HOW TO SEARCH:
- Enter a word in the "Search Terms and Definitions" box.
- For example, entering the word "curtain" would display all terms whose definition includes that particular word.
- When in doubt, use the simplest version of the term--for example, search for "prop" instead of "props" or "properties," and "Fade" instead of "Cross-Fade."
| Theatre Terms (A-Z) Sort descending | Definition |
|---|---|
| ADVANCE MAN | A representative in charge of business arrangements who proceeds a touring company. |
| AERIAL | Cable or rod used to send and receive radio signals (connected to transmitter and receiver or tuner). |
| AERO | A type of high-intensity Par lamp that derives its name from its use as an aircraft landing lamp. The true Aero is 28V and 250W, although there are many variations. The lamp has a very tight beam. |
| AESTHETIC DISTANCE | The maintaining of artistic illusion by sufficient physical or other separation or detachment. |
| AFFECTIVE MEMORY | In the Stanislavski method, the recollection of feelings that an actor has experienced and can use on the stage. |
| AFTER-PIECE, AFTERPIECE | A play, dance, etc., especially a short one, performed after the principal offering. |
| AGC | Automatic Gain Control. Circuitry within recording equipment which compensates for differences in volume in the incoming sound signal by adjusting the gain automatically. Helps to reduce wild swings in volume. |
| AGENT | An intermediary who performs certain business services in the theatre world, such as helping actors obtain engagements and helping dramatists find producers for their compositions. Hence, agency. |
| AISLE | A passage through the seating area. |
| ALARUM | Obsolete term for a call to arms by drums or trumpets. Especially Elizabethan, a stage direction. Sometimes "alarums and excursions." |
| ALLEGORY | A dramatic work or a portion of one that expresses meaning by means of personification and symbolism; for example, the medieval morality play. In an allegory, characters may be named "Everyman," "Lust," "Greed," "Death," "Mr. Money," etc. |
| ALTERNATE | 1) One or two actors who alternate in a specific role. 2) An understudy. |
| AMATEUR | 1) A theater company whose participants (particularly actors) work without salary. 2) A person who acts without pay; sometimes used in ridicule to mean "not of high caliber." In actuality, the term comes from the Latin root meaning "to love," in this case, to do something for the love of it rather than for profit. |
| AMATEUR RIGHTS | Permission from the playwright (via the representative or publisher) to produce the play by a theater company whose participants (particularly actors) work without salary. Unlike professional royalties, which demand a percentage of the gross, amateur royalties are finalized up front. In some cases a flat royalty is charged (for example, $50 for the first performance, $40 for each successive performance). In many cases, however, the fee is based on theater seating capacity, average ticket price, and the number of performances. |
| AMBIENCE or AMBIENT | "Ambience" refers to room acoustics or natural reverberation--as in "This room has a nice ambience." "Ambient" is used as an adjective, as in "The ambient quality of this room is questionable." |
| AMP | 1) AMPERE, the standard unit for measurement of electrical current passing through a circuit. Cables, fuses and switches are designated by their current carrying capacity. Square pin plugs are rated at 13 Amps maximum and Round pin plugs at either 5 Amps or 15 Amps maximum, depending on the size of the pins. If a cable rated at 5 Amps is used with a load of 15 Amps, the cable will overheat and possibly catch fire. 2) AMPLIFIER - sound equipment that converts the low voltage, low current signal from a tape deck, mixer etc. into a higher current signal suitable for driving speakers. See Power Amplifier, Crossover. |
| AMPHITEATRE | An auditorium, outdoors or indoors, circular, semicircular, or elliptical in shape, in which a central arena is more or less surrounded by rising banks of seats. |
| AMPLITUDE | The strength of a vibrating wave ; in sound, the loudness of the sound. |
| ANALOG SIGNAL | A continuously variable signal that can have any value over a given range. For example, an analog voltage within the range 0 to 10 Volts can have values of 0, 2, 8.785 or any value between. Most dimmers require an analog voltage in order to operate (from 0 to -10V or 0 to +10V depending on the manufacturer). Most lighting control desks produce a digital multiplexed output, which is converted by a demux box to an analog signal for the dimmer. See also Digital Dimmer. |
| ANGEL | A person who invests in a prospective production. |