Drama
30 Glossary
This
glossary contains both terms from the drama 30 curriculum and general
terminology. Within the lessons, terms are linked to this page.
When you see a link in this color, it will take you to the term
on this page that relates to the lesson.
(Use
the back button to return to the lesson you were reading.)
Acting
Style
A particular manner of acting which reflects cultural and historical
influences.
Articulate
To speak clearly and distinctly.
Belief
The willing acceptance of the fiction created within dramatic situations
and plays, and the student's commitment to it.
Brainstorming
A method of generating a large number of ideas.
Breath
control
Central breathing, in which all muscular movement is concentrated
in the abdomen.
Blocking
The placement and movement of actors in a dramatic presentation.
Blocking
maps
A director's preliminary sketches of the placement and movement
of actors for a dramatic presentation.
Character
analysis
A description of one's understanding of a character.
Characterization
The process of developing and portraying a character.
Choral
speaking
A means by which literature (including poetry, chants and raps,
scripts, short stories, fairy tales, fables and legends) is interpreted
and communicated vocally by a group. These could be either student-written
or published works.
Collage
A series of staged "moments" related to the topic of a
collective and depicting a range of perspectives on that topic.
Consensus
A group decision that everyone in the group agrees to support.
Consensus
building
The process through which a consensus is reached.
Costume
design
Illustrations of the stage apparel to be worn by actors.
Dance
drama
Expressive movement through which ideas, stories, sounds and music
can be interpreted.
Dance
elements
The ingredients of dance, including actions, the body, dynamics,
relationships, and space.
Directing
Assuming overall responsibility for the artistic interpretation
and presentation of a dramatic work.
Director's
book
The planning book developed by a director to guide the development
of a dramatic presentation, including interpretative notations,
schedules, scene breakdowns, preliminary blocking, etc.
Dramatic
forms of expression
Various modes or strategies by which ideas can be represented
Dramatic
process
Includes the processes involved in creating works of dramatic art,
whether they be original works or recreations of scripted materials.
The dramatic process includes choosing a topic, researching, synthesizing,
identifying the focus of the work, translating ideas into dramatic
form, reflecting, refining, scripting, rehearsing and performing.
Exploration
A step in the collective creation process during which various methods
of translating ideas into dramatic form are investigated.
Flashback/flashforward
Moving back and forward in time in order to extend students' understanding
of themes and characters.
Gesture
The movement of a part of the body, including torso, limbs and face
to express an idea, emotion or attitude.
Imaging
A technique that allows the students to slow down and focus individually
on an issue. The students, sitting quietly with eyes closed, allow
pictures to form in their minds. These images may be motivated by
bits of narration, music, sounds, smells, etc.
Improvisation
Any unscripted work in drama.
Lighting
plot
A tracing over the stage ground plan, including the location and
colour of each lighting instrument, the kind of instrument called
for and the area of the stage the instrument will light.
Makeup
morgue
A collection of photographs, pictures, illustrations, etc. of various
faces, showing age, beards, mustaches and nationalities, and including
historical fashions and anatomical, animal and fantasy features
to assist with makeup design and application.
Mask
work
The use of masks in dramatic presentations to alter and heighten
character.
Meetings
An effective strategy by which the whole group can establish focus
and begin to build belief in a fictional situation.
Mime
Can be a highly sophisticated silent art form in which the body
is used as the instrument of communication. In drama, mime enables
the students to explore and represent ideas and events through movement
and gesture.
Monologue
A piece of oral or written literature (e.g., a story, poem or part
of a play) spoken by one person who exposes inner thoughts and provides
insights into his or her character.
Motivation
What impels a character to behave in a particular way.
Negotiation
A purposeful discussion aimed at leading the group to clarify ideas,
summarize individual points of view, and agree upon a course of
action.
Parallel
play
A situation in which all of the students work simultaneously, but
separately, in their own space.
Play
reviews
A written description and interpretation of a dramatic presentation
based on informed judgment.
Prepared
improvisation
An improvisation which is shaped and rehearsed.
