MATSEC AM Theatre and Performance key terms

The facts a script establishes about a character's world: time, place, social position, relationships and prior events. Actors use them to justify behaviour and build a believable inner life rather than inventing unrelated detail.

An objective is what a character wants in a scene; tactics are the specific actions they use to get it. Playing objectives keeps performance active and playable rather than merely emotional or illustrative.

A rehearsal method in which each line or beat is assigned a transitive verb describing what the speaker is doing to the other character, for example 'to warn' or 'to charm'. It makes intention concrete and testable in the body.

The meaning carried beneath the literal words of a line, revealed through tone, timing and physical behaviour. It often contradicts the text, and actors mine it to create tension between what is said and what is meant.

A rehearsal prompt asking what the actor would do if the fictional circumstances were real. It bridges the actor's own impulses and the character's situation without requiring literal belief in the stage world.

Drawing on a remembered personal experience to access an emotion for a scene. It is used cautiously in training because it can be unreliable and personally demanding; many practitioners prefer imagination-based or action-based approaches.

A small unit of dramatic action within a scene, marked by a change in objective, tactic or power balance. Dividing a scene into beats gives rehearsal a clear structure and exposes where the drama shifts.

A scene subdivision defined by which characters are present, named after the practice of marking entrances and exits in French classical texts. Mapping French scenes clarifies structural rhythm and who holds stage power at each moment.

Information the audience needs about prior events, relationships or setting, delivered within the drama. Effective exposition is embedded in action or conflict rather than announced; clumsy exposition is often called 'planting' that shows.

The sequence of complications that builds tension between the inciting incident and the climax. Each step should raise the stakes or remove an option, tightening the character's predicament.

The event that disturbs the initial balance and sets the main action in motion. It usually occurs early and gives the protagonist a problem that cannot simply be ignored.

The point of highest dramatic tension where the central conflict is forced to a decision or confrontation. It is not always the loudest moment, but it is the one after which the outcome becomes inevitable.

The unravelling after the climax, in which consequences settle and remaining questions are answered or deliberately left open. It releases tension and shapes what the audience carries away.

A gap between what a character understands and what the audience knows, producing tension, comedy or dread. It depends on the audience holding information withheld from at least one figure on stage.

A speech in which a character alone on stage voices private thoughts aloud. It gives direct access to interiority and is distinct from a monologue delivered in the presence of other characters.

A short remark spoken to the audience that other characters on stage are not meant to hear. It creates complicity and can rapidly reframe the audience's reading of a scene.

An extended speech by one character, whether alone or in company. In audition and examination contexts, a well-chosen monologue shows range, clear objectives and the ability to sustain an arc.

A prepared speech performed to demonstrate suitability for a role or course. It should be age-appropriate, contrast with other pieces in the portfolio, and be cut so the character's want is visible within two minutes.

The planned pattern of movement and stage positions for a production. Good blocking clarifies relationships and focus, and is usually recorded so it can be repeated consistently in rehearsal and performance.

The agreed naming of stage areas: stage left and right from the performer's perspective facing the audience, upstage away from the audience, downstage toward it, with centre and quarter divisions.

Moving further upstage than another performer, forcing them to turn away from the audience, or drawing focus improperly. Deliberate upstaging can be used to show dominance, but unintended upstaging damages focus.

The lines of view from audience seats to the stage. Designers and directors check sightlines so that action, scenery and surtitles remain visible from the extremes of the auditorium, not only the centre.

A scaled overhead drawing showing the stage outline, setting positions, entrances and furniture from above. It is the shared reference for directors, designers and technicians during planning and get-in.

A scaled drawing of a set or scenic element seen from the front or side, showing heights and vertical detail. Elevations complement the ground plan by communicating what the audience will actually see.

A small-scale three-dimensional model of the set, usually at 1:25 or 1:50, used to test massing, sightlines and scene changes. It helps the whole production team visualise the design before construction.

The production script marked with blocking, cues and technical notes, held by the stage manager. It is the authoritative record of a performance and is used to run rehearsals and maintain consistency.

A signal for a technical or performance event such as a lighting change, sound effect or entrance. Cues are numbered and called in sequence, usually by the stage manager, so timing is repeatable.

The person who coordinates rehearsals, calls cues during performance and liaises between departments. They protect the running of the show and are the first point of contact for problems backstage.

The period when the production moves into the venue and the set is installed, focused and technically rehearsed. It is scheduled tightly and ends with the technical and dress rehearsals.

A rehearsal run primarily for lighting, sound, set changes and cueing, often stopping and restarting to fix problems. Performers are expected to hold positions and repeat sections without complaint.

