Positions on a Stage
When I am standing here, I am the center of attention on a Stage.
What is center stage?
This is where actors perform.
What is the stage/playing area?
This is my signal to enter, start a line, or do something.
What is a cue?
The big cloth that hangs at the front of most stages
Planned out movements of the actors, with a name that doesn't make sense.
What is blocking?
What is downstage?
The audience sits in this part of the theater.
What is the house?
I arrive on stage or depart the stage when I see this note in a script.
What is an enter/exit?
A place where light and sound people hang out with the stage managers during shows. Usually at the back of the whole theater.
What is the booth?
A pause in a script.
What is a beat?
At this place on stage is where you find curtains, a backdrop, and actors who may not be seen by the audience.
What is upstage?
Actors will hide here to watch the show without being seen.
What are the wings?
The speed at which a line is said
What is pace?
This "upper" part of a Stage shares a fun name with something models walk on during fashion shows.
What is the catwalk?
An actor makes a mistake with their lines and has to do this to fix it
What is ad-lib?
When I am acting and I head to my right.
What is stage right?
Actors use me to get from side to side of the stage without being seen
What is a crossover?
A note or direction that indicates a characters emotion or attitude
What is an emotional cue?
When I move from one side to another, I have completed this
What is a cross?
An actor making themselves look busy when they aren't talking. Doing things like flipping through books, drinking water, etc.
What is stage business?
When I am acting and I move to my audience's right.
What is stage left?
The very front part of a Stage, but this extends past the curtains.
What is the apron?
What is the dialogue tag?
SUPER BONUS: A place where musicians play during a show that is unseen by the audience.
What is the pit?
This is how a line should be read out loud by an actor.
What is a line reading?