Theatre Terms for Actors

Part I:
Part II:
Part III:

Terms related to the actor on the physical stage

Terms related to character study
Terms related to the physical theatre/stage
Part I: Terms related to the actor on the physical stage

Left (stage left) the actors left when facing the audience
Right (stage right) - the actors right when facing the audience
Up (upstage) away from the audience; the area of the stage farthest from the audience
Down (downstage) - toward the audience; the area of the stage closest to the audience
Above related to up (above the sofa = upstage of the sofa)
Below related to down (below the sofa = downstage of the sofa)
In toward center
Out away from center
Cross -- moving purposefully on the stage (used as noun or verb)
Open facing the audience
Closed facing away from the audience
Body positions actors positions relative to the audience
Full front facing the audience directly
Full back with full back to the audience
One-quarter left or right (one-quarter of the distance from full front to full back)
Profile left or right (in profile to the audience)
Three-quarters left or right (three-quarters of the distance from full front to full
back)
Shared position both actors equally strong
Giving or taking a position one actor (taking the scene) is in a stronger (more open)
position than the actor giving the scene, who is in a weaker (more closed) position
Entrance An actor enters the stage area; the specific portal through which the actor
enters the stage area

Exit An actor leaves the stage area; the specific portal through which the actor leaves the
stage area
To upstage someone Moving upstage in a way that forces your partner to close (turn the
back to audience)
Focus (give focus) Using body position or eye contact to draw attention to another actor
or stage area
Backstage (offstage) the portion of the stage not seen by the audience
Onstage the portion of the stage seen by the audience

Theatre Terms for Actors

Part I:
Part II:
Part III:

Terms related to the actor on the physical stage

Terms related to character study
Terms related to the physical theatre/stage
Part II. Terms related to character study

Motivation (also objective, essential action, goal, victory, intention) The goal your
character wants to achieve, thus expressed with an active verb.
Examples:
I want to convince you that I am honest.
I must get this position.
ActionWhat happens in a play. Action may be physical or verbal, but is motivated and
occurs within the given circumstances.
ObstacleThat which stands in the way of your character achieving his/her intention. (It
may be a person, a societal factor, a physical or personality impairment, a tangible
barrier, etc.)
BeatThe smallest unit of action in a scene.
Given circumstancesAnything given by the playwright or director that you cannot
change. You explore your characters choices within the given circumstances.
Super-objective (through action, overall action, character spine) The principal
motivation that drives all of your characters actions in the play.
Credibility (believability)The quality of enabling the audience to believe in your
character and not to see you acting.
Being in the moment (illusion of the first time, spontaneity)involves listening
carefully and reacting honestly to your partner. Although the lines and blocking may be
set, you listen and react as if you were experiencing things for the first time.
Magic IfThe actors asks What would I do if were this character in these
circumstances? This three-part exploration enables the actors to enter the world (the
given circumstances) of the play.
Suspension of disbeliefThe willingness of the audience to believe for the duration of
the performance in the reality of the stage illusion. It requires a complementary
willingness on the part of the actors not to break character or otherwise cause the
audience to lose its belief. This shared agreement is sometimes referred to as a contract
between actors and audience.
Character sketch A descriptive analysis of a character based on all of the information
you can find in the script.
Character biography (or autobiography) A descriptive analysis of a character which
builds on the information of the character sketch, but explores the character further, It
may include your own suppositions about the character and his/her background, as long
as they are grounded in the given circumstances of the play. The character
autobiography is written in the first person.
Illusion of the first time--The actor who is fully believable give the audience the
illusion that everything on stage is happening for the first time, even thought the words
and movements may be memorized and have been rehearsed for weeks.

Sense memory/emotional memoryTerms derived from Stanislavskys teachings. The

actor re-imagines senses and emotions from his/her own experience in order to find the
reality of what the character senses and feels. In Stanislavskys theories, these
experiences find their expression through physical action (as opposed to simple physical
movement).
Indicating -- Performing stage actions without motivation. Calling attention to the fact
that you are acting.
ConcentrationOne of the actors most difficult and most important tasks,
concentration requires the actors to shut out distracting thoughts and stimuli and focus
attention on somethinga prop, another actor, etc. Stanislavsky used the term circles of
attention (small, medium, large) to describe the ranges of an actors concentration.
SubtextThe underlying meaning of the words, it may expand, alter, or even conflict
with the literal meaning of the words.