Drama and Theatre Arts (and Film)

Items

• cans

  A headset with one earpiece and a microphone (and a belt pack if it is wireless) for communication or coordination / also known as a “headset”.
• canvas

  Fabric used to cover flats to create walls on stage.
• cast

  The members of an acting company, or the group of actors working on a specific production.
• catharsis

  The emotional release or purification experienced by the audience through witnessing tragic events in a drama.
• catwalk

  An access walkway to equipment, specifically fly bars and lighting bars, running parallel with the stage.
• centre line

  An imaginary line running down the stage through the exact centre of the proscenium opening. Marked as CL on stage plans.
• centre stage

  The middle portion of the stage. It has good sightlines to all seats in the auditorium.
• character

  A character is a fictional or representational person, figure, or persona created within a dramatic, theatrical, cinematic, or literary work. In performance, an actor interprets and embodies a character through voice, movement, gesture, physicality, and emotional choices, giving the figure life on stage or screen.
• character arc

  The development or transformation of a character’s personality, motivations, or circumstances throughout a play or film.
• characterisation

  The techniques an actor uses to create and portray a character (voice, physicality, choices).
• chorus (Greek chorus)

  In classical theatre, a chorus is a group that comments on the action in Greek tragedy or musical theatre through song or speech / in modern usage, a chorus is a group performing a collective text or movement.
• cinematography

  The art of motion-picture photography, including camera angles, shot composition, lighting, and movement.
• Clearance!

  A message passed to stage management from the front-of-house manager that the house is ready for the performance to begin (in other words, all audience members are seated and the auditorium doors have been closed). It can also be a message passed from stage management to the front- of-house manager that the stage is live and the auditorium doors can be opened for the audience to enter and take their seats.
• climax

  The highest point of tension or turning point in a plot.
• close-up (CU)

  A shot that tightly frames a person or object to emphasise detail or emotion.
• clowning

  Clowning is a performance style in which an actor uses exaggerated physicality, playfulness, improvisation, and direct audience engagement to create humour and emotional connection.
• cold reading

  Performing a script with little or no preparation, often used in auditions.
• comedy

  A dramatic genre typically focused on humans as social beings, depicting human activities / folly in humorous ways.
• comic relief

  A comic scene (or line) included in an otherwise straight-faced play to provide a relief from tension to the audience.
• commedia dell'arte

  An Italian form of improvised comedy from the 16th century, using stock characters and scenarios.
• Community Theatre

  Theatre created with and for a community, often addressing local issues and utilising collective storytelling / amateur or participatory theatre that fosters local engagement and cultural expression.
• complimentary ticket (comp)

  A free-of-charge ticket issued to company members or special guests.
• composition

  Arrangement of actors and set elements onstage to guide audience focus and create meaning.
• conflict

  The central struggle between opposing forces in a drama, driving the plot.
• contact sheet

  List of names and contact details of cast and crew.