Standard Grade Drama Vocabulary List – Flashcards
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Accent
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Way of speaking used in local area or country
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Articulation
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Clear pronunciation of words
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Aside
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A remark to the audience only
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Audience
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People watching a drama
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Auditorium
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The area for the audience, generally filled with seats
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Avenue
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Audience seated on two sides of the acting area
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Backcloth
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Canvas cloth which covers the back of the stage: can be painted
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Backstage
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Non-acting area behind the stage
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Balance
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Keeping an even distribution of weight
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Barndoors
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Adjustable metal flaps attached to the front of a fresnel
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Blackout
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The acting area is not lit
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Slow Fade To
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The lighting/sound is faded out slowly
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Fast Fade To
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The lighting/sound is faded out quickly
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Snap To
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Blackout is achieved instantly
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Blocking
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Deciding where and when actors will move on stage
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Body Language
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Messages given by the position or movement of the body
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Centre Stage
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The centre area of the stage
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Centre Left Stage Left
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The left hand centre side of the acting area
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Centre Stage Right
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The right hand side of the acting area
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Character
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Specific person in a drama
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Characterisation
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The process of fully developing a character
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Clarity
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Clearness of the voice
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Comedy
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A drama which is funny/comical
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Conventions
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Alternative ways of presenting a drama
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Costume
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Clothes worn by actors for their character
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Creating
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The process of developing a drama's content and roles through practical exploration, experimentation and problem solving
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Crossfade
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To change from one lighting/sound cue to another with no blackout/silence in between
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Cue
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A signal for an actor to do or say something, or for a lighting or sound effect to begin or end
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Cyclorama
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The back wall of the stage which can be painted or lit
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Dance Drama
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A drama presented through dance moves
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Dialogue
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A conversation between two or more characters
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Docu-drama
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A documentary style drama, including reconstructions of events
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Down Stage Centre
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The centre part of the stage near the audience
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Down Stage Left
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The part of the stage nearest the audience on the left
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Down Stage Right
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The part of the stage nearest the audience on the right
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Dramatic Irony
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Actions or remarks whose significance is not realised by all the characters
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Dress Rehersal
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Final rehearsal of a drama with all the theatre arts
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Emphasis
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The stress on a word or phrase
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End On
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Audience seated at one end, acting area at the other
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Enter
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To come on stage
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Evaluate
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To judge the strenghts and weaknesses of a drama
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Exit
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To leave the acting area
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Facial Expression
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Look on the face which shows emotion
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Flashback
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Acting out an event in the past
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Flashforward
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Acting out a future or imagined event
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Flats
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Wooden frames, joined together and covered with canvas, which can be painted
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Door Flat
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Frames into which a door is built
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Window Flat
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Frames into which a window is built
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Flies
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Area above the stage from where scenery/actors are flown in on pulleys
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Flood
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Lantern giving a wide spread of light
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Fluency
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Natural, flowing speech
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Focus
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Key moment, scene, character, relationship, or event in a drama
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Focussing
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Positioning the lanterns to get the desired lighting
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Follow Spot
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Powerful profile used to follow actors around the acting area
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Form
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The overall style of a drama
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Forum Theatre
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The audience suggest changes to a drama in order to affect outcomes
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Freeze Frame
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The action is frozen in time
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Fresnel Spot
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Lantern giving a soft edged beam of light
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Front of House
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Any job in the theatre which involves dealing with the audience e.g. box office, refreshments, usher
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Frozen Picture
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Other term for tableau
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Gauze
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See-through material which cannot be seen through when lit from the front, but can be seen through when lit from behind
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G-clamp
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Clamp used to secure lantern to lighting bar or stand
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Gel
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Film placed in front of a lantern to change the colour of the beam
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Gesture
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Movement of the hand or arm which communicates a meaning or emotion
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Gobo
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Thin metal plate cut out in a pattern and placed in a lantern to project a pattern or shape onto the acting area
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Ground Plan
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Bird's eye view of the set showing what is on the set, entrances/exits and position of the audience
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Hot-seating
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Questioning a character in role
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Intonation
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Rising and falling of voice in speech
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Key
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Explanation of symbols on a ground plan
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Make-up
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Worn by actors to help protray their characters
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Masking
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One actor unintentionally preventing another from being seen by the audience
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Mask
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Covering of all or part of the face
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Mime
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Stylised form of movement which create an illusion of reality
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Mixing Desk
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Control desk for sound effects being used in a drama
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Monologue
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A character speaks their thoughts aloud
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Movement
