Glossary of Theatrical Terms | C-D

This is a glossary of theatrical, technical, lighting, video and audio terms you may hear at the Rose Theatre. And don't let the length of this list intimidate you. It is as much for us as it is for you!

Cadenza

Range of 2000 watt lanterns by Strand Electric. Cadenza is a good choice for a lantern name - a cadenza is also an elaborate showy passage for a singer near the end of an aria, or for a musician near the end of a concerto.

Call

1. A notification of a working session e.g. rehearsal call.
2. A request for an actor to come to the stage as his entrance is imminent, formerly by call boy, now by loudspeaker system in the dressing rooms.
3. An acknowledgment of applause .e.g. Curtain Call.

CAEA

Canadian Actors' Equity Association is the professional association of performers, directors, choreographers, fight directors and stage managers in English Canada who are engaged in live performance in theatre, opera and dance. Go to Web Site.

Camera Left

The right hand side of the stage as viewed by the cast facing the audience. Also Stage Right, Opposite Prompt.

Camera Right

The left hand side of the stage as viewed by the cast facing the audience. Also Stage Left, Prompt Side.

Cannon XLR

Industry standard cable connector system.

Cans

See Talkback.

Cardioid

A type of directional microphone that is more sensitive to sound from one direction, and rejects unwanted noise from the sides.

Carousel

Jargon - originally denoted a Kodak 35mm slide projector with horizontally rotating circular slide magazine, but now applies to other manufacturers' projectors.

Casuals

Part time temporary staff.

Catwalk

See Bridge.

CCT

English manufacturer of theatrical lanterns. CCT were first to develop profile spots with a variable zoom beam angle.

CCTV

Closed Circuit Television.

Centre Line

An imaginary line running from the front to the back of the stage through the exact centre of the proscenium arch.

Centre Stage

(Abbreviation CS) The middle of the acting area.

Chain Motor

A motorised winch that uses metal chain to lift heavy objects. Widespread usage in the concert production industry to fly speakers and lighting equipment above a stage.

Chains

1. See Trim Chains.
2. Sometimes used to weight the bottom of drapes and gauzes.

Channel

A sound or light control circuit. Also Circuit.

Charonian Steps

Steps used in ancient Greek theatre by actors to emerge from below stage to symbolise their appearance from the underworld.

Chase

A repeated sequence of changing lighting states.

Check

Decrease in lighting intensity.

Chookas

Traditional good luck greeting between cast and crew before a performance. Also Break A Leg, Fall Down Backward.

Choreographer

Designs and creates the dance elements and arrangements for a show.

Chorus

Set of performers who speak, sing and/or dance as a group rather than individually.

Chromatic Aberrations

Rings of colour visible around the main circle of light, produced by inferior quality lenses or incorrect focus adjustment.

Cinemoid

A brand of colour filter, produced by Strand Electric.

Circuit

1. A complete path from the electrical supply to the lamp. When such a path includes a dimmer, it should be called a channel, but the word “circuit” is often used loosely to include channel.
2. A series of theatres regularly visited by touring companies.

Circuit Breaker

A type of electrical fuse, which does not use a replaceable piece of fuse wire. Can be reset simply by operating a switch.

Clamp

“G” or “C” clamps are normally attached to lanterns and are used to fasten them to the lighting bars or battens.

Claquers

People paid to lead the audience in applause. Sometimes known as cheerleaders or friends in front. (from French claquer = clap)

Clear

A lamp with a transparent envelope.

Cleat

1. Fitting on flats to which throw lines are secured.
2. See Grudgeon.

Clipping

Overloading a piece of audio equipment by feeding in a signal too great for the unit to handle, thereby leading to distortion.

Cloth

Area of scenic canvas hanging vertically.

Cod

To overstate, play up for all its worth.

Colour Boomerang

A type of colour changer on a followspot.

Colour Cut/Call

A listing of the colour filters required in each lighting instrument.

Colour Filter

The translucent filter material place in front of lanterns to create a coloured illumination. Colour filters can be made of glass or gelatine, hence Gel, but today are usually made from a synthetic plastic material. Also Gel, Medium, Media.

