Theatre Glossary (Mike Green)

Set; the arrangement of scenic elements (e.g., curtains, flats, drops, platforms), properties, and lights to represent the locale in a dramatic performance.

The written dialogue, description, and directions provided by the playwright.

A sense of knowing and appreciating oneself; an awareness of one's potential, values, strengths, and weaknesses; an understanding of one's image as perceived by others.

Heightened awareness of physical sensations and emotional states.

Sensory perceptions elicited from past experiences.

The time and place in which the dramatic action occurs.

Adherence to those beliefs, values, and behaviors deemed acceptable by the group.

All visual elements of production (scenery, properties, lighting, costumes, makeup, physical movement, dance).

A free, direct, immediate response to an experience.

The process of improvisationally making an informal play based on a story. Young children are often guided by a leader who tells or reads a story while the children take on all the roles, working in their own spaces. Older children generally assume specific roles and collaborate to dramatize a story, often interchanging roles and experimenting with ideas.