Glossary of Theatrical Terms | H-O

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!

Half

Half hour call. Warning to the company given thirty-five minutes before performance (thirty minutes before beginners).

Half Price

Custom originating in the 18th century of admitting privileged patrons free of charge after the third act of the play.

Hall Keeper

Staff person who works at the Stage Door taking messages and deliveries. Also Stage Door Keeper, Stage Door Man.

Hand Prop

Any prop handled by an actor.

Hanging

Attaching flying pieces to the appropriate bars.

Hard Edged

A light beam on stage that has a clearly defined edge or side. Opposite to Soft Edged.

Harmonics

The separate tones that are multiples of the original sound frequency.

Harmony

Range of 1000 watt lanterns by Strand Electric.

Harness

The metal strip running over the top of a lantern to which the G-Clamp is attached. Also Fork, Yoke.

Head Electrician

The permanent staff member in a theatre who runs the electrics department.

Headroom

The difference between an audio system's normal operating level, and its peak capacity.

Hemp

Rope used for flying systems.

Hemp House

A theatre where the flying is done by brute force and not counterweighted.

Hertz

(Abbreviation Hz) The unit of measure of frequency. One Hertz is equal to one cycle in one second. (Hertz - German physicist 1857-1894).

Highs

See Top End.

Hiss

Background noise on an audio system or tape unit at a high frequency.

HMI

A type of non-dimmable high intensity metal halide discharge lamp used in followspots and other lanterns that require a high light output.

Hook Clamp

See Clamp.

Hot Leading

To check lanterns, lamps, and cables during rigging. An extension lead plugged to a known power source is connected to one lantern after another to ensure the lantern is operating correctly before it is are connected to the lighting patch system.

Hot Spot

An area on the stage on which the lighting is unintentionally more intense than the other areas.

House

1. The audience.
2. The auditorium.

House Curtain

The main front curtain in a proscenium theatre.

House Keeper

Supervisor of the theatre's cleaning staff.

House Manager

See Front of House Manager.

House Lights

The decorative fixtures that light the auditorium whilst the audience is entering or leaving, usually they are dimmed or switched off during the performance.

Howl Round

See Feedback.

H-Stand

A small “H’ shaped frame used to stand a lantern on the floor.

Hum

Background noise caused by mains voltage interference.

Hyper-Cardioid

A very directional type of microphone.

IDM

World's first memory lighting control console, built by Strand Electric in the 1960's.

Impedance The measure of resistance to alternating current in an electrical circuit. Measured in “ohms’. An important characteristic in many audio components such as speakers and microphones.

In

Flying term for bringing down.

Incandescent Lamp

The typical light bulb. The light results from the bright glowing of a thin thread of metal (the filament) when a electrical current is passed through it.

Inductive Ballast

See Ballast.

Inhibit

Some lighting desks allow for the control of one or a group of channels to be overridden via a separate control circuit.

Inner Stage

A part of the acting area which can be masked off and revealed only during certain scenes.

Intensity

The brightness of a light.

Instrument

See Lantern.

Interior

A scene set indoors.

Inverse Square

A mathematical equation incorporating the distance from a lantern to an object, and the intensity of the light at its source, thereby giving a measure of light intensity at the object.

Iris

An adjustable circular diaphragm to alter beam size in a profile spot. Made up of a set of interleafing plates. When rotated the small hole formed by the plates opens or closes. Also Diaphragm.

Irish Acting

Acting term coined earlier this century to describe a lack of gestures but confident delivery of lines.

Iron

Slang for Fire Curtain.

Irony

Contained in much theatre. When a word or action implies or conveys the opposite meaning to that we expect.

Isora

A plastic cyclorama, lit from behind. The image painted on the isora can thus be seen in silhouette from the front.

Jack Field

Patching system often used in sound systems to allow more flexible connection of the various components.

Jands Electronics

Australian manufacturer of audio and lighting equipment including sound and lighting control desks.

JTM

A dimmer made by Strand Electric, originally designed in the 40's or 50's, and widely used throughout the world.

Juice

Short for Fog Juice. See Smoke Machine.

Kabuki

Traditional form of Japanese theatre still practised today by a select group of male actors in Japan.

Kabuki Rod

A long timber or metal rod with small spikes along its edge that fit into the eyelets across the top of a scenic cloth. By rotating the rod the cloth falls off the spikes. This can be used to great dramatic effect.

Key Lighting

The primary lighting for an area, or person.