Colour Frame

Holder for the colour medium or filter which slots into a set of guides in front of a lantern.

Colour Wheel

A wheel attached to the front of a spot light with openings for different colour filters. It is used for making colour changes and can be motor driven or manually operated.

Colour Changer

Mechanical device, usually manually operated, used to insert colour gels in front of a lantern. Often used on followspots.

Come Down

When the show “comes down”, the performance is finished.

Compact Disk

Digital sound playback system, now in most homes. There is now a recording system that allows one time recordings to be made as well.

Company Manager

In charge of the overall welfare of all technical and acting staff, including paying wages, organising accommodation, and liaising with the venue.

Complication

A twist introduced into a play which heightens tension and prolongs the climax of the story.

Compressor

An audio unit that reduces the dynamic range of an audio signal, often used as a protective or control device for audio systems.

Computerized Lighting Desk

A lighting control system entirely operated via a built in computer system. Instead of the “one channel one fader” principal of a manual desk, channels are controlled using key pads and other data entry buttons and faders. Some desks are extremely sophisticated and able to run the performance with only minimal human operation, including interfacing to, and controlling such things as hydraulic and mechanical stage systems. Also Memory Desk.

Concert Pitch

The common tuning standard for musical instruments, agreed in 1960, where the note A = 440 Hz (or vibrations per second).

Condenser Microphone

A particularly sensitive type of microphone where the audio signal is generated through the change in capacitance between two very small metal plates. Requires a supply voltage to operate.

Conflict

The struggle between two or more actors leading to a climax.

Control Room

See Bio-Box.

Corner Plate

Triangle of plywood used to reinforce the corners of flats.

Corpse

To laugh uncontrollably on stage.

Counterweight System

Counterweight House - a theatre that uses counterweights. A system of suspending scenery above a stage which enables it to be raised or lowered easily. The scenes are attached to a bar, which in turn is suspended by steel cable that runs to the grid, and then down the side wall and to the weight cradle. The cradle runs along tracks bolted to the wall. For every kilo on the bar, a weight is placed in the cradle, so balancing the system. Once balanced most items can be flown i.e. moved up or down, without much physical effort.

Counterweights

Weights which are placed in the weight cradle of a flying system to counterbalance the weight of the scenery to be flown.

Cover

A term used particularly in opera for a stand-by or understudy actor.

Crash Box

Box used for creating sound effects.

Cressets

Lengths of rope dipped in pitch and lit in small open cages and used as stage lighting in the 17th century. (From Latin “Crassus” = fat or grease)

Crew

Loose term covering all those who work on a show backstage.

Cross

The movement of an actor across the stage in any direction.

Crossfade

Lighting or sound change where some of the channels increase while others decrease.

Crossover

1. The device on a sound system that routes the sound of the correct pitch to the correct part of the loudspeaker.
2. The space behind the stage setting or below the stage through which actors can get from one side of the stage to the other out of view of the audience.

Crossover Frequency

The audio frequency at which a crossover operates.

Crosstalk

Electrical leaking between audio channels.

CSI (Compact Source Iodine)

A type of high intensity discharge lamp, cannot be dimmed electrically.

Cue

The signal that initiates a change of any kind during a performance.

Cued script

A cut down version of the full script, prepared especially for a particular actor, showing only that actor's speeches with a few lines either side for cues. Usually on a smaller paper size such as quarto so it can be kept easily in a bag or pocket.

Cue

Light Box with 2 or more lights, usually red and green, to warn an actor or technician to go to stand-by and then do whatever is required. Ensures greater precision when visibility or audibility is limited.

Cue Sheet

A list showing the cues in correct order as they are to be carried out.

Cue Synopsis

A list of proposed lighting cues drawn up prior to plotting, giving a description of what lights should change when in the performance. An excellent tool to speed up the plotting process, instead of trying to start from scratch in the theatre.

Cue-to-Cue

A technical rehearsal specifically for the technical crew to work fully through the cues, often by skipping parts of the script. Also Top And Tail Rehearsal.

