NYCPlaywrights August 15, 2026
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Aug 15, 2026, 5:03:43 PM (3 days ago) Aug 15
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*** FREE THEATER IN NYC ***
Today, Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani and the Theatre Development Fund (TDF) announced that New York City high school students will have the opportunity to receive thousands of free and low-cost tickets to Broadway and Off-Broadway shows through the end of summer and into the fall.
Starting today, high school students can enter a lottery to receive free tickets to one of seven marquee Broadway shows: Buena Vista Social Club; In the Heights (New York City Center); School Girls Or, The African Mean Girls Play; Stranger Things: The First Shadow; The Lost Boys; The Great Gatsby and Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York).
Shangri-La-La is a funny and unconventional new musical inspired by the true story of Siegfried & Roy and the transformation of Las Vegas into a spectacle-driven family destination. Blending original music, magic, comedy, and a boldly theatrical visual world, the show explores the ambition, delusion, and excess behind that cultural reinvention. Beneath the sequins and absurdity lies a distinctly American story about illusion, image-making, and the business of manufacturing fantasy.
***
The theatre truly has its own vocabulary. But you can’t rely on Merriam-Webster to define show business colloquialisms—or let you know where they came from. Playbill put together this list of crucial terms to help you better navigate the world of the stage and theatre history.
While the list is not intended to be comprehensive, it will give you a start as to the meaning and origins of theatre staples. Why do we say “merde” to wish luck to dancers? Why is staging a show called “blocking”? The answers to these and more below:
Break a Leg
“It’s bad luck to say good luck on opening night,” of course, but how did we land on “break a leg”? There are a few explanations. In Ancient Greece, audiences didn’t clap at performances, they stomped. The more they stomped, the more chance there was of breaking a leg; this tradition reappeared in Elizabethan England when audiences would stomp their chairs and, again, more stomping would break the leg of the chair. Wishing someone “break a leg” is wishing for thunderous applause.
Merde
Theatre performers opt for “break a leg,” but dancers commonly wish each other “merde,” which directly translates to “shit” in French. The origin of this tradition traces back to 19th-century Paris when attendees of the Paris Opera Ballet would pull up to the famed Palais Garnier in horse-drawn carriages. The more audience members the more carriages, the more horses, the more... merde.
Toi, Toi, Toi … In Bocca al Lupo … Chookas
Around the world, there are yet more phrases to substitute for well wishes. “Toi, toi, toi” in Germany emanates from the German/Yiddish history of spitting to ward off evil spirits and bad luck. “In bocca al lupo” means “in the wolf’s mouth” and the correct response is “crepi il lupo,” which means “may the wolf die”—warding off a bad omen. Australians say “chookas,” which is believed to be a permutation of “chook” or chicken. In the old days, chicken was considered a delicacy; by saying “chookas” you are hoping the performance will go well and make money so that the performer can afford a gourmet meal.
More...
https://playbill.com/article/32-theatre-terms-everyone-should-know
***
ANTI RAKE
The act of modifying furniture, props or scenery by shortening the upstage legs etc. so that they can stand level on a raked stage. Known as COUNTER RAKE in the US. See also Raked Stage.
ANTIQUARIANISM
A movement which insisted on historically-accurate scenery and props on stage. The more stylized sliding wing flats were replaced by more detailed box sets including architectural features, props and furniture appropriate to the time period in whcih the show was taking place. Antiquarianism moved into theatres in the late eighteenth century in Europe.
APPLE BOX
A small strong wooden box used as a temporary step or to lift an item (or actor) up to make it visible. Named after the standard-sized fruit packing crate. Used in the motion picture industry.
ARENA
Form of stage where the audience are seated on at least two (normally three, or all four) sides of the whole acting area.
See END ON, THRUST, IN THE ROUND.
ARIA
A solo performance in an opera used to highlight the emotional state of the main character(s).
ARTIC
Short for Articulated Lorry. Lorries of 40 feet length (or more) are used to transport sets, costume, props and sound & lighting equipment from venue to venue. A number of companies specialise in moving theatrical and musical tours around the country / world.
