| Apron Extension of stage beyond the
proscenium. |
| Auditorium Area in which the audience
is seated during the performance. |
| Backcloth Cloth, usually painted,
suspended from flies at the rear of the stage. |
| Bar Horizontally flown rod (usually
metal) from which scenery, lighting and other equipment are suspended. |
| Batten (1) See Bar. (2) Piece of wood
attached to flown cloth to straighten it and keep it taut. (3) Piece of wood joining two
flats. (4) A group of stage lights suspended over the stage. |
| Beginners Call given by stage manager
to bring those actors who appear first in the play to the stage. |
| Board Lighting control panel. |
| Book Flat Two flats hinged together
on the vertical. |
| Border Flown scenic piece designed to
conceal the upper part of the stage and its machinery or equipment. |
| Brace Portable support for flats. |
| Call (1) Warning given at intervals
to technicians and actors that they are needed on stage. (2) Notice of the time when
actors will be required to rehearse a particular scene. |
| Cans Headsets used for communication
and co-ordination of technical departments during a performance. |
| Centreline Imaginary line drawn from
rear to front of stage and dividing it exactly in half. Marked as CL on stage plans. |
| Channel A circuit in the lighting or
sound system. |
| Clamp C or G clamps are attached to
lights to fasten them to bars. |
| Cleat Fixing on the back of flats to
allow them to be laced together (cleated) with a sash line or cleat line. Also a metal fly
rail to which ropes are tied. |
| Colour Frame Holder
for the colour medium or filter in front of the light. |
| Colour Medium
Translucent filter material placed in front of lights to give a coloured illumination. |
| Colour Wheel In
lighting, a device attached to lamps which, when rotated, changes the colour medium
through which the light is shown. |
| Come Down (1) Instruction to actor to
move towards the audience. (2) Instruction to lower intensity of sound or light. (3) End
of performance, time when curtain comes down. |
| Counterweights Mechanical system used
for raising and lowering flown scenery. |
| Cue (1) Verbal or physical signal for
an actor to enter or speak a line. (2) Point at which an effect is executed or business
takes place. |
| Cue Sheet List of particular effects
executed by one department in a production. |
| Curtain Call Process of actors
appearing at the end of the show to receive audience applause. |
| Curtain Up (1) Time at which a show
begins. (2) A call given to the company to warn them the performance has begun. |
| Cyclorama Undecorated backing to a
stage, usually semi-circular and creating a sense of space and height. Often some theatres
have permanent or standing cycloramas which have actually been built. The term is always
abbreviated to cyc. |
| Dim The process of decreasing the
intensity of light onstage. |
| Dimmers The apparatus whereby lights
are electrically dimmed. |
| Downstage Part of stage nearest to
audience. |
| Drop Suspended cloth flown into stage area. |
| Entrance (1) Place on a set through
which the actor may appear. (2) Point in the script at which an actor appears. |
| Exit (1) The process of leaving the
stage. (2) Point in the script at which an actor leaves the stage. |
| Fader A means of controlling the
output level of a lantern (lamp) or amplifier. |
| False Proscenium Construction placed
behind the real theatre proscenium for decorative or practical purposes. |
| Fit-up Installation of lighting,
technical equipment and scenery onstage. |
| Flat Scenic unit comprised of wood or
stretched cloth applied to a timber frame and supported so that it stands vertical to the
stage door. Door flats and window flats have these openings in them. Masking flats are
placed at the outer edges of the acting area to disguise areas of the stage from the
public. |
| Flies Area above the stage in which
scenery, lighting and other equipment are kept. If whole backdrops are to be stored then
the flies should be at least twice the height of the stage opening. |
| Floodlights Also called floods.
Lights which give a general fixed spread of light. |
| Flown (1) Scenery or equipment which
has been suspended above the stage. (2) Flown pieces are any scenic elements which will be
made to appear or disappear from view in sight of the audience. |
| Fly The process of fixing the exact
area to be lit by each light onstage. |
| FOH Front of house. Any part of the
theatre in front of the proscenium arch. |
| Follow Spot Light directed at actor
which can follow all movements. |
| Gauze Painted cloth screen, opaque
when lit from the front, transparent when lit from behind. Often used at front of stage to
diffuse total stage picture. |
| Gel Colour medium introduced before
light to alter colour of beam. |
| Hand Prop Any prop handled by an
actor, such as a handbag, walking stick, umbrella. |
| Hanging Attaching flying pieces to
appropriate bars. |
| Hook Clamp The device that holds a
lantern onto a bar. |
| House The audience. |
| Inset A small scene set inside a
larger one. |
| Lamp Unit of lighting equipment. |
| Lantern See lamp. |
| Left Stage left. That part of the
stage to the actor’s left when he is facing towards the audience. |
| Leg Cloth suspended vertically from
flies and used to mask sides of stage and small areas within it. |
| Mask To hide or conceal unwanted
areas or machinery. Also used to describe one actor obscuring another unintentionally. |
| Mixer Sound controls desk, used to
mix and adjust levels of sounds from various sources. |
| Offstage Any backstage area not seen
by the audience. |
| Out Flying term for up. |
| Overture The music which begins a
performance. |
| PA System The public address or any
sound amplification system. |
| Pan Movement of lighting from side to
side. |
| Properties Props. Any item or article
used by the actors in performance other than costume and scenery. |
| Props Table Table in convenient
offstage area on which all props are left prior to performances and to which they should
be returned. |
| Pros Proscenium Arch The arch which
stands between stage and auditorium. A pros arch theatre is a conventional theatre with a
proscenium arch, usually without a forestage. |
| Pyrotechnics Any chemical effects
used onstage or in wings to create lighting or special effects. |
| Readthrough Early rehearsal at which
the play is read without action. Usually accompanied by discussion. |
| Rigging The means of fixing lamps to
appropriate bars before lighting a production. |
| Right Stage right. That part of the
stage to the actor’s right when he is facing the audience. |
| Rostrum A raised platform, sometimes
with a collapsible frame, used for giving local prominence to certain areas onstage. |
| Set To prepare the stage for action.
To set up is to get ready. To set back is to return to the beginning of a given sequence. |
| Shutter Device in front of lamp to
alter shape of beam. |
| Sightlines the angles of visibility
from the auditorium. |
| Spot Spotlight. Gives a small circle
of light, the dimensions of which can be precisely controlled by focusing. |
| Strike Instruction to remove any
redundant or unnecessary object from stage. |
| Tabs Theatre curtains, most usually
the house curtain. |
| Tech Technical rehearsal at which all
technical effects are rehearsed in the context of the whole production. |
| Upstage The area furthest away from
the audience. |
| Walk-through Rehearsals at which
actors go through entrances, moves and exits to make clear any changes or alternations
made necessary through change of cast or venue. |
| Wings The sides of the stage
concealed from the audience’s view. |
