THIS WEEKS POST: Glossary of theatre and movie terms.
We will never know what we are talking about less we are speaking the same language.
Acting; Imagine a person with all the desires and fears, thoughts and actions that make a man or a woman. Acting is becoming that imaginary person. Whether the character, or role, that the actor creates is based on someone who really lived, a playwright’s concept, or a legendary being, that creation comes to life through the art of acting. Acting is an ability to react, to respond to imaginary situations and feelings.
Actor /Actress; The actor must be able to stand and move with ease and grace. His/her voice must have range, beauty, and strength. He/She must know his own psychological and emotional make-up, for he/she must draw on their own understanding of life to recreate the lives of others.
Acting Style; A particular manner of acting which reflects cultural and historical influences, examples being Method, technical or mechanical acting.
Mechanical Acting: The use of established clichés. As for instance spreading your hand over your heart to express love, or opening your mouth wide to give the idea of death. Any exaggerated sweetness in lyric moment, dull monotone in reading, false tears in the voice.
Technical Acting: Acting by imitations. To imitate someone other than yourself in portraying a character. Uses of learned reactions, body language and speech skills to give life to a character.
“Method” Acting; Was first taught in America at Actors Studio in New York. In it the actor identifies himself with the emotional life of the character.
Agent; a person, firm, etc. empowered to act for another. They work as a go between for the actor and studio. Generally working out the money and payment detail. They also will help find leads for auditions for acting work. Normal fee runs from seven to ten present of total contract payment.
Articulate; To speak clearly and distinctly.Assistant Cameraman; Loads film, changes camera lens, places Marks. *see Marks.
“Joy of doing the work is ART, not from torment.”
Audience; In the theater, movie house or at home watching television or video people are placed under the spell of a fascinating play. They forget themselves and enter the lives of the characters. The audience laughs at their antics or come near to tears over their troubles. They are swept along by their adventures or stirred by their discovery of love. The actors bring the play to life. While the curtain is up the play seems real and true.
Audition; Try outs for actors to fill spots available for upcoming theater production.
Audio Mixer; Responsibilities includes the quality of all of the audio that is recorded. Works with boom operators, Gaffer and Director of photography to sequence sound to picture or sound systems.
Beats; Two forms of the word Beat is used in theater. One is liken to the musical beat meaning timing. The director may ask you to take three Beats before entering the stage. Or a Beat may be the period of time between a change of emotions within a character.
Belief; The willing acceptance of the fiction created within dramatic situations and plays, and the student’s commitment to it.
Brainstorming; A method of generating a large number of ideas.
Breath control; Central breathing, in which all muscular movement is concentrated in the abdomen.
Broadway; The term Broadway has come to mean professional theater. Smaller theaters with lower-budget productions are known as off-Broadway (whether or not the theater buildings are in the district or far from midtown Manhattan).
Blocking; The placement and movement of actors in a dramatic presentation. All staging is done from the stand point of the actor facing the audience. Up stage being behind the actors, down stage toward the audience and left or right being from the actor’s stand point while facing the audience.
“Where the values are, are in the behavior of the words.”
Blocking maps; A director’s preliminary sketches of the placement and movement of actors for a dramatic presentation. With such abbreviation as UC for up center stage, SL for stage left ect.
Bloom Operator; Operation of microphone, placement of microphones and volume controls of sound systems.
Casting; Usually the director selects certain scenes with typical speeches of each character and holds auditions. Each candidate for a part reads for the director. In casting, the character descriptions given in the text need not necessarily be followed too closely, but obvious physical characteristics must be considered. A small man, for example, can not be cast in the part of a football giant. The reading is not the only basis for selection. The director may see possibilities in the candidate that can be developed during rehearsals.
Character; The vehicle an actor or writer uses to relay thoughts, feelings, ideas, emotionCharacter analysis; A description of one’s understanding or interpretation of a character.
Characterization; The process of developing and portraying a character.
Choral speaking; A means by which literature (including poetry, chants and raps, scripts, short stories, fairy tales, fables and legends) is interpreted and communicated vocally by a group. These could be either student-written or published works.
