The glossary · 53 terms
From the half to the ghost light.
The words you’ll hear backstage, at the box office and in the lobby, defined plainly. Where US and UK practice differ, we say so.
A
- Assistive listening
-
A system that sends the show’s sound straight to a receiver, headset or hearing aid, for audience members who are hard of hearing. Front of house hands out and collects the devices.
- Audio description
-
Live narration of what’s happening on stage (action, costumes, expressions), delivered through headsets for blind and partially sighted audience members, often with a touch tour before the show.
B
- Benefit performance
-
A performance whose proceeds, or part of them, support a cause or the organization itself, often with a reception, dinner or appeal attached.
- Black tie Also: Black tie optional
-
The most formal common dress code: tuxedos or dinner jackets and evening wear. “Black tie optional” means formalwear is welcome but a dark suit is fine.
- Box office
-
Where tickets are sold and held, and usually where will call, comp records and the night’s ticket report live.
- Break a leg
-
The traditional way to wish a performer well, because saying “good luck” in a theater is considered bad luck.
C
- Chime Also: Bells
-
The lobby signal that the performance, or the next act, is about to start, sounded at set times so guests finish drinks and head in.
- Closing notice
-
The announcement that a production will end on a set date. For commercial productions, when and how it’s posted is often set by union agreements.
- Cocktail attire
-
A dress code a step below black tie: suits, dresses and smart separates. It’s the safe default for most opening nights.
- Comp Also: Complimentary ticket
-
A free ticket. A written comp policy says who can authorize comps, how many, for which performances and by what deadline.
- Curtain call
-
The bows at the end of the performance. On opening and closing nights it may be followed by speeches, so the stage manager plans it like a cue.
- Curtain speech
-
A short address to the audience, usually before the show starts: a welcome, the phone and photo rules, thanks and any announcements.
D
- Dark Also: Dark night
-
A night with no performance. A theater that’s “dark” has nothing playing.
E
- Embargo
-
An agreement that reviews won’t be published before a set time, often after the opening night curtain. Practice varies by market and outlet, so the press rep sets the rules.
F
- Fair market value
-
The value of what a donor gets in return, such as the ticket and dinner. Tax rules in many places limit the deductible amount to what was paid above it, so finance or counsel should set the figures.
- Front of house Also: FOH
-
Everything on the audience side of the curtain: the lobby, box office, ushers, bars and the auditorium itself, run on the night by the house manager.
- Frozen Also: Freezing the show
-
The point when the creative team stops making changes and the show is locked, usually before press night.
G
- Gala
-
A celebratory performance or evening, often formal, usually with a reception or dinner and often a fundraising purpose.
- Ghost light
-
A single bare bulb left burning on an empty stage when the theater is dark: a safety light, and by tradition a light for the ghosts.
H
- Hold
-
Delaying the start of the show, or of the next act, by a few minutes, usually to finish seating the audience. Agree in advance who can call it and how long it can run.
- Honoree
-
The person or group a gala celebrates. They usually speak, so they get a time budget and a stage manager like everyone else.
- House
-
The auditorium and the audience in it. “Opening the house” means letting the audience in to take their seats.
- House manager
-
The person in charge of the audience side during a performance: ushers, seating, latecomers and the hold, in step with the stage manager.
- House seats
-
Prime seats held back from general sale so the producers, creative team or company can buy or allocate them. Unused house seats are usually released to the box office before the performance.
I
- Intermission Also: Interval
-
The break between acts, commonly around fifteen minutes. Bars, restrooms and the chimes all have to fit inside it.
- Invited dress
-
A final dress rehearsal with an invited audience, before previews or opening, so the company plays to a full house for the first time.
L
- Late seating Also: Latecomer policy
-
When and where guests who arrive after curtain are seated, usually at a suitable moment agreed with the stage manager. Print it on the invitation and the ticket.
- Legacy Robe
-
A Broadway opening night tradition: before the first performance of a musical, a robe decorated by past companies is presented to the ensemble member with the most Broadway chorus credits. It was long known by an older name and was renamed the Legacy Robe.
M
- Management hold
-
A small block of good seats the producer or company manager keeps back for late, important requests. Every request after the deadline comes out of it, with names attached.
O
- Open captioning
-
The dialogue and sound shown as text on a screen everyone can see, as opposed to captions on individual devices.
- Opening night
-
The first performance after previews, when the show officially opens, usually with an invited audience and a party. Reviews are often embargoed until it’s over.
P
- Paddle raise Also: Fund-a-need
-
A live appeal where guests pledge set amounts by raising numbered paddles. A gift arranged in advance usually opens it, because the room follows whoever goes first.
- Papering the house Also: Papering
-
Giving away tickets, discreetly, to fill seats that would otherwise be empty, so the house looks and sounds full.
- Photo call
-
A scheduled session where press photographers shoot selected moments of the production, in costume on the set, usually before press night.
- Places Also: Beginners
-
The call for performers and crew to take their positions for the start of the show. In UK theater the equivalent call is “beginners.”
- Press kit
-
Everything a journalist needs in one place: the release, credits, bios, production photos, running time and contacts.
- Press night
-
The performance critics are invited to review. It may be opening night, or a separate performance shortly before it.
- Previews
-
Performances before the official opening, while the production can still change. Tickets are on sale, but critics generally wait for press night.
- Prompt book
-
The stage manager’s master script, with blocking and every cue marked. It’s the document the show runs from.
R
- Relaxed performance Also: Sensory-friendly performance
-
A performance with adjustments such as softer sound, some house light left on and freedom to move or step out, for anyone who benefits from a less formal environment.
- Run
-
The full series of performances of a production, from the first preview to closing night.
S
- Slip Also: Cast change slip
-
A printed insert, or a banner in a digital program, telling the audience who is on tonight when an understudy, swing or standby is performing.
- Stage door
-
The backstage entrance for the company and crew. Flowers and gifts wait there, and it’s where guests meet performers after the show.
- Stage manager Also: SM
-
The person who runs each performance: calls every cue, keeps the schedule and has the final word backstage, including when the show starts.
- Standby
-
A performer who covers one or more principal roles and doesn’t otherwise appear in the show. (Not to be confused with a stage manager’s “standby” before a cue.)
- Step-and-repeat
-
A backdrop printed with a repeating logo or title where arriving guests are photographed. Place it where the line can form without blocking the lobby.
- Strike
-
Taking down the set, lights and costumes after the final performance, usually the night of closing or the morning after.
- Swing
-
An offstage performer who covers several ensemble tracks and goes on whenever one of them is out.
T
- The half Also: Half hour, Half-hour call
-
The call that the company is due in the building ahead of the performance. In US practice it’s called 30 minutes before curtain; in UK practice the half is called 35 minutes before the advertised start. The house often opens at the half.
- Touch tour
-
A pre-show visit to the stage to feel the set, props and costumes, usually before an audio-described performance.
U
- Understudy
-
A performer who learns a role, often while playing another, and goes on when the regular performer can’t.
- Usher
-
Front-of-house staff or volunteers who check tickets, show guests to their seats and look after the aisles and exits.
W
- Will call
-
Tickets held at the box office for pickup, usually with ID. It’s the slowest lane at the door, so give it its own.
No terms match. Try fewer letters, or search the guides.