Theatre Terms
As a service to the theatre community, AACT provides over 1000 definitions of theatrical terms. Fully searchable, our glossary is helpful for technical staff, directors, actors, producers, or anyone wanting to better understand the inner workings of theatre.
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| Term | Definition | Link |
|---|---|---|
| LIGHTING PLOT | A scale drawing detailing the exact location of each instrument used in a production and any other pertinent information (E.g. its dimmer number, focus position and color number). Often drawn from the theatres' groundplan. In U.K, this is called a Lighting Plan; the Lighting Plot there refers to the process of recording information about each lighting state either onto paper or into the memory of a computerized lighting board for subsequent playback. | |
| LIGHTING STATE | The format of lighting used at a particular point in the production; a lighting "picture." | |
| LIGHTING TEMPLATE | Plastic stencil containing a range of scale symbols for current lighting equipment. Greatly facilitates the drawing of lighting plans. The use of a template is now supplanted by computer aided design (CAD). | |
| LIMELIGHT | An obsolete source of intensely bright light, most recently used in followspots. See limes. Derived from a burning jet of oxygen and hydrogen impinging on a rotatable cylinder of lime. | |
| LINE | 1) A rope or wire used to hang scenery, etc. 2) A portion of dialogue, usually a sentence, but also a single row in the script (thus the origin of the word). Thus, to be up on one's lines, or to ask, "What's my next line?" or simply "Line?" | |
| LINE LEVEL SIGNAL | Standard level at which the inputs and outputs of domestic and professional sound equipment operate. Slight variations are that some equipment works at +4dB, some at -10dB. | |
| LINE REHEARSAL | A rehearsal for spoken lines rather than for body movements. | |
| LINK | ||
| LINNEBACH PROJECTOR | Lensless system for projecting a shape from a gel or glass slide etc. placed in front of a floodlight onto the set. Often used for shadow effects. | |
| LITTLE THEATRE | Any small theatre, but especially one for amateur productions, often with an interest in experimentation. | |
| LOAD | 1) The electrical power rating, in watts, of the equipment connected to a particular lighting dimmer. 2) The equipment connected to a dimmer. | |
| LOAD-IN | The process of, or time-period for, moving sets, props, etc, into a theatre before a production. | |
| LOAD-IN (electrical) | 1) The electrical power rating, in watts, of the equipment connected to a particular lighting dimmer. 2) The equipment connected to a dimmer. | |
| LOAD-OUT | The process of, or time-period for, moving sets, props, etc, out of a theatre after a production. | |
| LOADING BAY | Dock | |
| LOADING DOCK | Access into the theatre for scenery and other equipment. Also called a Loading Bay. | Dock |
| LOGE | Seating area in traditional proscenium arch venues. Exact location varies according to the venue, but is usually a "box" position at the dress circle level. (From the French Logè). | |
| LORT | League Of Resident Theatres. It is an agreement with Actor's Equity regarding payment/treatment of actors. Prior to this agreement, Equity basically dealt with Broadway type productions and nothing else. | |
| LOUDSPEAKER | Device for converting the electrical signal from an amplifier back into sound waves, most commonly by vibrating a paper cone. Most speaker systems are composed of a number of sources - each designed to handle a specific range of frequencies. Usually shortened to just "speaker." | |
| LOW VOLTAGE | Lower voltage lamps give more intense light than mains voltage lamps of the same wattage. |
