Summer School Lingo

In a traditional theatre, this is the part of the stage which projects in front of the curtain. In many theatres this can be extended, sometimes by building out over the pit.

A call given by Stage Management to bring those actors who appear in the first part of a show to the stage, e.g. "Act One Beginners to the stage, please". A similar call is given after the interval (e.g. "Act Two Beginners to the stage, please").

The setting of the actors' positions and moves across the stage at the beginning of rehearsals. Occasionally known as 'plotting', however this term is usually reserved for use in lighting.

Generally, some sort of instruction to the company: a rehearsal call is an instruction to attend a rehearsal at a  particular time; time calls are given just before each performance ("Ladies and gentlemen, this is your thirty minute  call"). Note that time calls are all related to when you need to be on-site and ready to perform, not to the actual time of starting the show.

Yep! We thought it was weird too but it means ‘good luck’. It’s Australian slang used instead of ‘break a leg’. 

An instruction given by the Stage Manager to one of the technical departments to take some action; e.g. LX cue 7 is  the seventh instruction in the play to the lighting department. Also used in the sense of the point at which an actor must enter or speak.

Short for the "prompt corner"; the place from which the Stage Manager controls the show. From here they have communication links to all parts of the theatre and give cues to all departments. The corner can be on either side of the stage but traditionally it is on the left (i.e. the prompt) side. 

Not a dead body in a thriller! An actor who breaks character by laughing or forgetting their lines (or causing another cast member to do so) is said to "corpse"... (i.e. murdering the scene).

Towards the audience.

An oblong frame of timber, covered with either canvas or hardboard and painted, which forms part of the set. There are also door flats, window flats, and even fireplace flats. Canvas flats, being lighter and easier to move around, are the preferred option, but some go for hardboard-covered flats which are more hardwearing.

Stage left, or the LHS as you face the audience. Also called the Prompt Side or PS.

Stage right, or the RHS as you face the audience. Also called the Opposite Prompt Side or OP.

A curtain of fireproofed material (once upon a time it was asbestos), usually with a metal frame, which covers the entire opening and acts as a firebreak between the stage and the auditorium. Known as the 'iron', when it is raised or lowered, the theatrical term is "Iron going in (or out)".

To dismantle the set and remove it from the stage, e.g. “Strike the desk from the stage”.

The curtains which are hung vertically down each side of the stage. Sometimes called "House Tabs".

At the back of the stage; away from the audience. As a verb: when one actor deliberately draws the attention of the audience to themselves usually for selfish purposes.

The sides of the stage, out of sight of the audience, where actors stand before making their entrance, and where props are kept, ready to be brought onto the stage.