Musical Theatre Glossary of Terms

This list of terms is by no means all-inclusive. It serves to provide a general listing of commonly used terms in the creation and performance of musical theatre.

Audition – The process in which the director or casting director of a production asks performers to show him/her what they can do. Performers are often asked to memorize a monologue from a play they would like to perform for the director. One may be asked to do a "cold reading," which tests one's response to a piece of text that is unprepared.

Backstage – The part of the stage and theatre that is out of the sight of the audience. This is the service area of the theatre.

Blocking – The process of arranging how the actors will move and stand. The movements are recorded by stage management in the prompt script, for use later as reference.

Choreographer – The member of the production team responsible for setting dances and movement sequences during the production.

Chorus – In Greek theatre, a character (or group) that comments on the action and advances the plot.

Color Mixing – Combining the effects of two or more lighting gels. There are two types of color mixing: 1) Additive: focusing two differently colored beams of light onto the same area. Combining colors in this way results in white light. The three primary colors (red, blue, yellow) additively mix to form white, as do the complementary colors (green, orange, violet); and 2) Subtractive: placing two different gels in front of the same lantern. Subtractive mixing is used to obtain a color effect that is not available from stock or from manufacturers. The three primary colors mix subtractively to form black (blocking all light from filtering through the gels). For more on color mixing, visit the Exploratory Color Playground.

Commedia dell'arte – A style of dramatic presentation originally created in Italy in the 16th Century; the commedia characters were highly stylized and the plots frequently revolved around disguises, mistaken identities and misunderstandings. For more on commedia dell'arte, visit the Thumbnail History of commedia'dell arte.

Company – The cast, crew, and other staff associated with a show.

Conductor – The director of an orchestra.

Costumes – Clothes worn by performers onstage.

Critic – A journalist who writes reviews for theatre productions.

Cue – The command given to technical departments to carry out a particular operation.

Curtain call – At the end of a performance, the acknowledgement of the actors' performance through applause. During this time, the actors bow for the audience.

Dialogue – The spoken text of a play; conversations between characters is dialogue.

Director – There are many types of directors. Broadly, the role involves being responsible for the overall artistic vision of a production. Some examples are:

1. Artistic director – Normally in charge of the programming of a venue; may also direct shows.
2. Executive director – In charge of the administration of a venue.
3. Technical director – In charge of the technical requirements of a production (i.e., lighting, sound, etc.)

Downstage – The part of the stage nearest to the audience or a movement towards the audience (in a proscenium theatre).

Dramatist – A playwright, composer, or lyricist who takes an existing story and transforms it into a play or musical.

Dress rehearsal – A full rehearsal, bringing together all elements of the performance: lighting, costumes, sound, etc.; the performance as it will be presented for an audience.

Ensemble – An acting group. Normally used to describe a group of actors who work well together, in which no individual has a greater role than another.

Entr'acte – A musical composition played between acts or between scenes within an act of an opera or theatrical performance.

Grand Guignol – Theatre form originally from Le Grand Guignol theatre in Montmartre, Paris (opened in 1897). Specialized in portraying the macabre and gruesome to the delight and horror of the audience.

House lights – The auditorium lighting; commonly faded out when the performance starts.

House manager – The employee in charge of the audience during a performance; trains ushers, runs the concessions, and troubleshoots seating problems.

Intermission – The scheduled break between sections of a performance. During a play, the interval is normally halfway through a standard length performance.

Libretto – Text of an opera or other long musical vocal composition; the script of a musical.

Lighting Designer – Member of the production team who is responsible for the overall look and positioning of the lighting.

Lighting Gel – A filter placed over the front of a lantern to change the color of the light.

Lyricist – Author of the text of a musical or the words of a particular song in a production.

Matinée – Afternoon performance of a show.

Monologue – A speech within a play delivered by a single actor on stage.

Musical director – The person responsible for the musical content of a production. Often the conductor/leader of a musical.

Offstage – The area of the stage unable to be seen by the audience. Also used to describe movement towards the nearest side of the stage from the center (e.g., "focus that spot offstage a bit please.")

Onstage – The area of the stage able to be seen by the audience. Also used to describe movement towards the center of the stage ("e.g., move onstage a bit more.")

Orchestra – In ancient Greek theatre, the circular space used by the chorus in front of the proscenium. Also, the group of musicians, including and especially string players, organized to perform ensemble music.

Pantomime – The art of dramatic representation using facial expressions and body movements rather than words.

Pit – The area housing the orchestra. Originally, a lower section between the front of the stage and the audience, although now describes any area around the stage housing the musicians.

Plot – For a performer, it is the basic story thread running through a performance, which provides the reasons for the characters' actions and decisions. To technical crews, a plot is a list of preparations and actions required during the performance (e.g., a sound plot is a list of sound cues and levels in running order.)

Producer – The person who supervises or finances the production.

Production manager – Responsible for technical preparations, including budgeting and scheduling of productions.

Props (short for properties) – furnishings, set dressings, and all items large and small that cannot be classified as scenery, electrics, or wardrobe. Props handled by actors are known as handprops; props kept in an actor's costume are known as personal props.

Proscenium – A form of staging in which an arch frames the stage; the stage is at one end of a room and the audience sits in front of it, watching the play through an arch that frames the action.

Proscenium arch – Opening in the proscenium through which the audience views the action of the play. A "false proscenium" is a frame formed by scenic canvas or vertical flattage within the proscenium arch. Used to reduce the size of the opening when putting a small set onto a large stage.

Protagonist – The character in a play who initiates a change in circumstances.

Rehearsal – The time period before a play opens involving the practice of the dialogue, movement, rhythms, and interpretations of the play.

Repertoire – A form of organization in which two or more productions alternate in the course of a season.

Repertory – A form of organization, usually with a permanent company of actors, in which each production has a run of limited length. At any time, there is normally one production in performance, another in rehearsal, and several others in varying degrees of planning.

Revue – A type of performance consisting of lighthearted songs and comic sketches; a variety show.

Scene – A small unit of a play in which there is no shift of locale or time.

Set Designer – The artist in charge of creating the world in which the play will live, usually in drawings and scale models.

Soliloquy – A speech given by a character alone on the stage. The purpose of the soliloquy is to let the audience know what the character is thinking and feeling.

Sound check – A thorough test of the sound system before a performance.

Sound effect – There are two types of sound effects: 1) recorded sound effects, which may form an obvious part of the action (train arriving at station) or may be in the background throughout a scene (e.g., birds chirping); and 2) live sound effects, which are sounds created onstage in the moment (e.g., gunshots, door slams, and offstage voices.)

Stage – The part of the theater on which performances occur, adjacent to the auditorium.

Stage crew – Members of the stage staff who are responsible for moving props and/or scenery during the show, and for ensuring that items under their responsibility are working correctly and are properly maintained.

Stage left / stage right – Left and right as seen from the actor's point of view on stage.

Stage manager – The person who coordinates all aspects of the production during a performance; runs or calls the show.

Technical rehearsal – Usually the first time the show is rehearsed in the venue, with lighting, scenery and sound.

Understudy – Junior member of the acting company who's duty is to learn more than his/her own part so that he/she can replace a lead role in the event of illness or other emergency.

Upstage – The part of the stage furthest from the audience.