General Terms
One who acts in a play, movie, television show, etc.
Actor/Actress
The dialogue of a play; the words actors say in performance.
Lines
The scenery (flats, buildings, furniture, backgrounds) for a particular show and/or scene.
Set
The middle of the stage.
Center Stage
Theater for "good luck!"
"Break a leg!"
The person in control of the whole production (play).
Director
A major division of a theater work, consisting of one or more scenes.
Act/Acts
Items on a set not used by anyone but make the stage more realistic - curtains, a painting, flowers, a bowl of fruit, etc.
Set Dressing
The area where the orchestra sits (typically sunken and in front of the stage).
Pit
An actor who gets an unintended and uncontrollable fit of laughter on stage, not a dead body.
Corpse
Theater that is unplanned or unscripted; created spontaneously by performers.
Improvisation/Improv
A division of an act in a play during which the action takes place in a single place without a break in time.
Scenes
The system of ropes and pulleys that raise and lowers scenery, set pieces or props, and people (typically controlled offstage to the left or right)
Fly
Where the audience sits.
House or auditorium
When the actor has memorized his or her lines completely.
Off-book
An object used on stage or screen by an actor during a performance. It is anything movable or portable on a set.
Prop
The words or action at which an actor is expected to deliver a line or perform another action. Also, a signal that a predetermined action—an entrance, sound effect, change in the set or lighting—is required.
Cue
A part of the set. A frame covered with canvas or a board and painted.
Flat
The sides of the stage not visible to the audience. Actors stand here before they make their entrance on stage, and props or set pieces about to be used are placed here as well.
Wings
A rehearsal where you only practice scene transitions.
Tops and Tails
The person in charge of everything happening backstage.
Stage Manager
Instructions in the script that tell the actors what to do and where to move on stage; may also provide information about the setting.
Stage Directions
A curved curtain or wall used as a background of a stage set
Cyclorama
Curtains used to cover the wings of the stage.
Legs
The removal of all stage equipment, including scenery, props, lights, and costumes, from the stage area
Strike