Theatre Terms | Page 4 | AACT

Theatre Terms

image of question markAs 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
SPILL Unwanted light onstage.
SPINE In the Stanislavksi method, the dominant trait in the character assumed by the actor.
SPLITTER
SPOT
SPOTLIGHT General term for any lantern with a lens system.
SQUELCH Control on a radio microphone receiver for fine-tuning the reception according to the surroundings.
STAGE BUSINESS Incidental activity performed by an actor for dramatic or comic effect. This might include writing a letter, lighting a pipe, having trouble with a door, checking a mirror, etc.
STAGE CONVENTION Any action that would be odd in real life, but accepted as normal on stage, such as a stage whisper, ensemble singing, spotlighting, the use of verse, mistaken identities, soliloquies, etc.
STAGE DIRECTIONS The printed instructions to actors and/or directors found in published plays, as in "John pauses and considers Mary's words, then walks to the window and peers out."
STAGE ELECTRICIAN Member of the electrics staff whose responsibility it is to set or clear electrics equipment during scene changes. May also carry out color changes on booms, etc.
STAGE LEFT Actor's left when facing the audience.
STAGE MANAGER The Head of the stage management team comprising the deputy stage manager (DSM) and assistant stage manager (ASM). The DSM is normally "on the book" calling the cues from the prompt corner. The ASM supervises props. Depending on the needs of the production, there may be a team of stagehands, usually casual employees.
STAGE RIGHT Actor's right when facing the audience.
STAGE SCREW A large screw which is screwed through the "foot" of a stage brace to secure it to a strong wooden floor. Only suitable for use in theatres with non-precious wooden floors.
STAGECRAFT or STAGE CRAFT Skill in--or the art of--producing or participating in the production of a dramatic piece, especially in the technical area.
STANISLAVSKI or STANISLAVSKY Russian actor and director Konstantin Stanislavski (1863- 1938) created a performance technique that had an enormous effect on contemporary American acting, and he developed a system of actor training that became widely accepted throughout the world. Stanislavsky 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.
STAR DROP or STARCLOTH
STATE In lighting terms, a lighting "picture" ; each lighting cue results in a different state (or a modified state).
STEAL or STEAL FOCUS An actor's seizure of the attention of the audience when he has no right to it, as by unfairly moving upstage center so that he commands the best position, forcing other actors to turn their backs to the audience
STEP A control on some lighting effects boards which enables the operator to "step" through a chase effect in time to music, etc.

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