- Stage Areas
- Upstage (also Above) – away from the audience
- Downstage (also Below) – toward the audience
- In – toward the center of the stage
- Out – away from the center of the stage
- Stage Left – the actor’s left (facing the audience)
- Stage Right – the actor’s right (facing the audience)
- Acting area – Two sit-down positions 6 feet or more apart
- Wings – Offstage spaces at the sides of the acting areas
- Apron (also Forestage) – the part of the stage that juts out in front of the curtain
- Stage Directions/Movement
- Closed – the actor is turned away from the audience
- Open – the actor is facing the audience
- Cross – to move from one place to another on stage (an abbreviated X)
- Countercross – move in the opposite direction as the cross
- Cover – an actor stands in front of another actor
- Upstaging – an actor taking a position that forces another actor to face upstage. Should not be done unless it’s part of the direction.
- Other Play Terms
- Aside – a line spoken to a character which is not supposed to be heard by the others on the stage
- Beat – from the beginning to the end of an intention or objective
- Blocking – working the arrangement of actors on the stage in relation to the props on the stage
- Build – Increase volume or tempo
- Cue – indication for an actor to speak or act
- Dialogue – lines spoken by the characters in the play
- Fourth wall – if the actors were surrounded by four walls, it’s the one between them and the audience
- Ground plan – arrangement of the stage for the scene, including walls, doors, furniture, and other props. Drawn as a birds’ eye view. Can include multiple acting areas.
- Properties – the “things” and “objects” that are essential for the performance. Generally shortened to “props.”
- Runthrough – an uninterrupted rehearsal of an entire scene, act, or play
- Telescoping – overlapping speeches to build