Curtain

1. The drapery which hides the stage from the audience. See House Curtain.
2. The action of the House Curtain coming down at the end of an Act or the play.
3. The last piece of action on the stage before the House Curtain comes down.

Curtain Down

See Come Down.

Curtain Line

1. The final line of a scene or act which gives the cue for the curtain to come down. In a tradition dating from Elizabethan times it is considered unlucky to speak the curtain line in rehearsal.
2. The imaginary line across the stage where the curtain falls.

Curtain Raiser

Similar to the after piece, developed in France in the late 18th century as a short play to bridge the gap between the beginning of the performance and the arrival of late audience members. Generally the curtain raiser had nothing to do with the main performance.

Curtain Speech

Address to the audience by an actor, without the persona of the character the actor is supposed to be portraying.

Curtain Time

See Curtain Up.

Curtain Up

The beginning of the show. Also Curtain Time.

Cut And Run

Term used towards the end of the 18th century when actors cut their lines and left the stage, for one reason or another.

Cut Cloth

Vertical scenic piece cut to reveal more scenery behind it.

Cut Off

Angle Light beam angle at which the light striking the subject is 1% of that emitted.

Cut-Out Flat

A shaped flat in plywood or hardboard.

Cyclorama

A perfectly plain screen with a uniform surface extending around and above the stage to give a feeling of infinite space. It can also be used for the projection of designs and shadows. In English repertory theatres it was traditionally made of concrete and thus the back wall of the stage. Also Sky Cloth. (From Greek “Kuklos” = circle and “Horama” = view).

Dark

A theatre which is temporarily or permanently closed to the public.

Day Man

Permanent full time member of the technical staff .e.g. Electrics Dayman.

DBO

See Dead Black Out.

DC

See Direct Current.

DDM

Early Strand Electric memory lighting control console, released in early 1970's.

Dead

1. The plotted height of a piece of suspended scenery or masking.
2. Props or pieces of set which are no longer required.

Dead Black Out

(Abbreviation DBO) A total extinguishing of all light on stage.

Dead Lines

Suspension lines which are fixed and not able to be raised or lowered via the normal pulley system.

Deckle

Really any Gobo, but more now commonly a Gobo with a random pattern of holes, often used to produce a dappled or softened light on stage. Also Breakup.

Decibel (db)

Unit of measure of the volume of sound.

Delay Unit

See Digital Delay.

De-multiplexer

A unit that translates digital signals into analogue. The term is pronounced D-M-U-X.

Denouement

The process during which all tensions and conflicts generated in the performance are resolved.(From the French = unknotting, the unravelling of plot or complications in a story.)

Deputy Stage Manager

(Abbreviation DSM) On larger shows a Deputy Stage Manager is employed to lighten the load on the Stage Manager. This can include running some rehearsals, and calling cues from the Prompt Book during the performance.

Designer

Responsible for the conception and supervision of the execution of the visual aspects of the production. Separate designers may be employed for scenery, costumes, lighting etc.

Desk

See Board.

Deus ex machina

The event or person that saves a situation in the nick of time. (from Latin = god from the machinery - a device by which gods were suspended above the stage in ancient theatre).

DI

A “direct inject” box used to feed the output of an electronic instrument e.g. a guitar or synthesiser straight to the audio system.

Dialogue

The lines or words spoken by the cast in a show.

Diaphragm

See Iris.

Diffusion Filter

Used like a gel but to soften and spread the beam of light rather than to colour it. Also Frost.

Digital (Audio)

The system used to convert an normal analog sound into digital numbers that can be transmitted, then converted back into sound. The system used in compact audio disks.

Digital (Lighting)

The system used to convert the many outputs of a lighting desk into a single signal that can be transmitted over a small cable to the dimmer racks, thus saving an enormous weight and amount of lighting control cable.

Digital Audio Tape

(Abbreviation DAT) Digital sound recording and playback system that uses a tape similar in shape to the standard audio cassette.

Digital Delay

Solid state echo unit, allows the controlled generation of repeats of the selected sound.