Known in the USA as a SEMI (short for Semi-Trailer, where a trailer box with a rear axle only is pulled by a tractor unit).
ARTIST
A member of the creative staff on a production, project or event.
ASIDE
Lines spoken by an actor to the audience and not supposed to be overheard by other characters on-stage.
ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGER
Usually shortened to ASM, the assistant stage manager is the most junior member of the Stage Management team, and is often in charge of sourcing and running Properties during the run of a show. They are also a member of the stage 'crew'.
The ASM is reponsible for setting props used during the show, as well as carrying out a pre-show check list to ensure all props are in the correct place and that all furniture used on stage is correctly placed for the start of the show.
An ASM may also have a small acting role in some performances (they are then known as an Acting ASM).
AT RISE
(US) Stage direction at the start of a play text which describes the stage appearance / layout when the curtain rises (which is where the term comes from), who is on stage, and what they're doing.
More...
https://theatrecrafts.com/results.php
***
EPIC THEATRE
A form of theatre developed in the early to mid-20th century in Germany as a response to the political climate. This type of theatre was meant to instruct the audience and to encourage them to consider socio-political issues and is often characterized by actors directly addressing the audience.
This form is associated with the playwright and director Bertolt Brecht.
EXPRESSIONISM
A style of playwriting and stage presentation that stresses the emotional content of the play.
Expressionism is often characterized by:
Emphasis on the reactions and feelings of the characters
Heavy symbolism
Abstract sets and costumes
Speeding up or slowing down of the action
FORUM THEATRE
A form of theatre that encourages audience interaction and participation as a way to explore different options for dealing with an issue, often related to a form of oppression.
IMMERSIVE THEATRE
A form of theatre where, instead of sitting in traditional seating separating them from the performance, the audience becomes part of the performance.
Immersive Theatre is characterized by:
Emphasis and interactive space and design
Tangible environments
Personal, individual audience experiences
IMPROVISATION
A form of theatre that is spontaneous, where there is no script and performers do not memorize or prepare the performance ahead of time. Instead, they create the performance on the spot, often using suggestions from the audience such as places or emotions.
More...
https://www.digitaltheatreplus.com/blog/theatre-glossary-definitions-everyone-should-know
***
Sometimes when we talk about the theatre, it can sound like a completely different language and we forget that not everyone knows what something like a proscenium is. For this post, we’ve chosen ten words you may have heard in the theatre before that you might be curious about.
1. Sitzprobe
No tape deck here! Did you know that most musicals are performed with a live orchestra? That means that the music to your ears during a show is all real and in-house, often with the musicians sitting directly below the stage in the orchestra pit.
So what is a sitzprobe? Well for starters, it has nothing to do with alien abduction, it's all about synchronicity. In order for the performers on-stage and the musicians off-stage to be in perfect sync with each other, they have to rehearse. The first time the two groups come together for a rehearsal, they will often have a sitzprobe. This is a rehearsal where the focus is entirely on the music and singing, with no set, costumes, or moving around on the stage. The word itself, sitzprobe, comes from the German for “seated rehearsal.”
More...
https://www.theatrecalgary.com/blog/10-weird-theatre-terms/
***
Park and Bark
On Midmorning on Dec. 16, Allan Naplan, the incoming president of the Minnesota Opera, explained the term "park and bark" to substitute host Tom Crann. "It's an industry term where people just move downstage and sing loud and have absolutely no theatricality to what they're doing," Naplan said.
Vom Line
Fortunately, this term has nothing to do with people getting sick. "In order for there to be sightlines for everyone to see the action at all times, you work on what we call the vom line," explains Rothstein, who is currently directing Ten Thousand Things Theatre's upcoming production of John Patrick Shanley's Doubt, A Parable.
Taken from the ancient vomitorium, the contemporary term "vom line" is used in productions on thrust stages or in the round (like Doubt). Vom lines are imaginary continuations of the aisles into the performance space, providing axes of action that help guide the actors' movements.
