Play Production Vocabulary

A professional in the theatre field who oversees and orchestrates the mounting of a theatre production

• Actor

• Blocking

• Stage Directions

• Directors

A pre-production process that involves choosing actors to fill the roles in a particular play

• Casting

• Dress Rehearsal

• Strike

• Stage Business

A performer on stage, in movies or television

• Stage Directions

• Directors

• Actor

• Dress Rehearsal

The person who decides what the performers will wear

• Technical Rehearsal

• Directorial Concept

• Designer

• Blocking Notation

Everything the audience hears, such as sound effects, music, props that generate noise and similar components

• Technical Rehearsal

• Stage Business

• Blocking Notation

• Sound

A short performance given by an actor so that a director can decide if they are good enough to be in a play

• Off Book

• Audition

• Costume and Scenic Design

• Full Runs

Creating the visual appearance of the actors and the visual world of a play or musical.

• Designers

• Costume and Scenic Design

• Dress Rehearsal

• Full Runs

A detailed explanation of the overall visual/audio experience of a production

• Actor

• Technical Rehearsal

• Design Concept

• Casting

No longer needing the script to rehearse

• Constructive Criticism

• Casting

• Designers

• Off Book

To illuminate the performers, sets and props so the audience can clearly see everything they're meant to see onstage

• Sound

• Lighting

• Opening

• Closing