Drama and Theatre Arts (and Film)

Items

• spike

  To mark the position of an item on stage using tape (or a silver koki pen).
• spotlight

  An intense, focused light is used to highlight one performer or a small area on stage.
• stage directions

  Instructions in a script indicating movements, or positions onstage, or technical cues.
• stage left / stage right

  Directions from the actor’s perspective facing the audience: stage left = actor’s left / stage right = actor’s right.
• stage management

  The coordination of logistics, cues, and crew during rehearsals and performances.
• stage manager

  The person who organises rehearsals, calls cues during performances, and coordinates between artistic and technical teams / the central point of communication.
• stagehand

  An assistant to the stage management team who does whatever work they are asked to, like building sets, cleaning the stage and backstage area, assisting with props or costumes, and operating specific stage equipment such as flybars, etc.
• stagger-through / struggle-through

  The first attempt to run through the show without stopping, after the actors are off script / this rarely runs smoothly, hence the name.
• stand by / standby

  A warning given by stage management to technical staff that a cue is imminent. It is also often used as an alternative term for an understudy.
• Stanislavski system

  A method of acting focusing on psychological realism, emotional memory, and "given circumstances".
• stock character

  Stereotypical figures in plays and literature, such as the fool or villain, recurring across works.
• storyboard

  A sequence of drawings outlining each shot to plan the film visually before shooting.
• strike

  Disassembling a stage set (breaking down flats and rostra and returning décor and props after the run of the show). Also refers to removing items from the stage at the end of an act to change the scene.
• Structuralism

  A methodological approach to analysing norms, behaviour, creative practices, and culture within broader, encompassing structural systems of meaning.
• subtext

  The underlying, unspoken meaning beneath the dialogue or action.
• Surrealism

  An art movement using dream-like imagery to liberate the unconscious, influencing theatre and film in the early 20th century.
• SX

  Shorthand for sound.
• Symbolism

  The use of symbols to represent ideas or qualities beyond their literal meaning, where objects and imagery stand for deeper meanings or emotions.
• tableau tableau vivant

  A frozen, pictorial staged picture where actors hold still and pose to convey a moment or theme.
• tabs

  Shortened version of “tableaux curtains”, which initially drew outwards and upwards. It is now used to refer to any stage curtain that extends across the entire stage. The main tabs would refer to the curtains positioned directly against the proscenium arch (usually red velvet). There are also centre tabs (which cut the stage in half) and back tabs (lining the rear end of the stage, creating a back border to the acting area).
• tallescope

  A vertical ladder with a platform at the top, mounted on a wheeled base, used to focus lights. The Wynand Mouton Theatre has one but has recently upgraded to the “cherry picker”, a similar device that is motorised and uses a scissor lift instead of a vertical ladder.
• technical rehearsal

  A practice run or rehearsal focused on integrating technical elements (lights, sound, set changes) with the performance.
• Technical Theatre

  The behind-the-scenes disciplines in theatre production, including crafts such as lighting, sound, scenery, and costumes.
• Theatre of Cruelty

  A theory for theatre- making developed by Antonin Artaud, focussed on utilising theatre / performance to bombard the senses and dismantle the "oppressive facades" of apparent civilised behaviour in favour of pure impulse and cathartic, visceral, and emotional experiences.
• Theatre of the Absurd

  A post-World War II movement in playwriting and theatre-making which refers to a specific style of theatre that explores the absurdity of existence in both form and content, exemplified by the works of Samuel Beckett and Eugene Ionesco.