Subway Grate
The Ordway's Ingram and Van Johnson know the subway grate doesn't refer to New York City's underground train network. A subway grate -- also known as the gridiron or the high steel -- is a series of beams from which all the pulleys, scenery and lighting in a theater are suspended.
The Ordway is well equipped for elaborate lighting and scenery. "We have 70 line sets in our theater," Van Johnson says. "It all goes up to the gridiron, which has to be able to support 100,000 pounds."
Block and Fall / Tripping
Scenery changes, which seem to happen by magic, can often be credited to the block and fall, i.e. the pulley system used for lifting scenery. Tripping, meanwhile, is nothing to do with pratfalls or psychotropic drugs; it simply refers to bundling a large piece of scenery in half so it can be tucked out of sight of the audience.
Zits probe
Probably the oddest-sounding term in the batch, zits probe comes not from dermatology but from opera. "That is the first rehearsal that the actors or the performers have with the orchestra," Ingram says.
It's an anglicized form of the German word sitzprobe, which literally means "seat preview." Ingram says at the Ordway, a zits probe is more commonly called a wander probe. "Typically in opera, they are just sitting," he says. "The reason we call it a 'wander probe' is because we let the actors get up and wander around, so if they feel like moving around on stage, we let them."
More...
https://www.mprnews.org/story/2011/02/01/arts-101-theater-lingo
***
In 1909, the English writer James Redding Ware published a dictionary of 19th-century slang and colloquial language called Passing English of the Victorian Era. Relatively little is known about Ware’s life—not helped by the fact that much of his work was published under the pseudonym Andrew Forrester—but among the other works attributed to him are around a dozen stage plays, many of which were first performed in the theaters of London in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
It was this firsthand experience that undoubtedly helped Ware to flesh out his dictionary with a host of slang words and expressions used by Victorian actors, actresses, theatrical producers, and backstage workers. From nicknames for incoherent actors to mooching companions and noisy babies, although many of the entries in Ware’s Passing English have sadly long since dropped out of use, they’re no less useful or applicable today.
8. Charles His Friend
A nickname for any uninspiring part in a play whose only purpose is to give the main protagonist someone to talk to. The term apparently derives from a genuine list of the characters in a now long-forgotten drama, in which the lead’s companion was listed simply as “Charles: his friend.”
9. Deadheads
Audience members who haven’t paid to get in (as opposed to those who have, who were the livestock). Consequently, a nickname for journalists and first-night critics.
10. Decencies
A term referring to an actor’s strategically padded costume, defined by Ware as “pads used by actors, as distinct from actresses, to ameliorate outline.”
11. Flabberdegaz
A fluffed line, a stumbled word, or a mistimed joke. Also called a Major Macfluffer.
12. The Ghost Walks
A reference to the famous opening scene of Hamlet, saying that “the ghost walks” (or, more often than not, that “the ghost doesn’t walk”) meant that there was (or that there wasn’t) enough money to be paid that week.
13. Gin And Fog
Hoarseness caused by heavy drinking the night before.
14. Greedy Scene
A scene in a play in which the lead actor has the stage all to him or herself.
15. Joey
To mug to the audience, or to lark about to attract someone’s attention.
16. Logie
A fake gemstone, or fake jewelry in general. Supposedly named after David Logie, an inventor who manufactured fake jewels out of zinc.
17. Matinée Dog
A nickname for the audience of a matinee performance. To "try it on the matinee dog" meant to test a new act or a new reading of a scene during a daytime performance, as the afternoon audiences were considered less discerning than the more seasoned and more demanding evening audiences.
18. Mumble-Mumper
An old, inarticulate performer whose lines cannot be easily heard or interpreted by the audience.
19. On The Pross
If you’re on the pross then you’re looking for someone to buy you a drink or a meal—pross is a shortening of “prosperous,” in the sense of searching for someone wealthy enough to buy you dinner.
