General Theatre Vocab
This is the art of telling stories live on stage through acting, design, and performance.
What is theatre?
This is the actor’s right side when facing the audience.
What is stage right?
This person plays a character in a play or musical.
What is an actor?
This is the building or space where plays and performances happen.
What is a theater?
This is the person who writes the play.
Who is the playwright?
These are the people who watch the show.
Who are the audience?
This is the part of the stage closest to the audience.
What is downstage?
This person decides how stage lights will be used to set mood, focus, and time of day.
What is a lighting designer?
This is the hidden area behind the stage where actors and crew get ready.
What is backstage?
This is a large painted cloth that hangs at the back of the stage to show scenery.
What is a backdrop?
This person is in charge of finding, creating, and caring for the objects actors use on stage.
Who is a prop master/mistress?
This is the part of the stage farthest away from the audience.
What is upstage?
This person keeps rehearsals organized, calls cues during the show, and makes sure everything runs smoothly.
What is a stage manager?
This stage sticks out into the audience, who sit on three sides of it.
What is a thrust stage?
This is the part of the stage that sticks out in front of the main curtain.
What is the apron?
This person creates and teaches the dances and movement in a play or musical.
Who is the choreographer?
This is the actor’s left side when facing the audience.
What is stage left?
This person chooses which plays a theatre company will perform and shapes its creative vision.
Who is the artistic director?
These are the spaces on the left and right sides of the stage, hidden from the audience, where actors wait to come on or where scenery is stored.
What are the wings?
This is a theatre saying that means “good luck” — but you never actually say “good luck” to an actor!
What is "break a leg"?
This is the group of actors who work together to tell the story, often in supporting roles or as a team.
Who is the ensemble?
This is the planned movement and placement of actors on stage, decided by the director.
What is blocking?
This person makes sure the sets, props, and backstage tech are built safely and correctly.
What is a technical director?
This type of stage looks like a picture frame, with the audience watching from the front only.
What is a proscenium?
This is a big curtain or wall at the back of the stage, often lit with colors to create backgrounds or moods.
What is a cyc(lorama)?