Principles of Design
This principle of visual design refers to the visual weight across a perceived center of gravity.
What is Balance?
An extension of the proscenium stage protruding past the proscenium arch.
What is Apron?
The workshop, or group of people in the workshop, where the set is constructed
What is Scene Shop
Performing a play from beginning to end, hopefully without stopping, during any kind of rehearsal
What is a Run-Through.
A dress rehearsal performance for an audience before the production has officially opened
What is a Preview?
Objects used by actors on stage.
What are Props?
The person in charge of maintaining the scene shop and managing its employees and their duties
Who is the Scene Shop Manager?
Which scenic component is a mark, usually made with 1/2" gaff tape, to designate the prescribed position of an object?
What is a Spike?
The 2D paper template that serves as a guide to create a garment
What is a Pattern?
The costume document that is a carefully executed color drawing used to convey the visual impact of a character's look
What is a Rendering?
Which theatre space places audience on one side, as if looking through a picture frame
What is Proscenium?
This element of visual design refers to the visual path of two or more points, also known as gesture, direction, or movement
What is Line?
The workshop, or group of people in the workshop, where the costumes are constructed
What is Costume Shop
Running through a show in its entirety with actors and all technical elements except costumes
The part of the theatre where the audience sits
The pattern of actors' movement on stage
What is Blocking
The person responsible for maintaining the audience spaces and managing audience relations
Who is The House Manager?
The scenic component is a wall in appearance, built for temporary use, masking, and compact
What is a Flat?
A costume call between the designer and director showing an actor's series of costumes in show order to demonstrate progression.
What is a Rack Walk?
Which costume document is a quick rough drawing used to convey design ideas early in the process?
What is Thumbnail?
This concept reminds technicians to be extra certain of measurements before cutting material.
What is "Measure Twice, Cut Once."?
This principle of visual design refers to object size in relation to its normal size, or the size relation between parts of a whole.
What is Scale & Proportion?
The theatre space places audience on three sides.
What is Thrust?
This element of visual design refers to the placement of objects in relation to each other and to the entire visual field
What is Space?
The technicians who carry out the technical aspects during a performance
Who are Runcrew?
The orderly dismantling of a production that follows closing; includes taking down the set and lights, readying costumes for storage, and cleaning and repairing the space for the next production
What is Strike?
The area to an actor's right when facing the audience; house left from the audience perspective
What is Stage Right?
The person who oversees ticket sales and box office staff, but not the house
Who is Box Office Manager?
This scenic component is a platform that rolls
What is a Wagon?
The more expensive material of which the final costume will be made
What is Fashion Fabric?
This costume term refers to the historical context of the show.
What is Period?
This document refers to any given page or sheet of a technical drawing.
What is a Plate?
This principle of visual design refers to repetition over time and/or space
What is Rhythm?
The theatre space designed for the audience orientation to change from show to show.
What is Black Box?
This element of visual design refers to relative lightness or darkness, tint and shade
What is Value?
An imaginary wall that separates the performers from the audience in a proscenium theatre is called the
What is the Fourth Wall?
Running through a show with actors and all technical elements (except costumes) but skipping large chunks of dialogue
What is Cue to Cue?
The production's final public performance
What is Closing?
The area of the stage closest to the audience
What is Downstage?
The person in charge of schedules, design team staffing, contracts, and stage managers for an entire company.
Who is the Production Manager?
A scenic component is built for actors to make vertical transitions out of sight of the audience
What is an Escape Stair?
The Costume Shop technician who is the head sewer in the shop, ensuring that everything is being built to the Costume Designer's specifications.
Who is the First Hand?
This costume term refers to the outline or shape of a costume, usually indicative of a time period.
What is Time Period?
The set designer's document that conveys a view of the dimensions of the stage and the placement of set pieces as seen from above.
What is Ground Plan?
An aisle or tunnel through the audience used for actor entrances.
What is Vomitory?
This element of visual design refers to the forms that occupy a 2D area or 3D volume of space
What is Shape/Mass?
The approach to a production, including style, time, and place
What is Production Concept?