More...
https://www.mentalfloss.com/language/slang/30-words-and-phrases-victorian-theatrical-slang
*** FREE THEATER IN NYC ***
Today, Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani and the Theatre Development Fund (TDF) announced that New York City high school students will have the opportunity to receive thousands of free and low-cost tickets to Broadway and Off-Broadway shows through the end of summer and into the fall.
Starting today, high school students can enter a lottery to receive free tickets to one of seven marquee Broadway shows: Buena Vista Social Club; In the Heights (New York City Center); School Girls Or, The African Mean Girls Play; Stranger Things: The First Shadow; The Lost Boys; The Great Gatsby and Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York).
The lottery will remain open through Monday, Aug. 17, at 10 a.m., and selected students will be able to claim up to two tickets.
High school students can enter the lottery at on.nyc.gov/Broadway.
Every student who enters the lottery will automatically receive a free, two-month TDF membership, giving them access to deeply discounted tickets to Broadway, Off-Broadway, and Off-Off Broadway shows, as well as music, museums and dance. Discounted tickets typically range from $20 to $40, giving students the opportunity to experience a wide range of performances across the city.
More...
https://www.nyc.gov/mayors-office/news/2026/08/mayor-mamdani--tdf-announce-thousands-of-free-and-low-cost-broad
*** SHANGRI-LA-LA: THE SIEGFRIED & ROY MUSICAL RETURNS TO NEW YORK ***
White tigers. Rhinestones. Magic. Lawsuits. And two German dreamers determined to turn Las Vegas into Shangri-La.
High school students can enter the lottery at on.nyc.gov/Broadway.
Every student who enters the lottery will automatically receive a free, two-month TDF membership, giving them access to deeply discounted tickets to Broadway, Off-Broadway, and Off-Off Broadway shows, as well as music, museums and dance. Discounted tickets typically range from $20 to $40, giving students the opportunity to experience a wide range of performances across the city.
More...
https://www.nyc.gov/mayors-office/news/2026/08/mayor-mamdani--tdf-announce-thousands-of-free-and-low-cost-broad
*** SHANGRI-LA-LA: THE SIEGFRIED & ROY MUSICAL RETURNS TO NEW YORK ***
White tigers. Rhinestones. Magic. Lawsuits. And two German dreamers determined to turn Las Vegas into Shangri-La.
Shangri-La-La is a funny and unconventional new musical inspired by the true story of Siegfried & Roy and the transformation of Las Vegas into a spectacle-driven family destination. Blending original music, magic, comedy, and a boldly theatrical visual world, the show explores the ambition, delusion, and excess behind that cultural reinvention. Beneath the sequins and absurdity lies a distinctly American story about illusion, image-making, and the business of manufacturing fantasy.
The fast-moving, one-hour festival version will be presented as part of the Dream Up Festival at Theater for the New City.
Saturday, August 29, 2026, at 2:00 PM
Johnson Theater, Theater for the New City
155 First Avenue, New York City
Tickets:
https://ci.ovationtix.com/35441/production/1283651?performanceId=11842073
*** OPPORTUNITIES FOR PLAYWRIGHTS ***
The Simons Center for Geometry and Physics and the C. N. Yang Institute for Theoretical Physics are pleased to announce a new CALL FOR PLAYS for the 2026-27 Science Playwriting Competition.
All playwrights with an interest in science, as well as scientists with an interest in theatre, are invited to compose an original ten-minute play featuring a substantial scientific and/or technological theme.
The preferred topics in hard sciences and technology include, but are not limited to: Physics, Mathematics, Biology, Computer Science, Space Exploration, Chemistry, Neuroscience, Anthropology, Archaeology, and Artificial Intelligence.
***
The Jokes On Her Annual Comedy Prize awards the winning playwright a $5,000 grant, an industry reading of her play in New York City in partnership with WP Theater and New Georges, and a featured appearance in a “Women Writing Comedy for the Stage” Q&A at The Drama Book Shop.
Jokes On Her will further support the playwright by identifying and facilitating future development opportunities.
