Theatre jargon-buster

Act: A section or division of a play in a theatre—a bit like a chapter in a book—made up of various scenes.

Auditorium: The seating area of a theatre.

Backdrop: Usually canvas at the back of the stage in a theatre, the backdrop provides a visual setting for the scene being played out, and may change several times during the course of a play.

Backstage: The behind-the-scenes area where the actors and other people working in the theatre prepare and manage the performance.

Box office: A theatre's ticket booth.

Curtain: The cloth that separates a theatre's stage from the auditorium. The curtain going up signals the start of a performance, coming down signals the end or intermission. "Five minutes to curtain" means five minutes till the play starts.

Curtain call: When the cast comes back on stage after a well-received performance to take the audience's applause.

Dialogue: The speech between actors in a play.

Director: The person in overall charge of a theatre's play.

Downstage: The front section of the stage, closest to the theatre's audience. Opposite of upstage.

Dress rehearsal: The trial run of a play, usually in the theatre itself, in full costume.

Grease paint: Theatre-speak for make up.

Green room: a bar area where actors, theatre staff and their friends relax after performances.

House: The entire auditorium beyond the stage.

House manager: The person in charge of managing the theatre.

Monologue: A long speech by a single actor.

Pit: Where the orchestra play from in a theatre, usually just in front of the stage and almost invisible to the audience.

Repertory theatre: A theatre group which has a number of plays it performs in parallel, as opposed to a cast gathered to perform just one play.

Rostrum: Any raised platform in a theatre.

Run-through: A rehearsal without interruption.

Scene: A unit of drama performed in one piece.

Set: The surroundings on a theatre's stage where the play is performed.

Stage manager: The person in charge of the stage and backstage areas.

Stalls: The lowest seats in a theatre.

Trap: A door in the stage floor.

Troupe: A company of actors.

Upstage: To move towards the back of a theatre's stage. For one actor to "upstage" another actor is to put them in the shade by performing in a way that commands the audience's attention.

Wings: The areas at the sides of a stage, usually separated by curtains.