Comedy; Play, skit, movie, monologue, ect. used to make people laugh. Something that is humorous: Mostly appeals to the intellect rather than the emotions; using many methods of acting: mechanical, technical or Method acting. It must be inherently human, with the capability of reminding us of humanity; there is normally a set of established societal norms being examined. The situation and it’s component parts usually are outside the societal norms. It must be perceived by the observer as harmless or painless to the participants.
“Certainty is wrong. Do all your planning, work it out, learn the words and then stepoff into space.”
Communication (through acting); Some people go to the theater to laugh, to relax, to escape from their everyday worries and cares. Others go to be emotionally stirred, to live (in a second-hand way) through the troubles and crises of the characters on the stage. Still others seek adventure and excitement. Some are curious to find out how other people live. Some go to learn, to be taught a moral lesson.
Community Theater; Most American theatrical fare is presented by the nonprofessional, university theater, high-school, community groups, church, and club theaters of all kinds.
Continuity Supervisor; Work with the director to keep the shooting or stage book so as to remember the sequence of shots and matching of sets. *see Matching.
Collage; A series of staged “moments” related to the topic of a collective and depicting a range of perspectives on that topic.
Consensus; A group decision that everyone in the group agrees to support.Consensus building; The process through which a consensus is reached.
Costume design; A tool used to bring greater truth to a scene. Illustrations of the stage apparel to be worn by actors. Enhancing the actors ability for truth in playing the character
Costumer /Costume Mistress; Costumes must match the setting to aid the actor’s characterization, and, help rather than hinder him in movement. The costume’s effect on the audience is important, yet the most important use of the costume is to help the actor become the character.
Craft Services; Responsible for providing food, snacks and refreshments for the cast and crew on the set.
Cut; Never stop acting till you hear the director say cut.
Dance drama; Expressive movement through which ideas, stories, sounds and music can be interpreted.
“Born alone, die alone and act alone.”
Dance elements; The ingredients of dance, including actions, the body, dynamics, relationships, and space.
Delivering on time; film, TV and commercial sometime need you to say lines within a certain time frame.
Director; The director is at once a teacher, a creative artist, and a capable organizer. Before a production is begun, the director and backstage staff determine both the artistic ideas and the practical needs of the play. They form their artistic ideas from a careful study of the play and an analysis of the characters, idea, plot, and settings. Practical needs include figuring the cost of production and the time needed to build and rehearse the play.
Director of Photography; or DP is basically the one in control of the look and visual style of a picture. He keep the actor on film making sure you hit your mark. He sets the frame size you will be shot in. *See Frames. *See Mark.
Directing; Assuming overall responsibility for the artistic interpretation and presentation of a dramatic work. Pulling together all aspects of the craft in preparation for opening night.Director’s book; The planning book developed by a director to guide the development of a dramatic presentation, including interpretative notations, schedules, scenebreakdowns, preliminary blocking, etc.
Downstage; the part of a stage that is nearest the audience or camera.
Drama; Scenes, movies, plays ect. that portray true moments in real life. Continual truth. Holds to true emotions, actions, situation, people.
Dramatic forms of expression; Various modes or strategies by which ideas can be represented.
“Attitude without an emotion will never work. You must vibrate inside.”
Dramatic process; Includes the processes involved in creating works of dramatic art, whether they be original works or re-creations of scripted materials. The dramatic process includes choosing a topic, researching, synthesizing, identifying the focus of the work, translating ideas into dramatic form, reflecting, refining, scripting, rehearsing and performing.
Editor; Works with the Director. Normally at postproduction in cutting and fitting scenes to give their best appearance and continuity.
Electrician; Responsible for lighting and any electrical needs a production has.
Enunciate; to state definitely; express in a systematic way, to announce; proclaim to pronounce (words), esp. clearly and distinctly.
Exploration; A step in the collective creation process during which various methods of translating ideas into dramatic form are investigated.
Flashback/Fastforward; Moving back and forward in time in order to extend students’ understanding of themes and characters.
Flat; The basic unit for scene construction is the flat. This is an oblong wooden frame,usually 1” x 3” pine, covered with canvas or muslin used as a background to the stageaction. Flat can be painted to enhance the audiences experience of reality or absurdity.
First Assistant Director; Normally cares for programming and scheduling. Aids the director with position extras and other needed service during the shoot or rehearsals.
Gaffer; Responsible for supplying all of the equipment and items needed to carry out a production. Rigging equipment, lighting equipment, scene set ups.
