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?
A single section of a play, film, or TV episode taking place in a particular setting or continuous piece of action
What is a scene?
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?
The line immediately before yours that signals you to speak.
What is a cue line?
When I move from one side to another, I have completed this
What is a cross?
Turning and speaking directly to the audience, with the understanding that other characters cannot hear.
What is an aside?
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?
To remove something from the stage or set.
What is strike?
SUPER BONUS: A place where musicians play during a show that is unseen by the audience.
What is the pit?
The imaginary wall separating actors from the audience.
What is the fourth wall?