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 |
|---|---|---|
| DRESSING | 1) Noun. Decorative props (some practical) and furnishings added to a stage setting. 2) The act of decorating the set for performance. | |
| DRESSING ROOM | A room backstage where an actor can dress and put on makeup. | |
| DROP | A piece of scenic canvas, painted or plain, that is flown or fixed to hang in a vertical position. Sometimes called cloths (the British term). A Backdrop hangs at the rear of a scene. A Front drop hangs well downstage, often to hide a scene change taking place behind. Cut drops have cut-away open areas and are normally used as a series, painted in perspective. A Star drop (usually black) has a large number of small low-voltage lamps sewn or pinned through it which gives a magical starry sky effect. (See also Fiber Optics). A floor drop may be used to protect the stage while painting, or to mark the playing area. | |
| DRY | 1) An actor forgetting the words of his script, to go dry or dry up. 2) To record a sound without using any effect or other processing is to record it "dry." Recording with an effect is recording "wet." | Go Dry |
| DRY BRUSH | To paint scenery, usually with a second color, by drawing across it with a brush that is nearly dry. | |
| DRY ICE | Frozen, solid carbon dioxide (CO2) at a temperature of -87.5 degrees centigrade which produces clouds of steam-loaded CO2 gas forming a low-lying mist or fog when dropped into boiling water. Although non-toxic, caution is required in the storage and handling of dry ice because of its extreme cold. Water is boiled in a large tank offstage, into which the dry ice is lowered in a basket. Fans and ducts then direct the gas onto the stage. Dry ice does not support life, so care should be taken that small animals, actors etc. are not below the level of the dry ice for more than a few seconds. | |
| DRY ROUGE | A powdered rouge for coloring the cheeks. | |
| DRY RUN | A practice run, usually a technical run without actors. | |
| DRY UP | In acting, to forget one's lines or business. Also, forgetfulness while acting. Also "Go dry." | |
| DUAL ROLE | Two parts in a production that are placed by the same actor. | |
| DUBBING | The process of copying a sound from one medium to another (e.g. onto videotape) or for backup purposes, simply copying sound tapes. | |
| DUCAT | 1) A theatre ticket. 2) A free admission pass. Rhymes with 'bucket' | |
| DUMB SHOW | Now obsolete. A production, or part of one, played in pantomime. | |
| DUTCHMAN / DUTCHING | Tape or strips of muslin or other fabric, used to cover the seams between flats, prior to painting. The term originates from the British & American stereotype of the Dutch as a frugal people (as in "Dutch treat.") Saving old scraps of cloth or wood to fill joints was also seen as a sign of frugality, and thus the nickname "Dutchman" or "Dutching" came into being. | |
| DYNAMIC MIC | Robust type of microphone which picks up the sound on a diaphragm connected to a coil of wire which moves within a magnet. An alternating current is induced into the wire which provides the electrical output. Most dynamic mics have low output impedances of 200 Ohms. | Mi |
| ECHO | A repeated sound received late enough to be heard as distinct from the source. | |
| EDUCATIONAL THEATRE | An amateur theatre maintained by an K-12 educational institution for the entertainment and cultural profit of the student body, and for the training of students in dramatics. 'Academic theatre' is used for college-level theatre. | |
| EFFECTS PROJECTOR | Instrument used to project the image from a rotating glass effects disc. Used with an objective lens to produce the desired size of image. Commonly used discs are clouds, flames and rain. | |
| ELECTRET MIC | A condenser microphone where the capacitor plates are given a charge during manufacture which they retain, therefore requiring no external power supply. | Microphone |
| ELECTRICIAN | The person in charge of all the electrical preparations and operations in a production |
