Theatre Lingo

Every profession and every art form has a set of words or way of talking that sets it apart. Sometimes a special vocabulary is needed to describe unique jobs or places. And sometimes words just develop out of the banter between people who love what they do. The theatre is no different—except maybe that theatre lingo is especially strange and eccentric.

Click on a term to see what it means.

Where do you find these parts of a theatre?

	House		Apron
	Proscenium		The Pit
	Green Room		Stage Left and Stage Right
	Wings		Upstage and Downstage
	The Booth		Stage Door
	The Flies		The Grid
	The Orchestra		Mezzanine
	Balcony		Theatre Box

Theatre Definitions

House

The part of the theatre where the audience sits. An appreciative audience is a "good house," and if it's packed, it's a "full house." People who work in this part of the theatre, like the ushers or the people in the box office, are called "front-of-house staff."

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Apron

The part of the stage that sticks out past the curtain line. It's the bit of the stage closest to the audience.

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Proscenium

This is the arch that separates the "house" from the stage. Comes from an ancient Greek word meaning "before the stage."

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The Pit

The lowered area in front of the stage in which the orchestra musicians play. Usually you can see the conductor–his head or his hands stick out just a little on top so the actors onstage can see him. In some theatres, the orchestra is actually under the stage or even in the basement!

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Green Room

This is a room where actors can rest when they are not onstage. Nobody knows where the name comes from, and they aren't always green–although that was always considered a restful color.

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Stage Left and Stage Right

Directions used by actors and directors. When an actor moves stage left, she moves to HER left. So from the audience, stage left is actually on the right side of the stage and vice versa.

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Wings

The area just offstage on either side, behind the proscenium, where actors wait just before they come offstage. This is where the term "waiting in the wings" comes from.

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Upstage and Downstage

Away from, or toward, the audience. It used to be that many theatre stages were "raked," or tilted toward the audience. This meant that the back end was higher than the front end. Audiences could see these raked stages better. So, when an actor moved "downstage," he would have moved down the tilt, closer to the audience. The terms are still used today, though few stages are actually tilted. Most actors like to be right "downstage center."

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The Booth

The "control room" where the light-board operator runs the show. The stage manager might be in the booth, or else in the wings.

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Stage Door

The actors and technicians don't enter the theatre through the lobby the way the audience does. They have an entrance that leads directly backstage. The doorman keeps watch, takes messages and packages, and makes sure only show personnel enter the theatre through this door.

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The Flies

The area above the stage where scenery is rigged and hung. When scenery lifts off the stage in a scene change, it stays in "the flies" until it's needed again. The rigging system is counterweighted and balanced to keep the heavy scenery safely suspended high in the air.

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The Grid

The area above the stage where all the stage lights are located. The lights are attached to suspended beams called "electrics."

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The Orchestra

The seats located on the lowest level. As with many theatre words, "orchestra" comes from ancient Greek–in this case the word "orkheisthai," which was the area in front of the stage in the theatres of ancient Greece. (Dancers performed here in Greek theatres.)

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Mezzanine

This term comes from the Italian word for "middle." It refers to the lowest balcony in a theatre (if there is more than one).

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Balcony

Once called "the gallery," this is the projecting platform that holds seats above the stage level.

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Theatre Box

In some theatres, there are enclosed seating areas above the stage on either side called "boxes." They usually hold four to six seats.

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You might hear these phrases backstage tossed around by the cast and crew. What do they mean?

	Cattle Call		Money Note
	Gypsy		The Road
	Bus and Truck		Call
	Cues		Go Up
	Ad Lib		Shtick
	Take		Mugging
	Chewing the Scenery		Body Mike
	Dark		Break a Leg
	Eleven O'Clock Number

Backstage Definitions

Cattle Call

An open audition where hundreds of actors show up to get a five-minute audition.

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Money Note

The strongest note in an actor's singing range. When you audition, you want to make sure you show off your money note.

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Gypsy

A chorus performer who moves from show to show, or from town to town on tour. Before being called gypsies, chorus dancers on Broadway were called "ponies."

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The Road

Everything outside of New York. When a show tours, you "take it on the road."

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Bus and Truck

A term for a smaller tour, when the actors travel by bus and the scenery goes in a truck.

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Call

The time an actor is required to be in the theatre before a show. Usually, the call is half an hour before curtain time.

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Cues

If you're an actor, your cue is the line that comes before yours. To "pick up the cues" means to shorten the space between lines and quicken the pace of a scene.

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Go Up

If you forget your lines, you've "gone up."

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Ad Lib

And if you go up, chances are someone else will ad lib–improvise lines–until you remember what it is you are supposed to say.

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Shtick

A sure-fire piece of "business" (stage action) that gets a laugh.

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Take

An exaggerated reaction to a comic line. Sometimes it's big enough to be a "double take." Or, you might do a take to the audience–look out at the audience and maybe lift an eyebrow.

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Mugging

Making faces and over-exaggerating lines, trying too hard to get a laugh. "Boy, was Bob mugging it tonight!"

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Chewing the Scenery

One step beyond mugging.

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Body Mike

are portable microphones that actors wear hidden on their bodies to amplify their voices. You can usually see the tiny microphones somewhere around their hairline–they are attached to battery packs, usually around the waist. Sometimes spelled "body mic."

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Dark

On nights when there is no performance in the theatre, it is "dark." Broadway shows usually have only one "dark" day a week.

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Break a Leg

Actors (a superstitious bunch) say this to each other when they mean "good luck," on the idea that whatever you say, the opposite will happen. You NEVER wish an actor good luck–unless you want them to really break a leg!

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Eleven O'Clock Number

In a musical, this is a big number toward the end of the second act, usually for the star. In the old days when shows started at eight thirty or even later, this number was usually performed around eleven o'clock.

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