Live theatre has its own language. You’ll hear words like blocking, cue-to-cue, spike marks, understudy, tech week, callboard, and cold read—and if you’re new, it can feel like everyone got a secret glossary but you.
This guide breaks down the most important theatre terms—clearly, accurately, and with real-world context—so audiences, volunteers, parents, and new performers can feel confident stepping into the theatre world.
And here’s the truth: learning the terminology isn’t about sounding fancy. It’s about understanding how a live production stays safe, organized, and professional.
The Basics: How a Production Is Structured
Production
The full project: the play/musical itself, plus rehearsals, designers, tech, marketing, and performances.
Company
The group of people involved in the production—actors, stage management, crew, and creative team.
Creative Team
The artistic leadership behind the show:
Director: shapes the overall vision, storytelling, and performances
Choreographer: creates movement/dance
Music Director: leads vocal/music work (musicals)
Dramaturg: supports research, context, structure, and clarity of storytelling (more common in certain plays)
Production Team
The practical and technical leadership:
Stage Manager (SM): runs rehearsals, tracks the show, calls cues
Technical Director (TD): oversees the build and technical execution
Designers: set, lights, sound, costumes, props
Crew: backstage, deck crew, board ops, wardrobe, etc.
Auditions and Casting Terms
Audition
The tryout. Sometimes it includes:
Sides: short excerpts from the script
Monologue: a prepared speech from a play
Cold read: reading a scene without preparation
Callbacks: a second round where the director narrows choices
Casting
Choosing actors for roles.
Type / Typing
A director’s shorthand for an actor’s general casting “fit.” It’s not a value judgment—it’s about storytelling clarity. Professional rooms try to hold this lightly and avoid limiting actors unfairly.
Ensemble
A group of performers who support the world of the story—often essential in musicals, but also in plays.
Understudy / Standby / Swing (common in larger markets)
Understudy: learns a role to replace the main actor if needed
Standby: usually covers one role and may be scheduled to go on
Swing: covers multiple ensemble tracks
Script and Story Terms
Script
The written play, including dialogue and stage directions.
Text / The Text
A common theatre phrase meaning “what’s in the script.” In professional work, staying truthful to the text is often a core value.
Scene
A section of the play in one continuous action.
Beat
A smaller unit inside a scene where the intention or energy shifts.
Objective
What a character wants (in the scene or overall). Often phrased as an action:
“to convince”
“to seduce”
“to escape”
“to be forgiven”
Tactic
How the character tries to get what they want (moment-to-moment). Tactics change when they don’t work.
Stakes
Why it matters. What the character risks losing.
Given Circumstances
Everything the play tells you is true: time, place, relationships, what happened before, social rules, etc.
Subtext
What a character means underneath what they say. Great acting often lives here.
Rehearsal Terms (Where the Work Happens)
Rehearsal
Practice sessions where the production is built.
Table Work
Early rehearsals focused on reading, analyzing, and understanding the script before staging.
Blocking
The planned movement onstage: where actors stand, cross, sit, enter, exit, interact with props. Blocking is about:
storytelling clarity
composition
pacing
focus
safety
Staging
Broader than blocking. It includes composition, rhythm, use of space, and the director’s full physical storytelling.
Choreography
Planned movement—dance, stage combat, or stylized sequences.
Fight Call / Combat Call
A safety rehearsal for staged violence, swordplay, slaps, falls, etc. Always repeated regularly to prevent injury.
Line Notes
Corrections given to actors about missed or altered lines. In professional rooms, this keeps clarity and consistency.
Pickup
Starting rehearsal from a specific moment instead of from the top.
From the Top
Starting from the beginning of the scene/show.
Hold
Stopping rehearsal briefly for safety, clarification, or technical reasons.
Stage Directions and “Stage Geography”
One of the most confusing things: stage directions are given from the actor’s perspective facing the audience.
Downstage / Upstage
Downstage: closer to the audience
Upstage: farther from the audience
Stage Left / Stage Right
Stage Left: actor’s left (audience’s right)
Stage Right: actor’s right (audience’s left)
Center Stage
Middle of the stage.
USL / USC / USR (and DSL / DSC / DSR)
Abbreviations you’ll see in blocking notes.
Why “upstage” matters historically: raked stages sloped downward toward the audience. Upstage was literally higher.
Tech and Design Terms (How It Looks and Sounds Professional)
Technical Rehearsal (Tech)
Rehearsals where lighting, sound, set changes, projections, and transitions are integrated. Actors learn how to work with cues and timing.
Tech Week
The intense final week before opening where everything merges: long calls, repetition, precision. This is where a show often becomes “tight.”
Cue
A trigger for something to happen: a light change, sound effect, music, projection, or scenic shift.
Cue-to-Cue (Q2Q)
A rehearsal that jumps from cue to cue to work fast through technical moments.
Spike Marks
Tape marks on the stage showing where furniture or set pieces must land. This keeps shifts consistent and safe.
Preset
Props/costumes/set pieces placed in their starting positions before the show.
Run Crew / Deck Crew
Backstage crew handling scene shifts and deck operations.
Board Operator
Runs the lighting board or sound board during the show.
Mic Pack / Lav / Body Mic
Wireless mic system used especially in musicals.
Level / Wash / Special (lighting)
Wash: general light over an area
Special: focused light for one person/place
Levels: intensity (brightness) settings
Soundscape
A layered audio environment (atmosphere, transitions, effects) that supports storytelling.
Performance Terms
Call Time
When cast/crew must arrive.
Places
The announcement that it’s time to go to your starting positions.
Half Hour / 15 / 5
Standard countdown calls before curtain (varies by theatre).
Curtain
The start (or end) of the performance. “Curtain time” is start time.
Front of House (FOH)
Audience-facing operations: box office, ushers, concessions, seating.
House
The audience area. “House opens at 7:00.”
Curtain Call
The bows. Leaving before curtain call is widely considered disrespectful because it’s when the audience thanks the artists.
Production Documentation (How Shows Stay Organized)
Prompt Book
The stage manager’s master book: blocking, cues, scene shifts, contact sheets—everything.
Run Sheet
A list of events in order: cues, shifts, warnings, timing notes.
Callboard
A physical or digital place where schedules, notes, and updates are posted.
Rehearsal Report / Performance Report
Professional theatres document what happened: notes for costumes, props, sound, lighting, set, FOH.
Common “Theatre Sayings” and What They Actually Mean
“Break a leg”
A traditional wish for good luck (superstition around saying “good luck”).
“Bad dress rehearsal, great opening”
Not always true—but it reflects how tech integration can feel messy right up until it clicks.
“Don’t whistle backstage”
Old superstition (and historically linked to backstage signaling).
“Ghost light”
A single light left onstage when the theatre is empty—for safety, tradition, and a little theatre magic.
A Quick Mini-Glossary for Audiences
If you only remember a few:
Blocking = planned stage movement
Cue = a timed technical action
Tech week = final integration week
FOH = audience operations
Curtain call = bows / thank-you moment
Why This Matters at Theatre33
Community theatre doesn’t mean “casual.” It means the community builds art together—often with the same discipline you’ll find in larger institutions.
When we use professional rehearsal practices, safety standards, and production systems, it creates:
stronger performances
smoother audience experience
safer backstage work
shows that feel polished and intentional
What Theatre Term Have You Always Wondered About?
Drop it in the comments—if there’s enough interest, we’ll publish a Part 2 with:
audition vocabulary
design/tech deep dives
“how to read a script like an actor”
or a full backstage glossary