Submissions are now open for original full-length comedies that have never been produced or published. Developmental readings and workshops are acceptable; however, plays under option or scheduled for production, licensing, or publication are not eligible
***
Go Try Play Write - August 2026
August 2026 prompt An aftermath prompt. Write a ten-page maximum scene about neighbours coming together after a hurricane. It's hurricane season here in Hawai‘i. They could be long-time friends. They could be estranged. They could have been fighting before the hurricane. And when I say “coming together” I don’t necessary mean cooperating. How do people interact after a catastrophe?
*** FOR MORE INFORMATION about these and other opportunities see the web site at https://www.nycplaywrights.org ***
*** PARK AND BARK: THEATER TERMS AND DEFINITIONS ***
The list is seemingly endless: terms you, as a theater professional, should know. Many of these definitions may seem familiar, but I believe they’re worth refreshing no matter where you are in your career—whether you’re a beginner or seasoned professional. This article is by no means comprehensive, but it represents some of the most used or misunderstood lingo in our daily vernacular. From blocking to standbys, here are more than 70 theater terms that you should know.
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. The stage is removed from the audience and framed by an arch that separates it from the audience.
Thrust: A stage that protrudes directly into the audience, shattering the fourth wall, and allowing seating on three sides of the stage.
In the Round: A circular playing space in which the audience completely surrounds the playing space and the performers.
Environmental/Site Specific: An increasingly popular staging conceit that transforms the house into a location that directly supports the action of the piece. The Broadway revival of “Cabaret” did this very successfully by transforming the theater into the Kit Kat Club by removing the orchestra seating, adding tables and chairs, and adding a thrust stage.
Directions: Standing on the stage facing the audience, your right is stage right, your left is stage left. Center stage is exactly that and it’s the most prominent spot onstage. Downstage center is as close as you can get to the audience from the center-most position of the stage. From the house, your right is stage left and your left is stage right!
More...
https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/theater-terms-every-actor-know-4975/
Saturday, August 29, 2026, at 2:00 PM
Johnson Theater, Theater for the New City
155 First Avenue, New York City
Tickets:
https://ci.ovationtix.com/35441/production/1283651?performanceId=11842073
*** OPPORTUNITIES FOR PLAYWRIGHTS ***
The Simons Center for Geometry and Physics and the C. N. Yang Institute for Theoretical Physics are pleased to announce a new CALL FOR PLAYS for the 2026-27 Science Playwriting Competition.
All playwrights with an interest in science, as well as scientists with an interest in theatre, are invited to compose an original ten-minute play featuring a substantial scientific and/or technological theme.
The preferred topics in hard sciences and technology include, but are not limited to: Physics, Mathematics, Biology, Computer Science, Space Exploration, Chemistry, Neuroscience, Anthropology, Archaeology, and Artificial Intelligence.
***
The Jokes On Her Annual Comedy Prize awards the winning playwright a $5,000 grant, an industry reading of her play in New York City in partnership with WP Theater and New Georges, and a featured appearance in a “Women Writing Comedy for the Stage” Q&A at The Drama Book Shop.
Jokes On Her will further support the playwright by identifying and facilitating future development opportunities.
Submissions are now open for original full-length comedies that have never been produced or published. Developmental readings and workshops are acceptable; however, plays under option or scheduled for production, licensing, or publication are not eligible
***
Go Try Play Write - August 2026
August 2026 prompt An aftermath prompt. Write a ten-page maximum scene about neighbours coming together after a hurricane. It's hurricane season here in Hawai‘i. They could be long-time friends. They could be estranged. They could have been fighting before the hurricane. And when I say “coming together” I don’t necessary mean cooperating. How do people interact after a catastrophe?
*** FOR MORE INFORMATION about these and other opportunities see the web site at https://www.nycplaywrights.org ***
*** PARK AND BARK: THEATER TERMS AND DEFINITIONS ***
The list is seemingly endless: terms you, as a theater professional, should know. Many of these definitions may seem familiar, but I believe they’re worth refreshing no matter where you are in your career—whether you’re a beginner or seasoned professional. This article is by no means comprehensive, but it represents some of the most used or misunderstood lingo in our daily vernacular. From blocking to standbys, here are more than 70 theater terms that you should know.
