| Paper |
Complimentary (i.e. free!) tickets. If someone says, "The
house is all paper tonight", it means that most, if not all, of the
audience have free tickets. |
| Par Can |
A type of lantern (qv) which projects a near parallel beam of light, much
used by rock bands. The lamp is a sealed-beam unit (like car headlights) fitted
inside the "can". Available, usually, in 300W or 1kw power, they are
sometimes known as parblazers, while lighting manufacturer Strand calls them
"beamlights". |
| Pebble Convex |
A type of spotlight (qv), with a harder-edged beam than a fresnel (qv) but
softer than a profile (qv). They have a convex lens with a pebbled rear
surface. Strand call their PC lanterns "prism convex". |
| Perch |
A place for hanging lanterns, on the side wall of the theatre auditorium.
|
| Phantom Power |
A means of powering condenser microphones. A current of (usually) 48 volts
is sent along the mic cable from the mixing desk or, where the mixer does not
have phantom power facilities, from a phantom power box, into which the mic is
plugged and which, in turn, plugs into the mixer. |
| Phono Plug |
A type of connector used on some sound equipment, usually domestic HiFi or
video gear. |
| Pin Spot |
Either a small (usually 100W) spotlight used for special effects (i.e. with
a mirror ball) or, more usually in the theatre, a follow-spot with its iris
diaphragm closed to its smallest diameter to illuminate, for instance, just a
face. |
| Pit |
The sunken area in front of the stage in which the orchestra sits. |
| Plot |
Lighting term: the actual brightness settings of each lantern and the LX
cues. Also used to describe the process of setting the cues. Can also be used
as an alternative for "blocking", i.e. setting the actors in their
positions on-stage at an early stage in rehearsal. |
| Practical |
Adjective used to describe properties or scenery which have to work as in
real life when used; e.g. a practical ceiling light must actually light up when
switched on by an actor. |
| Preset |
The ability, on a manual lighting control desk (as opposed to one which is
computer-controlled) to set up a lighting cue before it is actually operated.
Also the lighting state on a stage before the show actually starts. |
| Prism Convex |
Another name for a Pebble Convex spotlight. |
| Producer |
In amateur companies usually synonymous with the Director, but in the
professional theatre the person who makes all the necessary arrangements for
the production to be put on: finding the finance, smoothing the way for the
Director. Almost the equivalent of the Business Manager. The best producers
(the best known is probably Cameron Mackintosh, who produced Les
Miserables, Miss Saigon and many other great hits) has the
genius to recognise a potentially great piece of theatre as well as find the
finance for it to be put on. |
| Profile |
A type of spotlight (qv), with an optical system rather like a projector
which produces a narrow, hard-edged beam of light. |
| Prompt (Side) |
The left side of the stage, as you face the audience. |
| Prompt Copy |
See Book. The copy of the script n which all notes, moves, cues etc.
are noted. |
| Prompter |
Amateur companies almost always have a prompter, someone who sits in the
wings (qv) and prompts the actors if they forget their lines. There is no such
position in the professional theatre - pros should not forget lines! Neither
should amateurs, for that matter, but it happens - so, if a prompt is needed,
it is given by whoever is "in the corner" (qv). |
| Properties |
Small items (a sword in an historical play, for instance, or a briefcase)
which actors carry onto or around the stage. Also used loosely for "set
dressing" (qv). Usually abbreviated to props. |
| Property Master |
(or Mistress) Responsible for the obtaining and/or construction of
the properties (qv). |
| Proscenium |
The traditional picture frame type of stage, usually with a curtain. Often
abbreviated to "pros". |
| Proscenium Arch |
(Or "pros arch"). The actual opening of a proscenium stage. |
| Pyropot |
A safe container into which a pyro (see Pyrotechnics) charge is plugged for
firing. |
| Pyrotechnics |
Usually abbreviated to "pyro". The use of explosions, flashes,
smoke, etc. on-stage. |
| Rake |
Many stage floors, usually in theatres built for dance or variety, are
higher at the back than at the front, to give the audience a better view. These
stages are said to be "raked", and the "rake" is the angle
of slope from back to front. In most modern theatres it is the audience seating
that is raked, not the stage. |
| Reprise |
Musical term: to repeat, in whole or in part, a song which has already been
sung in the show. |
| Revolve |
A stage or, more usually, part of a stage, which can revolve through 360
degrees. The most famous, to older UK TV watchers, is the revolve which was
used at the end of the TV show Sunday Night at the London
Palladium. |
| Rig |
A lighting term. To set the lanterns in position. As a noun, its refers to
the actually positioning of the lanterns. |
| Right |
The right hand side of the stage as you look at the audience. Also known as
the "opposite prompt" or "OP" side. |
| Rostrum |
(Plural: rostra) A moveable platform |
| Safety Curtain |
A curtain of fireproofed material (once upon a time it was asbestos),
usually with a metal frame, which is covers the entire proscenium (qv) opening
and acts as a firebreak between the stage and the auditorium. Known as the
"iron", when it is raised or lowered, the theatrical term is
"Iron going in (or out)". |
| Scene Dock |
Backstage area for storing scenery (and loads of other things too!). |
| Set |
The scenery for a particular show or inidividual scene. |
| Set Dressing |
Items on a set which are not actually used by anyone but which make it look
more realistic (e.g. curtains over a window, a bowl of flowers on a table, and
so on). |
| Sightlines |
The area of the stage which can be seen by everyone seated in the
auditorium. In some (badly designed!) theatres, a member of the audience
sitting at the ends of certain rows, can only see two thirds of the stage!
|
| Skycloth |
Alternative name for a cyclorama (qv). |
| Special |
Lighting term: a lantern (qv) - usually a spotlight (qv) - not used for
general illumination but for a special effect, such a lighting a single actor
in one place. |
| Spotlight |
(Or, simply, "spot") A type of lantern (qv) whose beam is focused
through a lens or series of lenses to make it more controllable. |
| Stage Manager |
(SM) In charge of everything that happens backstage: all other backstage
peronnel, including heads of departments, report to him. In the professional
theatre, once the show starts its run, he takes complete control (including
taking any rehearsals for understudies etc.), as the Director's job is finished
once he has given his notes after the final dress rehearsal. |
| State |
A lighting term, referring to the lanterns (qv) and their dimmer (qv)
settings, used in a particular cue. We talk of a "full-up state" when
all lanterns are used at full brightenss, or a "red state", when only
lanterns with red filters are on. During the plotting of the lighting, the
operator may be told to "go back to a state of 2", which means to set
the dimmers as they were in cue 2. |
| Strike |
(See also "Take Down") To dismantle the set and remove it from
the stage. |
| Strobe |
A lantern which emits a regular, controllable series of high power flashes
rather than continuous light. NOTE: strobes can induce fits in epileptics
and so warning about their use should always be given in the programme and
verbally before the show starts. |