Coding all of the light and sound cues for the show, often alone in the middle of the night
What is Level Set
The production's first full-price public performance
What is Opening?
The area to an actor's left when facing the audience; house right from the audience perspective
What is Stage Left?
The person responsible for translating the set designer's artistic drawings into technical drawings, and maintaining the theatre space's safety and equipment.
Who is the Technical Director?
The mechanized scenic component supports an object from underneath to move it up or down
What is a Lift?
The Costume Shop technician who uses muslin over a dress form to create the shapes needed to build a costume
Who is the Cutter/Draper?
This costume call is swapping an actor from one costume to another in a relatively short period of time.
What is Quick Change?
This set designer's document consists of accurate-to-scale drawings of design elements, and are used to show technicians how to assemble them, where they go, how high they are trimmed, and more.
What is Drafting?
This principle of visual design refers to elements that create visual interest to draw the eye versus the elements that do not.
What is Emphasis & Subordination?
The theatre space that is an outdoor performance space carved out of the natural topography.
What is amphitheater?
Refers to either an audience area or staging area on an incline, providing solutions to visibility problems for the audience?
What is Rake?
Sitting down and talking through the placement of cues (particularly lights and sound) before running technical rehearsal with actors
What is Paper Tech?
This scenic component refers to the final touches to a set, such as upholstery ornaments, small objects for tables and shelves, pillows, drapes, books, etc.
What is Set Dressing?
The area of the stage farthest from the audience; also, to steal attention on stage
The person who brings together a creative team with the necessary resources to complete a production
Who is the Producer?
This mechanized scenic component is a section of stage floor that rotates.
What is Revolve?
A firm, foam-covered mannequin torso that allows fabric to be pinned and draped on for tailoring
What is a Dress Form?
This costume document is a chart recording the costume pieces worn by each character, scene by scene.
What is a Costume Plot?
This set designer's tool includes computer programs for drafting precise and uniform drawings and to visualize design options.
What is CAD?
This principle of visual design refers to how the audience interprets imagery relative to their personal experiences (symbolism, perspective)
What is Context
The theatre space places audience on all sides, also known as theatre in-the-round
The element of visual design that refers to the tactility, pattern, or distribution
What is Texture?
Running through a show without actors to see each of the light looks and hear the sound cues after they've been written
What is Dry Tech?
This scenic component is a large painted canvas, usually of a background environment?
What is a Drop?
Refers to a space where actors and crew convene, typically backstage
What is Green Room?
The person responsible for the functioning of sound equipment.
Who is the Sound Engineer?
This mechanized scenic component is a section of stage floor that rotates around a separate center section.
What is a Donut?
A sample created out of cheap secondary material like muslin to check fit, function, or proof of concept
What is a Mock Up?
This costume document is a large binder (or several) with all information regarding costumes, where they were purchased, what materials they are being made of, where they are rented from, and what they should look like.
What is a Costume Bible?
This concept refers to a style of performance that acknowledges and addresses the presence of the audience.
What is Presentational?
This principle of visual design refers to the cohesion of the whole and the variations that fit within that whole.
What is Unity & Variety?
The theatre space that can be anywhere, such as in parks, streets, alleys, or warehouses
What is Found Space?
This element of visual design refers to the perception of visible light in hue and saturation
What is Color?
Refers to clear vision of the stage by the audience at the farthest corners of the audience?
What is Sight Lines?
Running through a show in its entirety with actors and all technical elements including costumes
What is Dress Rehearsal?
This scenic component is a raised standing surface.
What is a Platform?
A stage manager's script that records all blocking and cues
What is a Prompt Book?
This concept refers to a scenic element that is moved into place by a performer instead of crew.
What is Actor-Driven?
This scenic component is a cloth or gauze that can appear opaque when lit from the front, or translucent when lit from behind, used to create magical transformations.
What is a Scrim?
A costume call to test of the actor wearing costume pieces in various stages of assembly for the costumer to tailor them to that actor.
What is a Fitting?
This costume call is a showing of the bulk of the costumes on actors to see how they look under stage light and as a group.
What is a Dress Parade?
This concept refers to a style of performance that mimics the human experience, ignoring the presence of the audience
What is Representational?