Culture
Anything from or relating to the time when Elizabeth I was the queen of England; specifically, the time period in England between 1558 and 1603.
Elizabethan
A theatre that is not enclosed, so as to let in as much natural light as possible.
Open-air theater
An actor’s movement during a play, usually decided beforehand in a rehearsal
Blocking
Preface or prelude to a play
Induction
A poet and singer who composes and performs songs or poems recounting the deeds of famous heroes; a master storyteller.
Bard
An outbreak of infectious disease with a high death rate; in Elizabethan England this killed thousands at the turn of the 17th century.
Roofed seating area of a theater, such as the Globe, that resembled the grandstand of a baseball park.
Gallery
Stage direction indicating the coming of a battle; a call to arms
Alarum
Term used when an actor has memorized a script well enough that he/she doesn’t need to look at it any more.
Off-book
The Elizabethan term for those audience members at the Globe Theater who stood in the pit to watch the play.
Groundling
The name of the theater company that Shakespeare belonged to in London
Lord Chamberlain's Men
A stage surrounded by the audience on three sides; the fourth side is a wall with doors leading into the backstage
Thrust Stage
Stage direction indicating the departure of two or more characters from the stage.
Exuent
Usually the last line of an actor’s speech, which is a signal to another performer that something else is to happen
Cue Line
The part of the stage furthest from the audience
Upstage
The belief that that a monarch’s right to rule a nation comes directly from God, rather than from the people they rule.
Divine Right
Middle of a circular outdoor theater such as the Globe. It was a flat, dirt floor on which audience members could stand to watch the play.
Pit
Music usually introducing the entrance or exit of a king or another important person.
Flourish
Booklet or scroll containing a single character’s cues
Side
The left of the stage (as seen by an actor facing the audience).
Stage Left
A government officer appointed by Queen Elizabeth whose responsibilities were to oversee and regulate the business of theater companies.
Master of Revels
Part of the stage closest to the audience
Downstage
Words an actor speaks to the audience which other actors on the stage cannot hear.
Aside
A set of lines spoken by a character by himself onstage, as if talking to himself or the audience
Soliloquy
The person in Elizabethan theater company who was in charge of making sure all actors had their scripts or sides and who would aid in rehearsals by following the script and providing words if actors forgot their lines.
Prompter