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. The stage is removed from the audience and framed by an arch that separates it from the audience.
Thrust: A stage that protrudes directly into the audience, shattering the fourth wall, and allowing seating on three sides of the stage.
In the Round: A circular playing space in which the audience completely surrounds the playing space and the performers.
Environmental/Site Specific: An increasingly popular staging conceit that transforms the house into a location that directly supports the action of the piece. The Broadway revival of “Cabaret” did this very successfully by transforming the theater into the Kit Kat Club by removing the orchestra seating, adding tables and chairs, and adding a thrust stage.
Directions: Standing on the stage facing the audience, your right is stage right, your left is stage left. Center stage is exactly that and it’s the most prominent spot onstage. Downstage center is as close as you can get to the audience from the center-most position of the stage. From the house, your right is stage left and your left is stage right!
More...
https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/theater-terms-every-actor-know-4975/
***
The theatre truly has its own vocabulary. But you can’t rely on Merriam-Webster to define show business colloquialisms—or let you know where they came from. Playbill put together this list of crucial terms to help you better navigate the world of the stage and theatre history.
While the list is not intended to be comprehensive, it will give you a start as to the meaning and origins of theatre staples. Why do we say “merde” to wish luck to dancers? Why is staging a show called “blocking”? The answers to these and more below:
Break a Leg
“It’s bad luck to say good luck on opening night,” of course, but how did we land on “break a leg”? There are a few explanations. In Ancient Greece, audiences didn’t clap at performances, they stomped. The more they stomped, the more chance there was of breaking a leg; this tradition reappeared in Elizabethan England when audiences would stomp their chairs and, again, more stomping would break the leg of the chair. Wishing someone “break a leg” is wishing for thunderous applause.
Merde
Theatre performers opt for “break a leg,” but dancers commonly wish each other “merde,” which directly translates to “shit” in French. The origin of this tradition traces back to 19th-century Paris when attendees of the Paris Opera Ballet would pull up to the famed Palais Garnier in horse-drawn carriages. The more audience members the more carriages, the more horses, the more... merde.
Toi, Toi, Toi … In Bocca al Lupo … Chookas
Around the world, there are yet more phrases to substitute for well wishes. “Toi, toi, toi” in Germany emanates from the German/Yiddish history of spitting to ward off evil spirits and bad luck. “In bocca al lupo” means “in the wolf’s mouth” and the correct response is “crepi il lupo,” which means “may the wolf die”—warding off a bad omen. Australians say “chookas,” which is believed to be a permutation of “chook” or chicken. In the old days, chicken was considered a delicacy; by saying “chookas” you are hoping the performance will go well and make money so that the performer can afford a gourmet meal.
More...
https://playbill.com/article/32-theatre-terms-everyone-should-know
***
ANTI RAKE
The act of modifying furniture, props or scenery by shortening the upstage legs etc. so that they can stand level on a raked stage. Known as COUNTER RAKE in the US. See also Raked Stage.
ANTIQUARIANISM
A movement which insisted on historically-accurate scenery and props on stage. The more stylized sliding wing flats were replaced by more detailed box sets including architectural features, props and furniture appropriate to the time period in whcih the show was taking place. Antiquarianism moved into theatres in the late eighteenth century in Europe.
APPLE BOX
A small strong wooden box used as a temporary step or to lift an item (or actor) up to make it visible. Named after the standard-sized fruit packing crate. Used in the motion picture industry.
ARENA
Form of stage where the audience are seated on at least two (normally three, or all four) sides of the whole acting area.
See END ON, THRUST, IN THE ROUND.
ARIA
A solo performance in an opera used to highlight the emotional state of the main character(s).
ARTIC
Short for Articulated Lorry. Lorries of 40 feet length (or more) are used to transport sets, costume, props and sound & lighting equipment from venue to venue. A number of companies specialise in moving theatrical and musical tours around the country / world.
