Drama Glossary
Key theatre terms and definitions including related shows.
The area of the theatre where the audience sits. This term plays a vital role in understanding theatrical structure and is commonly encountered in stagecraft or performance settings.
A diagram showing the layout of the theatre’s seating and technical systems. This term plays a vital role in understanding theatrical structure and is commonly encountered in stagecraft or performance settings.
A 20th-century government body whose influence on censorship and blacklisting shaped theatre’s political landscape.
Hubris is excessive pride, arrogance, or self-confidence that leads a character to defy moral or divine law. In classical tragedy, hubris often causes the downfall of rulers or heroes who overestimate their own power. It serves as a warning about the dangers of ignoring limits set by the gods, society, or fate.
A term in classical medicine and drama referring to bodily fluids that affect temperament; also used to mean comedy. This term plays a vital role in understanding theatrical structure and is commonly encountered in stagecraft or performance settings.
A revered figure in Islamic history, dramatized in Shi’a ritual theatre, particularly in Ta’zieh performances.
A space used for commemorative performances in Shi’a Islamic traditions, including religious passion plays and Ta’zieh.
An “I Want Song” is a number, usually placed early in a musical, where a main character expresses their deepest desire or ambition. This song sets the character’s journey in motion and gives the audience a clear emotional stake in the story. It has become one of the most recognizable and enduring conventions of musical theatre structure.
A poetic meter consisting of five iambs per line, widely used in English Renaissance drama by playwrights like Shakespeare.
The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, the union representing backstage workers. This term plays a vital role in understanding theatrical structure and is commonly encountered in stagecraft or performance settings.
A boastful yet cowardly soldier archetype in Commedia dell’arte, representing pompous authority and false bravado.
A technique from Augusto Boal’s Theatre of the Oppressed where actors create tableaux to explore social issues.