Back to Basics
The part of the tech process where the production team works the show without actors.
What is Dry Tech?
The end of a song where a Lighting Designer may add a bump-up or a bump-out.
What is the button?
The category of sound design that includes sounds such as thunderstorms, doorbells, sirens, etc.
What are effects?
Where the Stage Manager sits in the Circle of Communication.
What is the center?
What is a dreidel?
A vertical drape that masks actors' entrances and exits offstage, creating "hallways" that we call wings.
What is a leg?
The purpose of lighting design.
What is to support the story?
The category of Sound Design that includes underscoring and pre/post-show playlists.
What is music?
The Stage Manager's binder that contains all the necessary information to put on a performance.
What is the Prompt Book or Show Bible?
Originating in Germany, an animal-like creature that visits bad children.
Who is Krampus?
The type of directions that are based on the actor's perspective while facing the audience.
What are Stage Directions?
The template that slots into a light to create texture.
What is a gobo?
The art of creating custom sound effects utilizing everyday materials, typically different from the actual people/objects “making the sound”.
What is Foley?
The notations in the Stage Manager script that tell you when to tell lights and sound to press go.
What are cues?
What was originally used for ornaments on a tree.
What is fruit?
The arch that separates the stage area from the audience.
What is a proscenium arch?
A lighting fixture dedicated to serve one unique purpose.
What is a special?
Music played in the background used to enhance or alter the mood of the scene.
What is underscoring?
The translation of X SR, skip ↺ h, fall ↓ in Stage Management shorthand.
What is "cross stage right then skip around the chair and fall down"?
The popular Christmas song that was originally written for Thanksgiving.
What is Jingle Bells?
A theatrical seating orientation that has audience members on 2 sides.
What is a Thrust Stage?
The two elements used when "painting with light".
What are color and intensity?
The category of Sound Design that includes microphones, speaker placement, and adjusting volume levels.
What is reinforcement?
The key to being an effective stage manager (or the two elements of their personality that an SM must balance).
What is balancing being likeable while being respected?
The holiday known for its 7 candles.
What is Kwanzaa?