Common Theatre Vocabulary

(This is by no means complete and tends to reflect our local usage.)

Proscenium           The wall separating the main stage from the seating area at the curtain line

Plaster Line           The upstage face of the proscenium wall; also called Brick Line

Stage Right           To your right as you face the audience

Stage Left              To your left as you face the audience

Down Stage          Directly in front of you as you face the audience

Up Stage                Directly behind you as you face the audience

On Stage                Toward the centerline of the stage; also in sight of the audience

Off Stage               Away from the centerline of the stage; also out of sight of the audience

Coming In             Being lowered toward the stage

Going Out             Being raised away from the stage

Pick                        A support or tie-off point or arrangement for an item being kept out of view

Spot Line               A single-line special fly arrangement

House                    The seating area of the theatre or auditorium

Gallery                   The area above the stage; Also called the fly loft or loft

Pinrail                    The control point for lines used to fly items over the stage; often shortened to Rail

Batten                    A horizontal support member or pipe

Teaser                    A horizontal masking curtain; Also Border

Tormentor             A vertical masking curtain; Also Leg, occasionally called a Tab

Main                      The principal curtain or drape

Valence                  A horizontal masking curtain hung in front of the main drape

Goods                    Any fabric like material used on stage, especially curtains and drops

 Cyc                         white or lt blue flat drop usually near the back of the stage; Also sky drop, cyclorama

Watt                       The basic unit of electrical power consumed

Amp                      The basic unit of electrical current

Floor Pocket          An electrical outlet or other connection in the deck

Deck                       The main playing level of the stage, often including wing spaces 

Lamp                     The “light bulb” used in a stage light

Back Stage             Any area of the stage, deck, and vicinity not visible to the audience

Wing                      The area immediately to either side of the stage, nominally out of sight of the audience

Flown                    Supported above the stage by means of ropes or cables, implies that it can be so moved 

Apron                    The part of the stage that extends past the proscenium toward the audience

Centerline             Imaginary reference line at 90 degrees to the plaster line in the center of the proscenium

Quarterline           Reference line parallel to the centerline and ½ way between center and the proscenium

Fire curtain           Fireproof curtain that separates the stage from the audience - generally just upstage of the proscenium

Drape                     Large piece of cloth - a curtain, sometimes pleated or gathered to have "fullness"

Drop                      A large cloth, always flat, usually painted with a scene

Escape                   Any path offstage that's unseen by the audience

Crossover              A corridor behind the cyc or upstage scenery by which the actor can cross the stage without being seen. Also refers to a curtain used for this purpose

German tab            Leg curtains that hang parallel to the centerline instead of the proscenium

Act curtain            Full-stage curtain hung halfway upstage - one "act" plays downstage of it while another "act" sets up upstage of it.

Austrian drape     A curtain which lifts in a scalloped shape

Roll - drop             A drop mounted on a large roller like a blind also called an Olio

Olio                        A second, often quite ornate Act curtain; (also See roll-drop)

Traveler                 A curtain that opens to the side or sides, running along a track (2-way, 1-way)

Front of House (FOH)          Anything on the audience side of the proscenium - also the generic term for Lobby Operations like box office and concession

Catwalk                 An access walkway above the house, or a temporary walkway above the stage

Bridge                    A permanent catwalk above the stage

Box Boom              Lighting positions located along the sides of the house, mounted to or near the walls

Grid                       Open mesh floored work area at the top of the fly gallery

Orchestra Pit         Area used for musicians in a musical or opera, usually in front of & below the main stage