Known in the USA as a SEMI (short for Semi-Trailer, where a trailer box with a rear axle only is pulled by a tractor unit).
ARTIST
A member of the creative staff on a production, project or event.
ASIDE
Lines spoken by an actor to the audience and not supposed to be overheard by other characters on-stage.
ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGER
Usually shortened to ASM, the assistant stage manager is the most junior member of the Stage Management team, and is often in charge of sourcing and running Properties during the run of a show. They are also a member of the stage 'crew'.
The ASM is reponsible for setting props used during the show, as well as carrying out a pre-show check list to ensure all props are in the correct place and that all furniture used on stage is correctly placed for the start of the show.
An ASM may also have a small acting role in some performances (they are then known as an Acting ASM).
AT RISE
(US) Stage direction at the start of a play text which describes the stage appearance / layout when the curtain rises (which is where the term comes from), who is on stage, and what they're doing.
More...
https://theatrecrafts.com/results.php
***
EPIC THEATRE
A form of theatre developed in the early to mid-20th century in Germany as a response to the political climate. This type of theatre was meant to instruct the audience and to encourage them to consider socio-political issues and is often characterized by actors directly addressing the audience.
This form is associated with the playwright and director Bertolt Brecht.
EXPRESSIONISM
A style of playwriting and stage presentation that stresses the emotional content of the play.
Expressionism is often characterized by:
Emphasis on the reactions and feelings of the characters
Heavy symbolism
Abstract sets and costumes
Speeding up or slowing down of the action
FORUM THEATRE
A form of theatre that encourages audience interaction and participation as a way to explore different options for dealing with an issue, often related to a form of oppression.
IMMERSIVE THEATRE
A form of theatre where, instead of sitting in traditional seating separating them from the performance, the audience becomes part of the performance.
Immersive Theatre is characterized by:
Emphasis and interactive space and design
Tangible environments
Personal, individual audience experiences
IMPROVISATION
A form of theatre that is spontaneous, where there is no script and performers do not memorize or prepare the performance ahead of time. Instead, they create the performance on the spot, often using suggestions from the audience such as places or emotions.
More...
https://www.digitaltheatreplus.com/blog/theatre-glossary-definitions-everyone-should-know
***
Sometimes when we talk about the theatre, it can sound like a completely different language and we forget that not everyone knows what something like a proscenium is. For this post, we’ve chosen ten words you may have heard in the theatre before that you might be curious about.
1. Sitzprobe
No tape deck here! Did you know that most musicals are performed with a live orchestra? That means that the music to your ears during a show is all real and in-house, often with the musicians sitting directly below the stage in the orchestra pit.
So what is a sitzprobe? Well for starters, it has nothing to do with alien abduction, it's all about synchronicity. In order for the performers on-stage and the musicians off-stage to be in perfect sync with each other, they have to rehearse. The first time the two groups come together for a rehearsal, they will often have a sitzprobe. This is a rehearsal where the focus is entirely on the music and singing, with no set, costumes, or moving around on the stage. The word itself, sitzprobe, comes from the German for “seated rehearsal.”
More...
https://www.theatrecalgary.com/blog/10-weird-theatre-terms/
***
Park and Bark
On Midmorning on Dec. 16, Allan Naplan, the incoming president of the Minnesota Opera, explained the term "park and bark" to substitute host Tom Crann. "It's an industry term where people just move downstage and sing loud and have absolutely no theatricality to what they're doing," Naplan said.
Vom Line
Fortunately, this term has nothing to do with people getting sick. "In order for there to be sightlines for everyone to see the action at all times, you work on what we call the vom line," explains Rothstein, who is currently directing Ten Thousand Things Theatre's upcoming production of John Patrick Shanley's Doubt, A Parable.
Taken from the ancient vomitorium, the contemporary term "vom line" is used in productions on thrust stages or in the round (like Doubt). Vom lines are imaginary continuations of the aisles into the performance space, providing axes of action that help guide the actors' movements.
