playlets
Brief theatrical pieces
Playlets are short plays, typically running only a few minutes.
The term suggests something smaller and lighter than full dramatic works—often one-act pieces performed as entertainment or exercises: The drama students performed a series of playlets.
The diminutive ending gives the word a slightly old-fashioned or quaint quality.
Single-segment theatrical format
- vignetteBrief evocative description
- sketchHasty informal drawing
- interludePause between sections
- sceneDramatic unit or locale
skit · dramatic piece · episode · tableau · curtain-raiser · afterpiece
Written words for performance
- dialogueSpoken exchange between parties
- monologueUninterrupted solo address
- soliloquyDramatic speech to oneself
- plotStoryline or land parcel
conflict · climax · denouement · protagonist · antagonist · theme · arc · dramaturgy
one-act
Single-segment theatrical format
scene · skit · dramatic piece · episode · tableau · curtain-raiser · afterpiece
script
Written words for performance
- dialogueSpoken exchange between parties
- monologueUninterrupted solo address
- soliloquyDramatic speech to oneself
plot · conflict · climax · denouement · protagonist · antagonist · theme · arc · dramaturgy · scenario
rehearsal
Pre-performance practice session
- performanceCarrying out a task
- blockingImpeding forward progress
- directorOne who leads
troupe · ensemble · costume · props · lighting · backdrop · scenery · curtain · proscenium · blackbox
comedy
Work meant to amuse
melodrama · mime · pantomime · burlesque · parody · revue · agitprop · commedia
- vaudevillevaudeville, variety show, variety act, music hall, headliner
playletsgrand opera
Fully sung dramatic spectacle
magnum opus · tetralogy · trilogy · epic drama · three-act play
playletstragedy
Disastrous or sorrowful event
masterwork · classical tragedy · Shakespearean tragedy · Greek tragedy