Drama Glossary
Key theatre terms and definitions including related shows.
The practice of casting without regard to an actor's race or ethnicity
A group of dance moves strung together.
A new, three-act type of comedy promoted by Lope de Vega.
A type of comedy, popular in the English Restoration, that made fun of social norms and mores.
A genre of literature, film, and theatre that focuses on the emotional and/or moral growth of the protagonist from youth to adulthood.
In the Italian Renaissance, a form of popular theatre emerged where a professional troupe of actors that used colorful stock characters, improvised dialigue, and lazzi to create entertaining stories.
A type of theatre with the financial goal to make a substantial profit for its owners and investors.
An agreement between a playwright and a theatre group to write a show, sometimes requiring specific criteria to be met (such as subject matter, cast size, or genre).
Exchanging information and conversation with another through speech, behavior, or movement.
A government and economic system in which people do not own individual property.
A group of people living in the same place or having a particular characteristic in common.
Anything that creates additional problems for the characters. Usually always found throughout the rising action.