Kill

1. To turn off lanterns or sound effects.
2. To remove something from the set, such as a prop.

Ladder

A non-climbable frame used to hang lanterns from.

Lamp

The light source within a lantern, but also used to refer to the complete unit. Also Bulb, Globe, Envelope, Bubble.

Lamp Base

The fitting within a lantern into which the lamp fits. Usually made of a ceramic material.

Lamp Check

The visual systematic checking of each lantern before each performance in case any lamps require replacement.

Lamp Focus

Knob on a lantern to adjust the alignment of the lamp to the reflector.

Lantern

One of the many words for a theatre light. Also Luminaire, Instrument, Light, Fitting, Lamp.

Lash

To secure abutting flats with rope. The rope is known as both a Lash Line and a Throw Line.

Lash Line

See Lash.

Lavalier Microphone

A small microphone that can be clipped or attached to a performer's clothing. Sometimes called a pin microphone - particularly the very small models that are now available that are virtually invisible to the audience when hidden, for instance, in the performer's hair.

Leak

1. Light that is unintentionally emitted from holes around the lantern.
2. Voltage from a badly adjusted dimmer that causes lanterns to be on when they should be off.

LED

See Light Emitting Diode.

Legit

Short for Legitimate - a play with no music. Originates from the Letters Patent issued by Charles II in 1662 giving two men a monopoly over the performance of all plays in the City of Westminster - the legal theatres became known as Patent Theatres. Some clever entrepreneurs got around this decree by deciding musicals were not plays and staged them defiantly. So musicals became illegitimate, and plays legitimate.

Legitimate Actor

An actor trained for legit theatre.

Legs

Vertical strips of fabric, usually black, used mainly for masking the sides of the stage.

Levels

Rostra and ramps above the main stage.

Leko

An American brand of profile spot, now can mean any profile spotlight. Named after Ed Kook - founder of Century Lighting in the USA - and his partner Levey, who developed the compact ellipsoid spotlight.

Libretto

The part of a musical score containing the sung and spoken words.

Lift

To add life to a line or scene.

Light Board

Richard Pilbrow - inspired memory lighting control desk, originally for London's National Theatre.

Light Emitting Diode

A small light often used as an indicator light in electronic equipment.

Lighting Design

The drawn plan detailing what lanterns will be used where, in what way, with what colour, and on which dimmer.

Lighting Designer

The person responsible for deciding in conjunction with other members of the production team, and executing, the Lighting design.

Lighting Rehearsal

See Plotting.

Limes

Jargon for followspots and their operators. See Lime Light.

Lime Light

The lime or calcium light was developed in the early 19th century and was popular for its intense white light. In the early days it was often used for “realistic’ beams of sun or moon light. Invention is attributed to a Lieutenant in the English Royal Engineers, Thomas Drummond. It used a block of quicklime heated by an oxygen and hydrogen flame to provide an intense point source of light for use in a hand operated or followspot. Lime Light was also used as a light source for early film projectors.

Limiter

An audio device that fixes a top audio signal level and stops incursions above that level without affecting the dynamic range of the signal below the threshold decided.

Line Level

Audio level standard, pre-amplified from microphone level. Usually common to much electronic audio equipment such as tape units and effects units.

Lines

Set Down Lines committed to memory.

Linnebacher Projector

A lantern used for projecting a picture from a gel or glass slide onto the set. Often used to give a shadow effect.

Listen In

An actor must “listen in’ to the others on stage to gather the nuances of the language and action. It is too easy for an actor to reply automatically without considering the import of what they are saying.

Live Store

See Blind Operation.

Load In/Out

See Bump-In/Out.

Lock

The knob on the side of a lantern which tightens onto the harness to stop the lantern tilting.

Lose

To turn off lighting or sound.

Loudspeaker

See Speaker.

Luminaire

See Lantern.

LX

Abbreviation for Lighting.

Macbeth

The play that it is unlucky to speak the name of, or to quote from, in a theatre. Instead it is known as by euphemisms such as “The Scottish Play’ or “The Unmentionable’. This tradition dates from the first opening night of the play in 1606 when the boy actor playing Lady Macbeth died backstage during the show. Since then the play has apparently been dogged by bad luck.

Mahl-Stick

A rod padded at one end used to steady the hand whilst painting detail onto scenery.

Marking

1. Indicating the position of scenery or props on the stage floor, usually with different colour tapes to avoid confusion. Also Spiking.
2. In singing, a means of using the voice with reduced volume and without vocalising extremes of register.

