Grade 9 – English Reviewer - A stage technique

- In which an actor pivots the face and torso

THEATER TERMINOLOGIES & STAGE towards the audience
DIRECTIONS / MODALS / A MIDSUMMERS
NIGHT’S DREAM by William Shakespeare /
ACTIVE & PASSIVE VOICE Closed Audition
It refers to a tryout open only to union members
Ad-Lib
- To improvise stage business or conversation Cold Reading
- Used when an actor has missed lines It refers to a tryout during which an actor uses
material never seen before
Ampitheater
- An oval or round structure with no roof Cross
- It has tiers of seats rising from the center When a person moves from one position to another
on stage

Apron Cue
- It is the section of the stage in front of the - A stage signal
curtain - It refers to the last words, action, or technical
effect that immediately precedes any line or
business
Arena Theater
- A stage without a proscenium arch Curtain Call
- Has seats on three or four sides It is seen at the end of the play when the actors
- Allows close association between actors and take their bows
spectators
Cut
To stop action
Aside
It is a line spoken directly to the audience Cyclorama
- Also called "Cyc"
Backdrop - A white background curtain on which lights or
- Also called a "drop" other effects can be projected
- A large piece of cloth on which scenery is painted
- It is fastened to battens and hung at the back of the Dress Rehearsal
stage setting - It is an uninterrupted rehearsal with costumes
and props
Backstage
- The area behind the set that is not visible to Flat
the audience - It is a wooden frame covered with cloth
~ Ex.: Dressing rooms, Greenroom, etc. - It is used as the basic unit of structure of a box
set
Black Box Theater
- A large square room with black walls and a flat Fly
floor - A system for hanging drops
- Seats can easily be removed to add space - The area above the stage where a scenery not in
use is hung
Blackout
- A stage direction Follow Spot
- In where all stage lights are suddenly off - A long range lighting instrument
- It is capable of following a person moving on the
Blocking stage
It is the movement and groupings on the stage
Fourth Wall
Business - It refers to the imaginary wall
- Any specific action performed on the stage - It is through this the audience watches the action
- It is used to establish atmosphere or explain a of the play
situation
Gel
Cheat - It is a transparent color medium
- It is placed on lighting instruments to produce
colors
 - It is used to be heard clearly by everyone in an
Gobo audience
- A stencil
- It is placed in the gel holder to project a pattern Proscenium Arch
This is the arch opening between the stage and the
Grand Drape auditorium
- Also called an "Act Curtain" Readers' Theatre
- Hung just upstage of the proscenium that opens - A form of theater
and closes at each act or scene - Where the script is read with controlled
movements
Greenroom Scrim
Refers to the waiting area used by actors - A drop of fabric
- It is almost opaque when lit from the front
Holding for Laughs and semitransparent when lit from behind
Waiting for an audience to quiet down after a
humorous line or scene Stealing a Scene
Attracting attention from the person to whom the
Improvisation center of interest legitimately belongs
This refers to the impromptu portrayal of a
character or a scene without any preparation Strike
Refers to removing an object(s) from the stage
Legs
- Narrow drapes Tableau
- It is usually hung in pairs, stage left and stage Refers to a scene presented by silent, unmoving
right, to mask the backstage area actors

Monologue Thespian
It refers to a speech by a single actor An actor or actress

Motivation Understudy
It is the reason behind a character's behavior - A substitute
- A person who learns a role and can perform it in
Objectives the absence of the actor
- This is the goal of a character
- It is what the character wants or is striving for in a Wings
scene This refers to the offstage areas to the right and left
of the set
Off Book
This refers to a rehearsal without scripts Up Right

Off Stage
- Also known as "off"
- It is off the visible stage

Open Audition
It is a tryout open to nonunion actors

Periaktoi
Up Center
- Also known as "Prisms"
- Refers to sets shaped as triangles
- It is mounted on a wheeled carriage that can be
pivoted

Pit
- It is often found below stage level
- It is the front part of the auditorium where
the orchestra might be located Up Left

Projection
- Refers to the control of the volume and quality of
the voice
 - Author : William Shakespeare
- Publication : 1600
- Written in : London, 1594 or 1595
- Setting : Clearing in the Forest
- Genres : Comedy, Fantasy, Romance, Farce
- Themes : Love, Magic, Dreams

William Shakespeare
Who is the author of "A Midsummer Night's
Dream?"

Right Center 1600

What's the date of first publication of "A
Midsummer Night's Dream?"

London
"A Midsummer Night's Dream" was written in a
place called ______.

1594 or 1595
"A Midsummer Night's Dream" was written during
Down Left ____ or ____.

