What is Theatre
Stage Directions, Stage Areas, & Body Positions
Theatre Terminology
The Audition Process
Ancient Greek Theatre
100

This is an art form concerned almost exclusively with live performances in which the action is precisely planned to create a coherent and significant sense of drama.

What is THEATRE?

100

This stage area is located closest to the audience on the right side of the stage.

What is DOWNSTAGE RIGHT?

100

This is a person whose profession is acting on the stage, in movies, or on television. 

What is an ACTOR?

100

This occurs when you are NOT cast in a show.

What is REJECTION?

100

This area of the amphitheatre, located behind the orchestra, was used as a dressing room for actors. The word "scene" is derived from this word.

What is a SKENE?

200

This is theatre at its core.

What is STORYTELLING?

200

This body position is indicated by the following arrows: ↗↗

What is 3/4 LEFT?

200

To do this is to subtly adjust your body position to face the audience more directly. It goes by another phrase, "cheat out".

What is OPEN OUT?

200

In this type of audition, an actor reads sides from the script with little to no preparation for the audition or knowledge of the play.

What is a COLD READING?

200

Derived from the Greek word, "kathairein," this phenomenon involves the release, or purging, of pent-up emotions through the viewing of art.

What is CATHARSIS?

300

Theatre comes in a variety of these, including, but not limited to:

Drama, Comedy, Tragicomedy, Farce, Satire, Tragedy, Slapstick, Melodrama, etc.

What is GENRE & STYLE?

300

This area of the stage is NOT a part of the main playing space.

What is the APRON?

300

This is a piece of writing that tells a story and is performed on stage. 

What is DRAMA?

300
During an audition, doing this will help you stand out to the director compared to other actors.

What is BEING YOURSELF?

300

This Ancient Greek playwright is said to have written more than 120 plays, with only 7 surviving, including his most acclaimed, Oedipus Rex.

Who is SOPHOCLES?

400

Theatre has stood the test of time, holding precedence in these _____________________:

Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, The Middle Ages, The English Renaissance, The Spanish Golden Age, The Nineteenth Century, the Early, Mid, and Late 20th Century, & the 21st Century.

What are MOVEMENTS/ERAS/TIME PERIODS?

400

An actor should always begin a cross with this leg to avoid turning themselves upstage while moving from one stage area to the next.

What is the UPSTAGE LEG?

400

This is the fuel that drives acting, enlivens performances, creates empathy, and makes forceful characters. 

What is ENERGY?

400

In this audition, a director may invite you back for a second round of auditions in which casting becomes more specific and the number of actors present for the audition decreases.

What is a CALLBACK?

400

In Greek tragedy, a mythical hero possesses this natural human feeling (also known as pride) that often leads to his downfall and/or the downfall of those around him.

What is HUBRIS?

500

This object is metaphorically compared to theatre, as theatre operates in the same way as it, by showing society its "reflection".

What is a MIRROR?

500

Directors typically direct from this area of the theatre but should always remember to give actors directions from the actors' perspective.

What is the HOUSE?

500

In theatre, this is a special or traditional way of doing things. An example of this is the tableau, a still stage image created by performers.

What is a CONVENTION?

500

Doing this during an audition helps the director distinguish between when an actor is being themselves and when the actor becomes the character they are portraying.

What is a TRANSITION/TRANSITIONING?

500

Under this societal system, women were forbidden from performing in Greek theatre, and all roles, male or female, were portrayed by male actors.

What is PATRIARCHY?

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