playscripts
Written theatrical works
Playscripts are the written texts of plays, containing dialogue and stage directions.
The term emphasizes the document as a working blueprint for performance rather than literature to be read: The actors received their playscripts at the first rehearsal.
Sometimes spelled as two words.
Strokes connecting two points
- conversationExchange of spoken ideas
- monologueUninterrupted solo address
- soliloquyDramatic speech to oneself
- exchangeMutual giving and receiving
banter · aside · repartee · cue · speech · utterance · subtext · delivery
Pre-performance practice session
- blockingImpeding forward progress
- directorOne who leads
- castingShaping through liquid form
- auditionTrial performance for selection
run-through · understudy · ensemble · repertory · revival · premiere
Arrange in position
- propsTheater accessories or praise
- costumesClothes for assuming roles
- lightingArt of illuminating spaces
- soundAudible wave phenomenon
scenery · backdrop · proscenium · wings · rigging · blackout · spotlight · practical
Disastrous or sorrowful event
- comedyWork meant to amuse
- farceAbsurd, laughable situation
- melodramaSensational, emotionally overwrought drama
- tragicomedyGenre blending sorrow and mirth
absurdist · naturalism · realism · catharsis · pathos · protagonist · antagonist · hamartia
Author of stage dramas
- draftPreliminary version of text
- revisionAltering to improve
- manuscriptOriginal text before publication
- formattingStructuring visual presentation
setting · parenthetical · treatment · outline · adaptation · commission · workshop · dramatist
Deed or performance
- sceneDramatic unit or locale
- prologueIntroductory literary section
- epilogueConcluding literary section
- climaxPoint of greatest intensity
denouement · exposition · arc · plot · conflict · resolution · intermission · three-act
lines
Strokes connecting two points
- conversationExchange of spoken ideas
- monologueUninterrupted solo address
- soliloquyDramatic speech to oneself
exchange · banter · aside · repartee · cue · speech · utterance · subtext · delivery · reading
rehearsal
Pre-performance practice session
audition · run-through · understudy · ensemble · repertory · revival · premiere
set
Arrange in position
- propsTheater accessories or praise
- costumesClothes for assuming roles
- lightingArt of illuminating spaces
sound · scenery · backdrop · proscenium · wings · rigging · blackout · spotlight · practical · set-piece
tragedy
Disastrous or sorrowful event
- comedyWork meant to amuse
- farceAbsurd, laughable situation
- melodramaSensational, emotionally overwrought drama
tragicomedy · absurdist · naturalism · realism · catharsis · pathos · protagonist · antagonist · hamartia · hubris
playwright
Author of stage dramas
- draftPreliminary version of text
- revisionAltering to improve
- manuscriptOriginal text before publication
formatting · setting · parenthetical · treatment · outline · adaptation · commission · workshop · dramatist · libretto
act
Deed or performance
- sceneDramatic unit or locale
- prologueIntroductory literary section
- epilogueConcluding literary section
climax · denouement · exposition · arc · plot · conflict · resolution · intermission · three-act · subplot
- theater bookstheater history, character analysis, stage directions, Greek tragedies
- book editionsfirst editions, limited editions, signed copies, collector's editions, deluxe editions
- theater memorabiliaplaybills, programs, ticket stubs, cast photos, autographs
- German TheaterGoethe, Bertolt Brecht, Faust, The Threepenny Opera, epic theater