Clearing in the Forest

(________ in the ______)
- This is the setting of "A Midsummer Night's
Dream"
- Where three major plot elements came together

Pyramus and Thisbe

Left Center - This is the play within a play
- This the play that the Athenian workman made
- It is a symbol of for "A Midsummer Night's
Dream" itself

Puck
- A.K.A. Robin Goodfellow
- He is Oberon's jester
- His antics are responsible for many of the
Down Right complications in the play
- He is the closest this the play has to a protagonist

Oberon
- King of the fairies
- Puck jests to him
- Angry with Titania because she refuses to give up
control of a child
- He wants the young Indian prince to be his knight

Titania
Down Center - Queen of the fairies
- Wife of Oberon
- She refuses to give up a young Indian prince she
has been given to raise
- She has a quick temper and fierce loyalty

Hermia
- A young woman of Athens
- Egeus' daughter
- She is in love with Lysander
- The childhood friend of Helena
A Midsummer Night's Dream - She faces a horrible choice, either marry
Demetrius, become a nun, or death - Forced to play a young girl in love
- She runs away to the woods with Lysander - Speak his lines in a high, squeaky voice

Helena Peter Quince

- A young woman of Athens - A carpenter
- She is in love with Demetrius - The leader of the craftsman play for Theseus'
- The childhood friend of Hermia marriage celebration
- She and Demetrius was once betrothed, but when - He plays the Prologue
Demetrius met Hermia he abandoned her - He is often shoved aside by Bottom
- She is determined to win Demetrius back

Lysander
- A young man of Athens Robin Starveling
- At the beginning of the play, he is in love with - The tailor
Hermia - He initially plays Thisbe's mother in the craftsmen
- He cannot marry Hermia because Egeus wishes play
her to wed another man named Demetrius - He ends up playing Moonshine (The Man in the
Moon) in the craftsmen play
Demetrius
- A young man of Athens Tom Snout
- He has won the heart of Hermia's father for the - The tinker
marriage of Hermia - He initially plays Thisbe's father in the craftsmen
- He is in love with Hermia at the beginning of the play
play - He ends up playing the part of the wall, dividing
- Used to be in love with Helena the two lovers, in the craftsmen play

Egeus Snug
- Hermia's father - The joiner
- Egeus has given Demetrius permission to marry - He plays the lion in the craftsmen play
Hermia - He is worries that his roaring will frighten the
- He brings a complaint against his daughter to audience
Duke Theseus
Philostrate
Theseus - Theseus' Master of Ceremonies
- The duke of Athens - He is responsible for organizing the entertainment
- Was credited to kill the Minotaur for the duke's marriage celebration
- Engaged to Hippolyta - He advises Theseus not hear the craftsman's
- He represents power, order, and the royal play because he thinks it is awful
hierarchy
- He is removed from the dreamlike events of the Fairies
forest Mote, Cobweb, Mustardseed, and Peaseblossom are
the _______ ordered by Titania to attend to Bottom.
Hippolyta
- The legendary queen of the Amazons Love Potion
- Engaged to Theseus - It is made from the juice of a flower that was
- She was once the proud queen of the Amazons struck with one of Cupid's misfired arrows
(warrior race of women) - A symbol of an erratic form of love which can
- After Theseus beat her in battle, he won her heart lead to bizarre behavior that cannot be resisted

Nick Bottom Magic

- The overconfident weaver - It brings bizarre and hilarious situations in the play
- He is turned into a half-man, half-donkey - Portrays the almost supernatural power of love to
- Titania is tricked by a love potion into loving him create a surreal world
- He is chosen to play Pyramus in the craftsmen's
play for Theseus's marriage celebration Dreams
- Frequently makes silly mistakes and misuses - It recurs when characters attempt to explain the
language strange events of one night in the forest

Francis Flute Active Voice

- The bellows-mender - Type of Voice
- He plays Thisbe in the craftsmen play - Indicates that the subject "acts upon" the verb
Passive Voice
- Type of Voice Passive Voice
- The subject is being acted upon Discount coupons were purchased by my
mother.
Active Voice
The newspapers reported the event immediately. Passive Voice
The internet was used by her to make the
Active Voice purchased.
People returned to the library by many people last
night. Passive Voice
Each investigative project in the exhibit was
Active Voice approved by the teacher.
Someone has taken money from my wallet.
Modal
Active Voice - Also called "modal auxiliary verb"
We have to pay the bill before the first month. - It is used to indicate (modality) likelihood,
ability, permission, and obligation
Active Voice
The police are holding him for further questioning. ~ E.g. : Can ; Could ; May ; Might ; Must ;
Ought to ; Shall ; Should ; Will ; Would
Active Voice
Our whole family saw the art exhibit. Shall
We (shall, would, might) no longer suffer the
Active Voice injustice of oppression! Freedom shall be ours!
We have read the review of the play before
watching it. Could
I (might, could, must) speak Arabic fluently
Active Voice when I was a child and we lived in Morocco.
My mother purchased discount coupons. But after we moved back to Canada, I had very
little exposure to the language and forgot
Active Voice almost everything I knew as a child.
She used the internet to make the purchase.
Could Not
Active Voice Susan (would not, ought not to, could not) hear
The teacher approved of each investigative project the speaker because the crowd was cheering
in the exhibit. so loud.

Passive Voice May

The event was immediately reported by the You (would, may, might) leave the table once
newspapers. you have finished your meal and politely
excuse yourself.
Passive Voice
Many books were returned to the library by many Should
people last night. Terry and Frank said they would come over
right after work, so (can, should, will) be here
Passive Voice by 6:00.
My money has been taken by someone from my
wallet. Can
The machine (will, shall, can) be opened by
Passive Voice turning on the red switch.
The bill has to be paid before the first of month.
Must Not
Passive Voice You (must not, will not, might not) forget to pay
He is being held by the police for further the rent tomorrow. The landlord is very strict
questioning. about paying on time.

Passive Voice
The art exhibit was seen by our whole family.

Passive Voice
A review of the play had been read by us
before we watched it.