absurd		A distinctive class or category of a play
act		The specific staging of a play's movements
ad-lib		Scene descriptions, instructions
audition		A line improvised by an actor during a performance
black-box theatre		After the initial audition the director or casting director will "call back" for additional sometimes many readings
blocking		The point of highest tension in a play
callback-		A play that ridicules social follies
climax		The general principle that the stage should portray, in a reasonable facsimile
commedia dell' arte		The deeper meanings of a character's spoken lines
cue		Plays produced not on a conventional stage but in an area where the actors and the audience are intermixed in the same "environment"
denouement		The basic "goal" of a character
dialogue		To perform in a play
diction		The part of the stage closest to the audience
dimmer		Highly comic, lighthearted, gleefully contrived drama, usually involving stock situations
downstage		The last word of one speech that then becomes the "cue" for the following speech
empathy		The electrical device that regulates the current passing through the bulb
environmental theatre		Audience members' identification with dramatic characters
farce		A "frozen moment"
genre		The speeches- delivered to each other- of the characters in a play
improvisation		Actor's need for articulate speech and clear pronunciation
mask		A long unbroken speech in a play
monologue		The principal character
motivation		A covering of the face
naturalism		The events of a play
objective		A form of largely improvised masked street theatre
parody		Dialogue invented by the actor, often during the performance itself
plot		Or "props"; the furniture and hand held objects used in play productions
properties		Dramatic material that makes fun of a genre
protagonist		Emphasizes the symbolic nature of the presentation and abstract possibilities
realism		Scene design
satire		An extreme form of realism which advanced the notion that the natural and social environment controlled human behavior
scenography		A rectangular room with no fixed seating or stage area
stage directions		The notion that the world is meaningless
subtext		The part of the stage farthest from the audience
symbolism		The final scene or scenes in a play
tableau		The process whereby an actor seeks a role by presenting to a director
upstage		That which can be construed to have determined a person's behavior