What is a drop in theatre?

DROPS - Large, unframed material suspended from a batten and usually weighted by a batten or chain at the bottom, painted or plain.

What is a scrim in theatre?

A scrim is a woven material, either finely woven lightweight fabric widely used in theatre, or a heavy, coarse woven material used for reinforcement in both building and canvasmaking.

What does Spike mean in theatre?

In stagecraft, a spike is a marking, usually made with a piece of tape (although some theatres use paint pens), put on or around the stage.

What is the backdrop of a stage called?

4. Backdrop curtains. Also called cyclorama curtains (or cyc for short), backdrops hang vertically at the back of the stage and are usually alongside projection or lighting effects or incorporate artwork and designs used to help support the performance and create pleasing visual effects.

What are the 4 types of theatre spaces?

Theatre performance spaces fall into four categories: proscenium theatres, thrust theatres, arena theatres, and found spaces. This section will introduce you to the common parts of each theatre and the relative benefits of each type.

Physics of Theater Drops

What is the meaning of back drop?

Definition of backdrop

1 : a painted cloth hung across the rear of a stage. 2 : background.

What is a fly rail in theatre?

Definition of fly rail

1 : a bracket that turns out to support the hinged leaf of a table. 2 : a railing above the fly gallery of a theatrical stage bearing cleats or pins by which ropes may be made fast.

What does Portal mean in theatre?

The Theatre Portal

Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage.

What's thrust stage?

A thrust stage involves the use of lighting that extends beyond a protagonist stage so that the audience can view the stage further into the theatre. A forest terrace extends into the auditorium in order to give it more scope.

What is a trapdoor in theatre?

trap, in theatre, a concealed opening, usually in the stage floor, through which actors, props, and scenery can be brought on and off stage.

What is a flat in theater?

A flat is a lightweight timber frame covered with scenic canvas, or plywood. Flats are used to provide a lightweight and easy to move and re-configure backdrop to a stage set. Flats sometimes have windows or doors built into them to provide extra flexibility, for use in realistic settings.

What do actors call the stage?

The Stage. The Fourth Wall: An invisible dividing “wall” between the stage and audience. Actors will sometimes “break the fourth wall” and interact with or speak directly to the audience. Proscenium: The most traditional stage set-up.

What is the start before a play called?

Cue to Cue run-through: A rehearsal of the play, usually done during Dry Tech, where you start at the beginning of the play, miss out long bits of dialogue where essentially nothing technical happens (eg no cues) and then skip forward to where something does happen, be it a lighting cue, sound cue, an actors entrance, ...

What is the first showing of a play called?

exposition - beginning of the play which explains the who, what and where of the plot. extra - castmember who serves as background for action. Usually used in television or films. eye contact - a performer looking out at the audience directly from time to time.

What is a box boom?

Box Boom. Originally a vertical pipe in a seating box used for stage lights, but now used to indicate any side lighting position.

What is the difference between tabs and legs?

Tabs, also known as up-and-downers (UK) or Germans, are drapes hung perpendicular to the proscenium and at the sides, used to more completely mask the wings than legs. Unlike most stage drapery, these run up to downstage (hence "up-and-downer").

What is a green room in theatre?

"The Green of the green room refers to youth. The green room was where understudies to major players would wait for their chance to appear on stage. They were the 'green' or immature actors." From TheatreCrafts.com. "It was where the shrubbery used on stage was stored, and the plants made it a cool comfortable place."

What does fly floor mean?

Definitions of fly floor. a narrow raised platform at the side of a stage in a theater; stagehands can work the ropes controlling equipment in the flies. synonyms: fly gallery.

What is an example of backdrop?

An example of backdrop is a mural of mountains in the back of a stage. An example of backdrop is the White House serving as the location for an important meeting about world peace. A decorated cloth hung at the back of a stage. The setting or background of a historical event.

What is a musical backdrop?

A backdrop is the scenery that hangs behind the actors in a play. You might help to paint the backdrop for your school's production of "The Sound of Music." The backdrop is an important part of a theater production, since it provides a setting for a play or sets a mood for a musical performance.

What is the difference between a backdrop and a background?

A backdrop is literally "a painted cloth hung at the back of a theater stage as part of the scenery", whereas "background" is much more general of "anything that goes behind" including temporally as well as physically.

Why are drama rooms black?

Black box theatres are generally painted black which points the focus on the performance. Since these productions are done with limited props, the dark room helps to give the aura of anyplace. It's easy to transport the audience somewhere else even with the limited use of effects.

What are the three main types of theatre spaces?

What are the 4 types of staging?