the stage:  Giving an actor the freedom to move over the entire stage area, usually during a lengthy speech.
• tempo:  The speed at which the action of a lay moves along.
• timing:  The execution of a line or piece of business at a specific moment to achieve the most telling effect.
• top:  To build to a climax by speaking at a higher pitch, at a faster rate, or with more force and greater emphasis than in preceding speeches.
• up or upstage:  The area of the stage away from the audience, toward the backwall.
• upstaging:  Improperly taking attention from an actor who should be the focus of interest.
• walk-on:  A small acting part which has no lines.
• warn:  To notify of an upcoming action or cue.

[HOME]