Gesture; The movement of a part of the body, including torso, limbs and face to express an idea, emotion or attitude.
“Once you decide what the guy is doing and what he is feeling, you got to stay on it. Because the moment you are dishonest, it is apparent.”
Given Circumstance; The story of the play, it’s facts, events, epoch time and place of action, conditions of life ect. The actors interpretation of the piece.
Grip; Responsible for lighting on the set. Creating shadow where needed, bright light where needed, ect... Also make sure of the safety of the set. Work under the supervision of Key Grip.
Historical; Looks at the epoch of the time, country, conditions of life, background of lifestyles of characters, reading of the literature of the time, it’s psychology, find the soul or passion of the time. What is the way of living for the characters. What is their social position, appearance, customs, mannered, movements, voice, speech, intonations ect...
Historical Approach; which is based on approaching a play through study of the period in which it originated.
Imaging; A technique that allows the students to slow down and focus individually on an issue. The students, sitting quietly with eyes closed, allow pictures to form in their minds. These images may be motivated by bits of narration, music, sounds, smells, etc.
Image transference Approach; Making the set (place) or props work for you. Use tricks to relate places or things to emotions you want to express.I
mprovisation; Any unscripted work in drama. Useful in creating history and future of a character or scene. Used in comedy scenes as unscripted spontaneous entertainment.
Kinesics; the science of communication through body movement, has made it possible to analyze the meanings of gestures in daily life, how the body’s movements have psychological significance. The development of kinesics may create the potential for the very subtle art of psychological mime.Key
Grip; Responsible for running all the Grips and is responsible for all of the camera movements, safety, rigging and light controls.
“Not a duplication of life if it does you have monotony. But a reflection of life. Audience says, yes, I know I felt that way”
Larger Than Life /Big or Over the Top; A method of overacting. A character played to the biggest exaggeration. Useful for actors who play a character to small. After playing a character “Big” the actor will carry over some largeness into performance style.
Lighting; Stage lights supply dramatic visibility that adds meaning to the play, the setting, and the actor’s performance. No other tool of the theater art can establish mood and atmosphere so effectively.
Lighting plot; A tracing over the stage ground plan, including the location and color of each lighting instrument, the kind of instrument called for and the area of the stage the instrument will light.
Listening; Becoming an effective communicator starts with becoming a better listener. Listening is a psychological process that involves the interpretation of what we hear. Hearing is passive--it take no effort on our part, while listening is active--it take effort and a willingness to tune in.
Looping/Dubbing; Adding your voice onto film ect. because of bad sound quality orother problems during take. Looping is recording your lines to tape matching your lip movement on screen.
Make-up / Make-up artist; Consists of applying a base color, then modeling the face by highlighting and shadowing or adding face putty or hair so the actor will resemble the character he or she is portraying.
Makeup morgue; A collection of photographs, pictures, illustrations, etc. of various faces, showing age, beards, mustaches and nationalities, and including historical fashions and anatomical, animal and fantasy features to assist with makeup design and application.
Mark; Spot the character, prop or set design must be standing at any given time as directed.
Mask Work; The use of masks in dramatic presentations to alter and heighten character.
“Give up a laugh to stay real. Get the right laughs at the right time”
Matching; In films, TV and commercials you shoot out of sequence. It is very important to remember your position, props, costume ect. so as the next shoot will match and not appear out of place.
Meetings; An effective strategy by which the whole group can establish focus and begin to build belief in a fictional situation.
Method Acting; In one sense there is no technique of acting; that is, when the actor is on the stage or in front of a camera, there should be no thought of technique. The actor attempts simply to be there.
Mime; Can be a highly sophisticated silent art form in which the body is used as the instrument of communication. In drama, mime enables the students to explore and represent ideas and events through movement and gesture.
Monologue; A piece of oral or written literature (e.g., a story, poem or part of a play) spoken by one person who exposes inner thoughts and provides insights into his or her character.
Motivation; What impels a character to behave in a particular way.
Negotiation; A purposeful discussion aimed at leading the group to clarify ideas, summarize individual points of view, and agree upon a course of action.