Presentational
style
A particular form of dramatic expression presentation (e.g., storytelling,
mask work, readers' theatre).
Prompt
book
A book of the play containing stage business, blocking, cues and
plots needed for dramatic presentation (e.g., director's book, play
book, stage manager's book).
Readers'
theatre
A dramatic form of expression in which actors read and interpret
text for an audience.
Refining
A step in the collective creation process during which choices are
made and episodes are shaped and connected.
Reflection
Recalling, reacting to and describing one's drama experiences, both
in and out of role.
Resonance
The quality of sound achieved through muscular control of the throat,
nose, mouth and chest.
Role
The basic ingredient of work in drama. When the students and teacher
assume roles in drama, they are acting "as if" they are
someone else.
Script
The text of a dramatic work.
Script
analysis
The critical interpretation of a script to achieve an understanding
of it.
Scripting
A step in the collective creation process during which the written
text is created and recorded.
Spontaneous
improvisation
An improvisation which is immediate and unrehearsed.
Set
design
A visual representation of the form and arrangement of scenery and
properties.
Stage
business
Small actions performed by an actor without moving from one place
to another.
Stage
manager's book
The planning book developed by a stage manager to facilitate management
of a dramatic presentation, including scene breakdowns, entrance
and exit cues, lighting plots and cues, sound cues, etc.
Stage
movement
The purposeful movement of an actor on the stage.
Status
The relative importance of one character to another.
Storyboard
A visual representation of the "story" or organization
of episodes in a collective creation.
Storytelling
A means of creating (or re-creating) and sharing stories. The stories
may be familiar or unfamiliar, the stories of others or the students'
own. In drama, storytelling is a means of sharing and reflecting
on each others' experiences and the experiences of the group.
Story
theatre
Techniques used in drama as stories are told. Either the story is
told by a narrator while others perform it through mime or while
speaking the dialogue; or the narration is provided by those who
are acting out the characters, animals and inanimate objects.
Synthesis
A step in the collective creation process during which ideas are
grouped and organized.
Tableau
A still image, a frozen moment or "a photograph". It is
created by posing still bodies and communicates a living representation
of an event, an idea or a feeling.
Talking
circle
A method of discussion and decision-making originating with Aboriginal
cultures.
Tapping
in
A means by which those individuals represented in a tableau may
be prompted to express their response to that particular moment
that is captured in time and space by the tableau. The teacher places
a hand on the shoulder of one of the students in role in the tableau
and poses questions that are designed to reveal the actor's thinking
about the situation represented by the tableau.
Teacher
in role
The most effective way for teachers to work in contextual dramas.
By taking on roles, the teacher is able to provide the students
with a model for working in role through the use of appropriate
language and apparent commitment to the work. Role enables the teacher
to work with the students close to what is happening and to facilitate
the shaping of the work from within. The role that the teachers
chooses will depend upon what she or he hopes to achieve within
the work. See Appendix A for information about the basic types of
role available to the teacher.
Technical
theatre
Those components of a dramatic presentation, aside from the acting
and directing, which contribute to the overall impression communicated
to the audience.
Theatre elements :
Focus
Knowing what the drama experience is about and centering the work
so that the students are able to explore and make new discoveries
about that particular concern.
Tension
The "pressure for response" which can take the form of
a conflict, a challenge, a surprise, a time restraint or the suspense
of not knowing. Tension strengthens belief by impelling the students
to respond.
Contrasts
The dynamic use of movement/stillness, sound/silence and light/darkness
by structuring shifts in perspective, pace, groupings, use of time
and space, etc.
Symbol
Something which stands for or represents something else. Within
any work of dramatic art, links can be made between the concrete
experiences of those involved and abstract ideas. An idea or an
object (e.g., peace, moccasins, a black cat) can hold several levels
of both individual and collective meaning.
Voice
projection
The ability to make the voice carry clearly and audibly.
Writing
in role
Any written work done in role (e.g., monologues, family histories,
letters, newspaper headlines etc.).
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