Drama Vocabulary

1. relief a break in the tension of a tragedy provided by a comic character, a comic episode, or even a comic line.
4. the tone or feeling of the play, often engendered by the music, setting, or lighting.
5. the people who watch the performance; those for whom the performance is intended.
9. a person portrayed in a drama, novel, or other artistic piece.
10. a speech which introduces a play.
11. the climax or high point of a story, when events can go either way.
13. use of face, body, and voice to portray character.
14. in acting, when two people perform on stage.
15. a play in which sarcasm, irony, and ridicule are used to expose or attack folly or pretension in society.
16. a long speech made by one actor; a monologue may be delivered alone or in the presence of others.
17. a summary speech delivered at the end of a play that explains or comments on the action.
18. a play in which the story is told through a combination of spoken dialogue and musical numbers.
19. a brief break between acts, in which the house lights come on and the audience may leave their seats.

2. acting without words.
3. the movement of actors and dancers to music in a play.
6. the person who is responsible for the overall interpretation of a dramatic work, bringing all the elements together to create a unified production.
7. room a waiting area offstage to be used by actors.
8. the area between the front curtain and the edge of the stage.
9. the group of people selected to portray characters in a drama.
12. the spontaneous use of movement and speech to create a character or object in a particular situation; acting done without a script.
13. to improvise lines that are not part of the written script; also refers to the improvised line.