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Theatre Terms

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Theatre Terms (A-Z) Definition
BACK STAGE or BACKSTAGE Collectively, the parts of the theatre that lie behind the proscenium arch (or behind the back wall of the stage setting), including the stage, the workshops, the dressing rooms, and the areas and spaces beside, above, or under the stage. Sometimes used only to refer to the dressing rooms and green rooms, or even just the off-stage areas.
BACK WALL The rear wall of the stage or stage setting.
BACKER A person who invests in a prospective production; an angel.
BACKFLAP A pin hinge capable of being turned back on itself, used to join flats.
BACKGROUND 1) The setting or scenic display before which actors perform (short for scenic background). 2) In a script, previous events, environment. 3) Background music.
BACKGROUND SCENE An expository scene in which the events and dialogue indicate the time, the place, or other information needed by the spectator.
BACKING 1) Scenic piece as a backing behind an opening in the set (window etc.) which hides the technical areas beyond. 2) The money invested in a commercial production (by a Backer).
BACKING LIGHT A low-wattage light, used to give diffused illumination to the space beyond openings such as doors, and placed behind, or less often in front of a backing.
BACKLIGHT Light coming from upstage, behind scenery or actors, to sculpt and separate them from the background.
BAD LAUGH An audience's laugh at the wrong moment.
BAFFLE 1) A sheet of material used to prevent a spill of light in a instrument or in part of a set. 2) A panel in a loudspeaker cabinet or a board or sheet of other material used in sound equipment to limit echo or sound spill. 3) A panel in an auditorium positioned so as to reduce sound reflections and improve the acoustics of the space.
BALANCE The equalization of the stage picture, composition, and action, so that the position and movements of the actors, the design of the set, lighting and costumes all are in a well-proportioned relationship.
BALCONY A seating area above the orchestra section of the auditorium. Sometimes a part of this area, particularly in front, is the location for equipment, hence the term "balcony lighting."
BALCONY FRONT The vertical front face of a balcony to which is fastened lighting equipment.
BALCONY STAGE In Elizabethan theatre, an area of the balcony used for a playing area.
BALLAD A song, usually, simple, sentimental, short, and narrative, used in musical comedy.
BALLAD OPERA A light satirical comedy, consisting of dialogue in verse or prose, plus songs set to popular and folk tunes. 18th and early 19th centuries. "The Beggar's Opera" is the best-known example.
BALLAST An electrical apparatus that limits the electrical current in a particular circuit, usually a circuit containing an arc source. An "arc" is light caused by an electrical discharge between two electrodes in a gas such as xenon, argon, or air.
BALLYHOO Moving a followspot beam around in a figure-eight pattern.
BANK A group of lighting units or dimmers arranged in rows.