Non-verbal; messages are usually believed more than verbal messages. When there is a conflict between nonverbal and verbal messages, the audience tends to believe the nonverbal. An effective public speakers or actors makes sure that the nonverbal messages compliment and strengthen the verbal messages.
Off-Broadway; Part of the New York City professional theater stressing fundamental and artistic values and engaging in experimentation.
Off-off-Broadway; Avant-garde theatrical movement in New York City that stresses untraditional techniques and radical experimentation.Organic; Life like, real, from within, not an imitation.
“Give the audience the emotion and inner life. Give yourself over to the whole moment. To be real you must soak yourself”
Parallel play; A situation in which all of the students work simultaneously, but separately, in their own space.
Personal Manager; Works like a agent but generally is also an actor’s personal accountant, secretary, business consultant and publicist.
Physical Memory approach; Used for stimulating memories of past physical needs or conditions to bring into a scene in the present.
Physical skills; Are needed by actors to communicate. They are: a well-developed body and voice and mastery of the physical or vocal abilities required by the type of theater for which the actor is preparing.
Physical obligations; When we have to touch or use physical objects. Or what does my character look like. ect...
Plays; Seen “live” on the stage only. They are also enjoyed when reproduced in the movies, on the radio, or on television.
Play reviews; A written description and interpretation of a dramatic presentation based on informed judgment.
Prepared improvisation; An improvisation which is shaped and rehearsed.
Presentational style; A particular form of dramatic expression presentation (e.g., storytelling, mask work, readers’ theater).
Producer; Supervisor on a motion picture set, theater or television studio. Normally the person that brings all the crew together. Stage crew, casting crew, directing crew, ect...
Production Designer; Responsible for the compete look of a movie or production. Props, wardrobe, sets, special effects, ect...
“Acting is not about talking. Acting is about behaving.”
Production Manager; Manages the day to day operation of a production. Including everything from monitoring the flow of money to cutting deals for out of town hotels and transportation.
Production Office Coordinator; Responsible for all logistics between the production and the outside world. This is the person you as a actor reports to when ever your leaving a set.
Production Office Coordinator works with the Assistant Director in scheduling your times of shoots.
Prompt book; A book of the play containing stage business, blocking, cues and plots needed for dramatic presentation (e.g., director’s book, play book, stage manager’s book).
Props / Property Master; Props (properties) follow the specifications of the designer and the needs of the script. There are three types: hand (carried by the actor), set (furniture), and trim (flowers or curtains). They may be made especially for the play, taken from the theater storeroom, or borrowed from stores or homes. The props are controlled by a person called the Property Master.
Proscenium stage; The most common theater setting. The scene of action is framed by a proscenium arch, and the front curtain represents the fourth wall of the stage room. When the curtain opens, the audience looks through this fourth wall into the room.
Publicity Photos or Head shots; Are used to leave with casting directors, agents and display billboards. One of the most useful tools for the actor looking for work. Helps agent/director remember you. Head shots called Cards, include your acting resume on it’s backside.
Readers’ Theater; A dramatic form of expression in which actors read and interpret text for an audience.
Refining; A step in the collective creation process during which choices are made and episodes are shaped and connected.
Reflection; Recalling, reacting to and describing one’s drama experiences, both in and out of role.
“Scene ain’t worth anything unless there is conflict. Also, acting without emotion is worthless.”
Rehearsing; The director works out a careful rehearsal schedule, allowing time for all parts of the play and extra time for difficult scenes to be practiced.
Resonance; The quality of sound achieved through muscular control of the throat, nose, mouth and chest.
Role; The basic ingredient of work in drama. When the students and teacher assume roles in drama, they are acting “as if’ they are someone else.
Script; The text of a dramatic work.Script analysis;
The critical interpretation of a script to achieve an understanding of it.
Scripting; A step in the collective creation process during which the written text is created and recorded.
Sense Memory Approach; used for bringing up emotional responses. It is the use of your true inner life, to work up emotion.
Set design; A visual representation of the form and arrangement of scenery and properties.
Shared Monologues Approach; This is a method of talking to yourself about a specific experience that made you feel the way you want to feel within the scene.
Sides; Small, selected sections of a scene normal used by actors in auditions.
Skit; Play, scene, movie ect. that portrays the absurd, the impossible. Mix of reality with the ridiculous. Character are normally simple or larger than life. Skits do not have to be played for comedy.