Dimmer

Electrical device which controls the amount of electricity passed to a lamp and therefore the intensity of the light. Dimmers are normally numbered sequentially, and the numbers shown on the Lighting Design in next to the relevant lanterns. The dimmer is controlled from the Lighting Desk via a low voltage control signal.

Dimmer Rack

A set of dimmers in a single case.

Diorama

A spectacular 3 dimensional effect was created by a specially painted cloth and carefully focussed lighting. Invented by Louis Daguerre in Paris 1822, the man who is also credited with inventing photography. (From Greek, “Dia” = through, and “Horama” = view).

Dipless Crossfade

A cross fade where lighting already up in the first state, and which appears in the new state, does not visibly alter.

Dips

1. Small flaps in the stage floor giving access to electrical sockets and other connections. Also Floor Pockets.
2. A special lacquer into which globes can be dipped to produce different colours.

Direct Current

(Abbreviation DC) Opposite to Alternating Current, the electrical power flows in one direction only. Batteries supply Direct Current.

Director

Has the ultimate responsibility for the interpretation of the script through his control of the actors and supporting production team.

Discharge Lamps

A lamp which produces light by the arcing of electricity between two electrodes, the process occurring in a gas filled glass envelope - the lamp. See Arc.

Discovered At Rise

Actors present on stage when the curtain rises or the lights come up.

Distribution Board

The electrical panel where incoming mains power is split into individual circuits, via circuit breakers, for distribution through a building.

Diversity Receiver

A radio microphone receiver that, in order to yield greater reliability and improved audio quality, contains two separate receiver sections each with its own aerial, and tuned to the transmitter frequency. The unit automatically selects the strongest signal and thus can avoid signal dropouts.

DMUX

See De-Multiplexer.

DMX 512

A digital lighting data protocol standard widely used around the world.

Dock

Area at the rear or side of the stage where scenery is stored when not in use or where materials are loaded to and from the trucks or vehicles. Also Scene Dock.

Dolby Noise Reduction

A patented, now industry standard, electronic system to reduce noise on audio recordings.

Dolly

1. A small trolley or truck used to move set or props.
2. As for 1) but on which a film camera is mounted to allow action to be filmed while the camera is moving.

Dome

See Follow Spot. (Known as a Dome because often that was where the lantern and its operator were situated, in the dome in the auditorium).

Double Handling

Moving scenery or equipment more than necessary because it was not correctly positioned in the first place.

Double Purchase

Counterweight flying system where the cradle travels half the distance of the fly bar's travel and therefore leaves the side wall of the stage under the Fly Floor clear of flying equipment.

Downstage

(Abbreviation DS) The part of the stage closest to the audience.

Dowser

Metal plate in a non-dimmable followspot that the operator swings up to cut off the light output to produce a blackout.

Draw Line

Operating cord of a set of traversing curtains.

Dress

See Dress Rehearsal.

Dress Parade

Prior to the first stage dress rehearsal the actors put on each of their costumes in sequence so that the director and designer can check the state of preparedness of the wardrobe.

Dress Rehearsal

Also known simply as the “dress”, the final rehearsal before the performance. The actors are in costume and all technical problems should have been sorted out.

Dresser

Crew member who assists actors with costume care and costume changing during the performance.

Drift

The length of the suspension wire between the counterweight bar and the top of the piece to be flown.

Dry

When cast members forget their lines and cannot continue they have “dried”.

Dry Ice

Frozen blocks or pellets of carbon dioxide - when placed in hot water melt to produce a mist which, because it is heavier then air, will hang close to the floor.

DSM

See Deputy Stage Manager.

Duet

Popular, easy to use, micro-processor controlled Strand lighting desk, released in the late 1970's.

Dumb show

The precursor to the speechless character of Harlequin. The dumb show was a feature of English Tudor era pageantry.

Dutchman

Material used to smooth the gap between abutting flats

Dynamic Microphone

Type of microphone - and the simplest. Can be likened to a loudspeaker in that dynamic microphones operate principally in reverse. The sound pressure entering the microphone moves a diaphragm, which causes electrical energy to be produced. Very popular for its robustness and reliability under physical extremes.

Dynamic Range

The range of an audio signal from its lowest to highest level.