Marking Out

The process of marking the position of scenery and props with coloured tape on the rehearsal room floor.

Maroon

A pyrotechnic producing a very loud explosion.

Mask

v. Verb - To hide or conceal unwanted areas or machinery. v. One actor obscuring another unintentionally. n. A mould or prop used to conceal an actor's face.

MD

See Musical Director.

Musical Director

(Abbreviation MD) The person in charge of the musical content of a show.

Mechanist

Crew person responsible for the operation of stage machinery and other related tasks.

Memory Desk

See Computerized Lighting Desk. Also Memory Board.

Method Acting

A style of teaching acting formulated by Stanislavsky.

MIDI

See Musical Instrument Digital Interface.

Mids

The frequencies at the middle of the audible audio frequency spectrum.

Mimic

On some semi-computerised lighting desks that do not use a TV monitor to display channel information, a row of LEDs is used, one for each channel. When a channel is faded up the corresponding LED lights to show that that channel is active.

Mirror Ball

A polystyrene ball covered with small mirrors usually rotated by a small motor and used as a lighting effect. Had its foundation in the 70's disco revolution.

Mix Down

See Multi-Track.

Mixer

1. Sound control desk, used to mix and adjust levels of sounds from various sources.
2. The operator of the sound control desk.

MMS

See Modular Memory System.

Modular Memory System

(Abbreviation MMS) Strand lighting control desk made in the 1970's.

Monitor

See Foldback.

Mugging It

Playing Out Front too much.

Multi-Pin

A cabling and connector system for lighting. Instead of running single power cables to each lantern, one cable containing a number of cores is run to groups of lights. This greatly simplifies the rigging process.

Multiple Setting

When several locations are represented on the stage at the same time.

Multiplexer

A unit that converts analog signals to digital and vice versa. Pronounced M-U-X.

Multi-Track

An audio tape which holds more than one track of audio information. Up to 48 track systems are in common use, with larger models now appearing. Allows the various components in a sound production .i.e. the different instruments, to be recorded separately and mixed together later, and if necessary mixed again and again until the desired result is achieved, all the while not affecting the original recording. This mixing is known as mix down - that is mixing from a large number of tracks to typically two for stereo sound.

Musical Instrument Digital Interface

(Abbreviation MIDI) A common standard communication protocol that allows different brands of electronic musical instruments and equipment to “talk’ to, and control, each other.

Neutral Density Filter

A colour filter that does not alter the colour characteristics of the light beam, but reduces the intensity by a set amount. Also Stop Filter.

Noh Theatre

Traditional form of Japanese drama.

Noise

Any unwanted sound.

Noise Gate

An audio device which does not allow an audio signal to pass until the input signal reaches a certain level. Useful for rejecting background noise in a high volume environment.

Notes

Similar to a Post Mortem, but particularly where the director gives notes to the cast and crew after a show about the good and bad points of the show.

Objective

The end towards which a character urgently strives.

Offstage

Backstage area outside the performance area.

Ohms

Unit of measure of electrical resistance in a circuit. See Impedance. (Ohm - German physicist 1787-1854).

Omni-Directional

A microphone equally sensitive to sound source from all angles.

One Play Actors

Actors who, for various reasons, have become associated with a single part. An actor in this position may be known as over-exposed.

One Play Authors

One hit wonders, or authors who are remembered only for one work.

Onion At The End

Old English music hall term, the moment or action that makes the audience cry at the end of the show.

Onstage

1. Inside the acting area.
2. Towards the centre line.

OP

See Opposite Prompt.

Open

To turn or face more towards the audience.

Open Circuit

An electrical circuit that has been broken or interrupted and so cannot pass a current or signal.

Open White

A lantern that does not contain a colour filter is said to be in “Open White’.

Opposite Prompt

(Abbreviation OP) The right hand side of the stage as viewed by the cast. Also Stage Right, Camera Left.

Optical Soundtrack

Most films have the audio information encoded in a thin strip down the side of the film print. The strip is picked up by a photoelectric eye that translates the fluctuations of light into sound.

Orchestra

1. The musicians who provide the musical backing to a show.
2. The ground floor seating in an auditorium. Also Stalls.

Orchestra Pit

The sunken area in front of the stage where the orchestra play during a performance. Also the Pit.

Out

Flying term for up. In is down - which prevents confusion with Up and Down Stage.

Out Front

1. The audience.
2. Towards the audience.
3. See Front of House.

Over-Exposed

See One Play Actors.

Overture

The music which begins a performance.