Spontaneous improvisation; An improvisation which is immediate and unrehearsed.
“Make your fellow actors look good. All are working together to tellthe story. Each is needed to build whole.”
Stage action; Movements that are motivated with reasons for movement found in the play. The arrangement of performers the stage picture must be clear, well balanced, and varied. The performers in lead roles must get attention.
Stage business; Small actions performed by an actor without moving from one place to another.
Stage Design /Designer; The designer’s setting is based upon the needs of the play. He/she sketches in the locale and helps to create mood and atmosphere. Works with line, form, and color to compose a unified and visually dramatic impression of the play.
Stage manager’s book; The planning book developed by a stage manager to facilitate management of a dramatic presentation, including scene breakdowns, entrance and exit cues, lighting plots and cues, sound cues, etc.
Stage movement; The purposeful movement of an actor on the stage.
Stanislavsky, Konstantin; a Russian director and actor, believed that actors in realistic plays should “incarnate” their roles, should live the parts. He decided that a technique was needed that would guide the actor and create a “favorable condition for the appearance of inspiration.” His system does not consist of a fixed set of rules but of practical approaches to the physical and mental preparation of the actor and to the creation of a character.
Status; The relative importance of one character to another.
Staying in Character; Not to break from the reality of your character for any moment during a scene. NEVER!
Storyboard; A visual representation of the “story” or organization of episodes in a collective creation.
Storytelling; A means of creating (or re-creating) and sharing stories. The stories may -be familiar or unfamiliar, the stories of others or the students’ own. In drama, storytelling is a means of sharing and reflecting on each others’ experiences and the experiences of the group.
“What can I do for the project, not what it will do for me”
Story theater; Techniques used in drama as stories are told. Either the story is told by a narrator while others perform it through mime or while speaking the dialogue; or the narration is provided by those who are acting out the characters, animals and inanimate objects.
Style; Personal style in acting is the imprint of the actor’s art and personality on the roles that he or she creates. Style can also be the “look” associated with the work of a particular acting company.
Synthesis; A step in the collective creation process during which ideas are grouped and organized.
Tableau; A still image, a frozen moment or “a photograph”. It is created by posing still bodies and communicates a living representation of an event, an idea or a feeling.
Teacher in role; The most effective way for teachers to work in contextual dramas. By taking on roles, the teacher is able to provide the students with a model for working in role through the use of appropriate language and apparent commitment to the work. Role enables the teacher to work with the students close to what is happening and to facilitate the shaping of the work from within. The role that the teachers chooses will depend upon what she or he hopes to achieve within the work.
Technique; Technique has to do with getting ready to act. There are two basic requirements: developing the necessary physical, external skills and freeing the internal emotional life, the actor’s “inspiration.”Technical theater; Those components of a dramatic presentation, aside from the acting and directing, which contribute to the overall impression communicated to the audience.
“People who make so big a fuss about acting, should not be acting”
Theater; There are many different kinds of theater performances. Circus, carnival, night club, fair, vaudeville, musical comedy, ballet, modern dance, opera, and operetta are all forms of theater. Motion pictures, television, and radio present all these forms. The term legitimate theater is commonly used to describe theater with live actors to set it apart from theater with pictures of actors, as in movies or television.
Theater-in-the-round; is also called arena, or central, stage. The action takes place on a platform space or on the floor in the center of the room. The audience completely encircles the playing space. Usually the spectators are banked in bleacher like tiers of seats around the stage space.
Thrust stage; Also known as the open, or platform, stage extends into the audience. Spectators sit on three sides. Often this type is combined with proscenium staging. Part of the action takes place in front of the curtain line and part behind.
Tools; The use of any given techniques to help you achieve reality of your character.
Tragedy; In a strict sense, plays are classified as being either tragedies or comedies. The broad difference between the two is in the ending. Comedies end happily. Tragedies end on an unhappy note.
Voice; One of the most widely used methods of communication for both humans and animals is the voice.
Voice projection; The ability to make the voice carry clearly and audibly.
Warm up; Actions use to prepare yourself to act. Includes exercise of body, mind, spirit.
Writing in role; Any written work done in role (e.g., monologues, family histories, letters, newspaper headlines etc.).
“If you can’t agree with the script get out”
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