A full run in costume with all technical elements, treated as a performance. It tests stamina, quick changes and the integration of design with acting before an audience is admitted.

The offstage areas at the sides of the stage, hidden from the audience by masking. Performers wait there for entrances and must stay quiet and out of sightlines.

Flats, drapes or borders placed to hide backstage areas and unwanted equipment from the audience. Effective masking preserves illusion and prevents distracting views from side seats.

The point in space or among performers to which the audience's attention is drawn. Directors shape focus through blocking, light, levels and stillness, and performers must learn to share or take it deliberately.

A designed layer of sound, music and effects that establishes place, period or mood and supports the action. It can be live, recorded or mixed, and is cued precisely in performance.

Creating performance from stimuli, improvisation and group research rather than from a pre-existing script. The ensemble generates, selects and structures material, often with a director or facilitator shaping the outcome.

Unscripted play in which performers respond in the moment within agreed rules or scenarios. It is used both as a rehearsal tool to discover material and as a performance form in its own right.

The improvisation principle of contributing an idea and building on a partner's contribution rather than blocking it. Accepting does not mean agreeing with a character, only keeping the scene's reality alive.

A company in which performers share responsibility for the whole event rather than only their own role. Ensemble practice emphasises listening, generosity, shared rhythm and collective ownership of the work.

A training and composition framework built from spatial and temporal elements such as shape, gesture, tempo, duration and repetition. It gives devising groups a shared vocabulary for generating and analysing movement.

Performance in which the body is the primary means of expression, often with minimal text or design. It ranges from mime and dance-theatre to acrobatic ensemble work and demands precise control and spatial awareness.

Work built from the recorded words of real people, gathered through interviews and edited into a script. It raises ethical questions about consent, editing and the responsibility of performers portraying real lives.

Theatre drawing on historical records, transcripts, journalism or testimony to stage real events. It blends factual sources with dramatic selection, and its truth claims should be examined critically.

A style aiming to show behaviour as shaped by environment, heredity and social conditions, often with detailed realistic settings. It developed in the late nineteenth century and is associated with close observation of ordinary life.

A mode that presents plausible everyday settings, speech and behaviour, often in a room with a removed fourth wall. It invites audiences to judge characters as if they were real people in recognisable circumstances.

The imagined boundary between the stage and the audience in realistic staging, with performers behaving as if unobserved. Breaking it deliberately can create complicity, discomfort or political address.

A political and non-illusionistic approach associated with Brecht that uses narration, signs, song and visible stagecraft to keep audiences thinking rather than absorbed. It foregrounds the social causes of events.

A technique of making familiar events strange so the audience examines them critically rather than empathising uncritically. It can be produced by direct address, placards, exposed lighting or abrupt shifts in style.

A style distorting design, movement and speech to externalise inner states or social pressure. It emerged strongly in early twentieth-century Germany and often uses fragmented sets and heightened, non-naturalistic playing.

A theatrical mode using images, objects and gestures to suggest meaning beyond literal representation. It typically favours atmosphere, suggestion and poetic compression over realistic detail.

An Italian popular form from the sixteenth century onward built on stock characters, masks and improvised scenarios. Its physical comedy and lazzi have influenced later clowning, pantomime and ensemble comedy.

Performing while wearing a full or half mask, which requires the body to carry expression the face cannot. It develops precision, spatial awareness and clarity of gesture, and is often used in actor training.

Communicating action, object or feeling through precise physical movement without speech. Good mime depends on clear intention, fixed points and consistent spatial logic rather than mere imitation.

Diction is clarity of articulation; projection is the controlled carrying of voice to the back of an auditorium. Both depend on breath support and are fundamental to being heard without shouting.

Managing the out-breath with the diaphragm and abdominal muscles to sustain a steady, controlled vocal tone. It underpins projection, phrasing and stamina in long speeches.

A range of pitch produced by a particular pattern of vocal fold vibration, such as chest, head or mixed voice. Actors shift register to suggest age, status, emotion or physical effort.

A personal shorthand for recording movement in a script, using abbreviations and arrows. Consistent notation allows an actor to reproduce blocking accurately and to absorb directorial changes quickly.

The professional conventions that make rehearsal productive: punctuality, warm-up, prepared lines, note-taking, respect for others' work and no unscheduled phones. It is assessed in group performance work as much as the final showing.

A structured account of a performance seen live, judging choices in acting, design and direction against intention and audience effect. It requires specific evidence and balanced judgement, not plot summary or vague praise.

The analytical pairing of what a production or performer appears to be trying to do with what actually reaches the audience. Strong evaluation argues where the two align or diverge and why, using concrete moments as evidence.