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Use of the body as a means of communication
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Musical
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Drama which includes songs and/or music
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Narration
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Part(s) of the drama are told by a narrator
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Pace
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Speed of speech or movement
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Pantomime
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Christmas theatrical entertainment usually based on a fairy tale
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Pause
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A break in speaking: period of silence
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Performance
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Presentation of a drama to an audience
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Personal Prop
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An item carried or worn by a character e.g. glasses, handbag, wallet
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Pitch
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How high or how low the voice is
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Play
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Another word for a drama
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Playwright
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Person who has written the play
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Plot
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Storyline of a drama
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Posture
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Position of the body - how it is held
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Presenting
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The results of the Creating Process, including performance and evaluation
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Profile Spot
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Lantern giving a hard-edged beam of light
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Promenade
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Audience follows the action on foot, moving from one location to another
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Prompt
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To supply forgotten lines to an actor
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Prompt Copy
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Master copy of the script with all the moves and technical effects included
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Prompt Side
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Left hand side of the stage where prompter and stage manager sit during a performance
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Props
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short for properties - objects used by an actor
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Proscenium Arch
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Stage within an enclosing arch
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Pyrotechnics
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Stage fireworks
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Rake
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Slope of the stage (to allow actors to be seen)
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Register
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Appropriate speech for the person being spoken to, or for the situation
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Rehearsal
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Practice or preparation of a drama
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Rehearsed Improvisation
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Drama devised/created without a script which is rehearsed before presentation
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Revolving Stage
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Stage which turns in a circle
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Rhythm
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Movements which follow a pattern or beat
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Role
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Part played by an actor / attitude adopted
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Role-play
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A means of exploring attitudes and beliefs
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Rostra
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Blocks or platforms used to create levels
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Safety Chain
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Used to attach a lantern to the lighting bar for safety
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Scenario
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Outline of the plot of a drama, including changes in time and place
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Scene
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Section of a drama, set in one place at one time
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Scenery
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Resources used to create the setting where a drama takes place e.g. backcloth, flats, rostra, furniture
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Script
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The written words of a drama
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Set (1)
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Scenery used to show where a drama takes place
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Set (2)
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To place a drama in a certain time or place
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Set Prop
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An item placed on set, usually part of it e.g. a lamp, clock, picture
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Sight Lines
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What the audience sees of the stage from where they are sitting
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Slow Motion
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Movement performed at a slowed down pace
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Soliloquy
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A single lengthy speech, made when no other characters are on stage
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Special Effects
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Used to create a mood or atmosphere on stage e.g. strobe light, mirror ball, smoke machine
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Spontaneous Improvisation
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Drama created 'on the spot' without a script ot plan
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Spot Light
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Beam of light created by a lantern for a person or place on the acting area
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Stage Directions
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Written or spoken advice on how to act a drama
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Stage Whisper
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A loud whisper intended to be heared by the audience
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Staging
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The position of the acting area relative to the audience
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Stance
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Attitude or position of the body
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Status
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Importance relative to others
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Stereotype
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An exaggerated portrayal of a type of person
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Stimulus
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Anything which suggests ideas which can be developed
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Strike
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To remove all the set from the acting area
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Structure
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Way in which time, place and action are sequenced
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Tableau
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A stage picture, held without movement
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Tabs
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Curtains
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Target Audience
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A specific group of people at whom the drama is aimed
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Tension
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Build up of excitment
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Theatre Arts
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The collective name for lighting, sound, costume, props, make-up and set
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Theatre In The Round
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Audience seated all around the acting area
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Thought Tracking
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An aid to characterisation: character speaks their thoughts aloud
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Thought Tunnel
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Character(s) walk past other characters who will comment on their situation
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Thrust
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Audience seated on three sides of the acting area
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Timing
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Speaking, moving or pausing at exactly the right moment
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Tone
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Change of voice to express emotion
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Tragedy
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A drama about unhappy events and with a sad ending
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Trapdoor
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Door in a floor
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Treads
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Stairs
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Truck
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Piece of scenery on wheels for ease of movement
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Up Stage Centre
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The middle part of the stage furthest away from the audience
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Up Stage Left
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The left part of the stage furthest away from the audience
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Up Stage Right
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The right part of the stage furthest away from the audience
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Venue
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Place where a drama is presented
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Voice-over
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Recorded speech played during a drama
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Voices In The Head
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Recall of words said by others about a character
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Volume
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Loudness or quietness of the voice
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Wings
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Sides of a theatre stage
