VOCABULARY USED IN DRAMA

• Drama: Prose or verse telling a story intended for representation by actors through dialogue or action.
• • Drama began in ancient Greece dating back to 543 B.C.
• Drama started as choral performances of dancing and singing honoring the Greek god, Dionysus, the god of wine.
• In Greek drama, the actors all wore masks to help the audience recognize the character they were playing.
• • The Greeks held their dramas in outdoor theaters called amphitheaters, the largest seating 14,000 people.
• Tragedy: character is confronted with a difficult moral choice and usually ends in his or her death.
• Comedy: a humorous entertaining performance with a happy ending.
• Theatre of Dionysus: 550-534 B.C. Located at the bottom of acropolis in Athens
• • Plot: the main storyline
  • Theme: the basic idea of the play
  • Character: person, animal or thing in the story
  • Dialogue: conversation between two or more characters.
  • Monologue: one person speaking
• • Soliloquy: A monologue spoken by a character to himself/herself
  • Strike: to remove an object/set from the stage
  • Costumes: clothing worn by an actor on stage to help represent characters.
  • Props/Property: items or objects used on stage to help actors tell a story
• • Playwright : person who writes the play/drama.
  • Script : text of the dialogue.
  • Acts : the major sections of a play.
  • Scene : small section or portion of a play.
• • Actor: male performer
  • Actress: female performer
  • Cast: all performers selected to portray characters.
  • Director: instructs actors on how to portray characters.
• • A building where a play is performed containing the stage and seating area for the audience.
• BAKCSTAGE

  area behind scenery not visible to audience.
• CENTER STAGE

  area in the center of the stage.
• DOWNSTAGE

  area closest to the audience
• STAGE LEFT/RIGHT

  area to actor’s left or right as he/she faces the audience.
• UPSTAGE

  area furthest away from the audience.
• BACKDROP

  painted curtain without fullness.
• FLATS

  canvas-covered wooden frames used for scenery.
• SET

  all sets and props that help define the action
• STAGE DIRECTIONS

  Cue: something that precedes the next action.

  Exit: to leave the stage.

  Cut: to stop the action.
• • Improvisation: to make up or perform without preparation.
  • Pantomime: to communicate without speaking using only facial and body gestures.
  • Mimicry: to copy or imitate something very closely.
  • Role Playing: to take on the characteristics of someone or something.
  • Blocking: an actor’s movement around a set
  • Break a leg: A saying for actors before they go out on stage meaning ‘good luck’
• • CheatingThe practice of turning one’s body towards the audience even while keeping the head facing one’s scene partner.
  • Curtain Call -When the actors come to the front of the stage to bow at the end of performance.
  • Fourth Wall -An imaginary surface at the end of the stage through which the audience watches the performance.
  • Full HouseAll the seats in a theater are filled
• • Legs -Masking curtains hung vertically and parallel to the sides of the stage
  • MaskTo block another actor or something worn over the face
  • Read through-The reading of the entire play or act without blocking
  • UnderstudyAn actor familiar with another actor’s role so that he or she can substitute in an emergency