Subway Grate
The Ordway's Ingram and Van Johnson know the subway grate doesn't refer to New York City's underground train network. A subway grate -- also known as the gridiron or the high steel -- is a series of beams from which all the pulleys, scenery and lighting in a theater are suspended.
The Ordway is well equipped for elaborate lighting and scenery. "We have 70 line sets in our theater," Van Johnson says. "It all goes up to the gridiron, which has to be able to support 100,000 pounds."
Block and Fall / Tripping
Scenery changes, which seem to happen by magic, can often be credited to the block and fall, i.e. the pulley system used for lifting scenery. Tripping, meanwhile, is nothing to do with pratfalls or psychotropic drugs; it simply refers to bundling a large piece of scenery in half so it can be tucked out of sight of the audience.
Zits probe
Probably the oddest-sounding term in the batch, zits probe comes not from dermatology but from opera. "That is the first rehearsal that the actors or the performers have with the orchestra," Ingram says.
It's an anglicized form of the German word sitzprobe, which literally means "seat preview." Ingram says at the Ordway, a zits probe is more commonly called a wander probe. "Typically in opera, they are just sitting," he says. "The reason we call it a 'wander probe' is because we let the actors get up and wander around, so if they feel like moving around on stage, we let them."
More...
https://www.mprnews.org/story/2011/02/01/arts-101-theater-lingo
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In 1909, the English writer James Redding Ware published a dictionary of 19th-century slang and colloquial language called Passing English of the Victorian Era. Relatively little is known about Ware’s life—not helped by the fact that much of his work was published under the pseudonym Andrew Forrester—but among the other works attributed to him are around a dozen stage plays, many of which were first performed in the theaters of London in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
It was this firsthand experience that undoubtedly helped Ware to flesh out his dictionary with a host of slang words and expressions used by Victorian actors, actresses, theatrical producers, and backstage workers. From nicknames for incoherent actors to mooching companions and noisy babies, although many of the entries in Ware’s Passing English have sadly long since dropped out of use, they’re no less useful or applicable today.
8. Charles His Friend
A nickname for any uninspiring part in a play whose only purpose is to give the main protagonist someone to talk to. The term apparently derives from a genuine list of the characters in a now long-forgotten drama, in which the lead’s companion was listed simply as “Charles: his friend.”
9. Deadheads
Audience members who haven’t paid to get in (as opposed to those who have, who were the livestock). Consequently, a nickname for journalists and first-night critics.
10. Decencies
A term referring to an actor’s strategically padded costume, defined by Ware as “pads used by actors, as distinct from actresses, to ameliorate outline.”
11. Flabberdegaz
A fluffed line, a stumbled word, or a mistimed joke. Also called a Major Macfluffer.
12. The Ghost Walks
A reference to the famous opening scene of Hamlet, saying that “the ghost walks” (or, more often than not, that “the ghost doesn’t walk”) meant that there was (or that there wasn’t) enough money to be paid that week.
13. Gin And Fog
Hoarseness caused by heavy drinking the night before.
14. Greedy Scene
A scene in a play in which the lead actor has the stage all to him or herself.
15. Joey
To mug to the audience, or to lark about to attract someone’s attention.
16. Logie
A fake gemstone, or fake jewelry in general. Supposedly named after David Logie, an inventor who manufactured fake jewels out of zinc.
17. Matinée Dog
A nickname for the audience of a matinee performance. To "try it on the matinee dog" meant to test a new act or a new reading of a scene during a daytime performance, as the afternoon audiences were considered less discerning than the more seasoned and more demanding evening audiences.
18. Mumble-Mumper
An old, inarticulate performer whose lines cannot be easily heard or interpreted by the audience.
19. On The Pross
If you’re on the pross then you’re looking for someone to buy you a drink or a meal—pross is a shortening of “prosperous,” in the sense of searching for someone wealthy enough to buy you dinner.
More...
https://www.mentalfloss.com/language/slang/30-words-and-phrases-victorian-theatrical-slang
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