thespians
Those who perform
Thespians are actors, especially stage actors.
The word comes from Thespis, an ancient Greek credited as the first person to appear onstage as a character rather than as himself.
The term has a slightly formal or theatrical flavor: The local thespians are staging Hamlet this weekend.
High school drama clubs often call themselves thespian societies.
Those playing roles
- performersThose who entertain audiences
- playersGame participants
- stageRaised performance platform
- dramaTheatrical art or turmoil
troupe · ensemble · repertory · company · Shakespeare · monologue · soliloquy · rehearsal
Disastrous or sorrowful event
- comedyWork meant to amuse
- SophoclesClassical Athenian playwright
- EuripidesGreek tragic dramatist
- AeschylusFather of tragedy
Greek chorus · mask · amphitheater · Dionysus · catharsis · hubris · protagonist · antagonist
Acting technique innovator
- characterizationDescribing distinctive qualities
- emotional recallRetrieving past feelings deliberately
- motivationImpetus toward a goal
- subtextImplicit meaning beneath words
sense memory · beats · objectives · improvisation · cold reading · audition · callback · sides
Nonprofessional participant
- community theaterLocal nonprofessional stage productions
- little theaterSmall-scale dramatic venue
- drama clubStudent performance organization
- school playAmateur stage production at educational institution
summer stock · regional theater · dinner theater · showcase · fringe · off-Broadway · West End · Broadway
actors
Those playing roles
- performersThose who entertain audiences
- playersGame participants
- stageRaised performance platform
drama · troupe · ensemble · repertory · company · Shakespeare · monologue · soliloquy · rehearsal · curtain call
tragedy
Disastrous or sorrowful event
Aeschylus · Greek chorus · mask · amphitheater · Dionysus · catharsis · hubris · protagonist · antagonist · dramatic irony
Stanislavski
Acting technique innovator
- characterizationDescribing distinctive qualities
- emotional recallRetrieving past feelings deliberately
- motivationImpetus toward a goal
sense memory · subtext · beats · objectives · improvisation · cold reading · audition · callback · sides · scene study
amateur
Nonprofessional participant
- community theaterLocal nonprofessional stage productions
- little theaterSmall-scale dramatic venue
- drama clubStudent performance organization
school play · summer stock · regional theater · dinner theater · showcase · fringe · off-Broadway · West End · Broadway · touring company
- theaterplays, stage, play, onstage, auditorium
- actorsactor, actors, actresses, film actor, performers
- theater peopleactors, actor, directors, actresses, cast
- theater groupstheater troupe, troupe, repertory theater, repertory theatre, stock company
thespiansaudience
Gathered viewers collectively
spectators · viewers · theatergoers · playgoers · onlookers
thespiansstagehands
Backstage technical workers
crew · technicians · set designers · lighting technicians · costume designers
thespiansstagehands
Backstage technical workers
techies · crew · stage managers · lighting technicians · sound technicians