Glossary

A cappella:

Without instrumental accompaniment

Accepting:

In improvisation, embracing each offer made by other players to advance a scene, or move it forward.

Action and Reaction:

Every action (for example, a line, a physical action, a decision taken by a character or a sound effect) should cause a suitable reaction in the other actors.

Allegory:

An extended metaphor, a story which has a literal and symbolic meaning.

Antagonist:

A character who opposes what the main hero or protagonist is trying to accomplish

Articulation:

The clear and precise pronunciation of words; the clarity with which words are uttered

Audience:

A group of people who watch a play, a concert or a film.

Backstage hands:

The people who work behind the scenes to keep the production running smoothly

Beat:

A unit of action in a scene

Bias:

A preference, inclination or prejudice which may inhibit or prevent objectivity

Blacks:

The non-definitive black clothing which takes the place of specific character costume in a performance piece

Block:

In improvisation, it refers to not accepting other players’ offers, and actually destroying these offers through being unresponsive, not listening or reacting appropriately.

Block:

In staging, the planning and carrying out of all exits, entrances, groupings and stage movement.

Character biography:

A description of a character’s life, giving information which leads to realistic character development.

Climax:

The emotional highpoint in the plot; a point at which the tension peaks.

Composition:

The arrangement of all the components in the frame, on the page, or on stage.

Conflict:

The opposition of people or forces giving rise to dramatic action

Conscious:

What the character is aware of at any given moment

Context:

The background and specific circumstances within which something occurs: Where? When? Who? What? And why?

Conventions:

The commonly accepted devices, principles and guidelines that influence the structure and style of a particular play, text or genre.

Cues:

A prearranged sign that indicates to a performer, crew member or stage technician that it is time to proceed to the next line or action. Actors also listen for cues in the text so that they know when it’s time to say or do something.

Designer:

The person/people responsible for the visual and/or aural elements of the drama performance

Dialogue:

The words spoken onstage by the characters in a piece of theatre; can also refer strictly to a two-person scene, as opposed to a monologue.

Director:

The person who is responsible for putting a performance together, co-ordinating all elements of a production to express a unified vision

Dubbing:

The practice of replacing the voices of the original artists in a movie with those of artists speaking another language. Dubbing is a highly skilled field requiring the matching of the new language to the lip movements of the actors.

Ensemble:

A group of actors working together

Etiquette:

The rules governing acceptable behaviour; for example, theatre etiquette refers to how an audience is expected to behave in a theatre.

Floor plan:

A view of the set from above; used to locate the set on the stage floor, also known as a ground plan.

Focal point:

The point onstage to which the audience is required to give most attention. Focus should be in one place at any time. Less experienced improvisers or actors often tend to “steal the focus” (i.e. upstage one another or split the focus of the audience).

Focus:

Concentration or attention. To “give focus” means to give your attention to another person or thing onstage. By giving or taking focus, the actors allow the audience to follow the action of the theatre experience.

Freeze:

Complete stillness of every muscle of the body

Gestures:

Form of non-verbal communication made with a part of the body, for example, the head, hand or shoulders; refers to a discernable movement

Given circumstances:

The clues given by the playwright as to who, where, what, when and why; these will need to be selected by the actors when improvising, or deduced from the script

Imitation:

Observing and copying from things and people around you.

Improvisation:

Making something up on the spot; creating a scene spontaneously

Intention:

What the character is trying to achieve, their purpose or objective

In character:

Not acting like yourself, but like you’re another person. All words and actions are believable, as if you really are the person you are portraying.

Isolation (of muscles or body parts):

separating one part out from the others; being able to use a part of the body independently of other parts.

Justify:

To find a solution and/or reason for every offer and every element introduced in the scene

Juxtaposed:

Two contrasting things placed next to each other

Levels:

the use of different heights on the stage achieved by platforms, rostra or stairs; the use of different heights in a group by actors standing, sitting or lying down.

Marketer:

The person who markets or sells the performance to an audience

Milieu:

setting; locale; situation; environment

Mime:

Expressing an idea or telling a story only using movement (without words)

Monologue:

A long speech spoken by a single character

Motivation:

What drives a character to do whatever they do; the major reason for a course of action

Objectives:

What a character wants in a scene or moment

Obstacle:

Whatever is preventing the character from getting what they want at any given moment; obstacles may be internal or external, created by other characters or by the environment.

Offer:

In improvisation, any action or dialogue that may advance a scene. Offers should be accepted by the other actors in an improvisation.

Pace:

The speed at which the dialogue or action is delivered

Perspective:

A way of arranging shapes and lines so that they appear to get smaller in the distance

Philosophies:

A set of theories which explore the beliefs, accepted norms and mood of a specific time

Physical theatre:

a genre of theatre which makes use of the body as the primary means of performance and communication

Play text:

Also known as a script; the written record of a drama used as the basis for creating the performance

Point of focus:

A Viola Spolin term; the single most important thing in any game, upon which the game depends if it is to be successful.

Protagonist:

A principle or main character in a play; the leading character in a play, whose actions are of primary concern.

Puppetry:

Almost anything brought to life (animated) by human hands to create a performance. Types of puppets include rod, finger, hand, shadow, Bunraku, giant and marionette.

Rehearsal:

Practising an action many times in order to perfect it; Practice sessions in which the actors and technicians prepare for public performance through repetition.

Resolution:

The final tying up of loose ends; also known as the denouement, where we see questions answered and order restored.

Set:

Or stage setting; the physical elements used to create the scene design or scenery, for example, flats, rostra, curtains, etc.

Side-coaching:

A Viola Spolin term; someone outside the game or improvisation speaks to those engaged in the improvisation helping them to solve the problems of the game they are playing or providing them with additional information about the scene or the character.

Sightlines:

The line of sight between a spectator and what is on stage.

Slang:

Highly informal and non-standard use of words by a group of people.

Status:

Position in society, importance in relation to other people and the relative power held in a particular situation; often based on a character’s sense of self-esteem.

Stereotype:

Something or someone that conforms to a conventional, unchanging and over-simplified image or type

Subconscious:

The part of the mind of which the character is not consciously aware

Suspend disbelief:

The audience willingly accepts what they are viewing as real, or willingly overlooks anything which might get in the way of their accepting the illusion, in order to be entertained.

Synopsis:

A summary or an outline of events

Tableau:

A silent and motionless depiction of a scene by actors, a frozen picture, freeze frame or still image rather like a photograph.

Tempo:

Speed

Theatre of the Absurd:

Theatre which points out the meaninglessness and absurdity of life, highlighting the illogical and irrational elements through aspects of plots, character, themes and dialogue

Theatre practitioner:

One who is actively involved in the theatre; one who practices a craft in the theatre; generally refers to the director or designer rather than to the actor

Theme:

The central idea begin explored or conveyed in the play: the message or doctrine that plays conveys

Tone:

Closely linked to the subtext, the tone expresses the sentiment or mood

Township musical:

A musical form that fuses African and Western styles to reflect on township life, usually for a township audience

Workshopped play:

A play that is created by a group rather than by an individual, typically using research, improvisation and exploration to create the text and/or action. It may be finally written down, but the process of creation is an active one.