Now updated for CSW19. New words, if any, and new inflections of existing words, are shown in red.
| actable | capable of being acted. |
| aside | on or to one side; (noun) a comment by an actor intended to be heard by the audience but not the other actors. |
| audition | the act of hearng; (verb) to give a trial performance. |
| backdrop | a backcloth; (verb) to provide with a scenic background. |
| backstage | behind the scenes, unobserved by the public; (noun) the back area of a stage. |
| baignoire | (Fr.) a theatre box on a level with the stalls. |
| baladin | (Fr.) a (male) theatrical dancer. |
| baladine | (Fr.) a (female) theatrical dancer. |
| balladin | (Fr.) a (male) theatre dancer. |
| balladine | a (female) theatre dancer. |
| barnstorm | to tour country areas giving theatrical performances. |
| basoche | (Fr.) a mediaeval guild of clerks of the parliament of Paris, performers of mystery plays. |
| boxkeeper | an attendant at a theatre who has charge of the boxes. |
| buffa | (Ital.) the comic actress in an opera > BUFFE or BUFFAS. |
| buffo | (Ital.) the comic actor in an opera. |
| bunraku | (Japanese) a form of puppet theater with large puppets. |
| byplay | action subordinate to the main action, as in a play. |
| callboy | a boy who calls actors when they are required on stage. |
| catchword | among theatrical performers, the last word of the preceding speaker, which reminds one that he is to speak next. |
| chorus | the combination of voices in one simultaneous utterance; (verb) to speak in chorus. |
| clapperboy | the person who works the clapperboards. |
| claquer | one of the claque employed to applaud at a theater. |
| claqueur | (Fr.) one of the claque employed to applaud at a theater. |
| comique | (Fr.) a comic actor or singer. |
| continuity | a script or scenario in the performing arts. |
| corpse | a dead, usually human body; (verb) of an actor, to forget one's lines. |
| decor | (Fr.) scenery and stage embellishments; a general decorative effect. |
| derig | to dismantle and remove esp theatre equipment. |
| downstage | the front of a stage. |
| dramaturg | a dramatist; spec. a reader and literary editor etc. to a permanent theatrical company. |
| dramaturge | a dramatist; spec. a reader and literary editor etc. to a permanent theatrical company. |
| dramaturgist | a dramatist; spec. a reader and literary editor etc. to a permanent theatrical company. |
| dumbshow | gesture without words; pantomime. |
| encore | (Fr.) again; (noun) a repeat performance; (verb) to give a repeat performance. |
| epitaxis | the part of a play in which the main action develops. |
| fantoccini | (Ital.) mechanically worked puppets used in street theatre. |
| farcer | a writer of farces. |
| farceur | (Fr.) a writer of farces. |
| farceuse | (Fr.) a (female) writer of farces. |
| feerie | a theatrical extravaganza. |
| footlight | one of a row of lights along the front of a theatre stage. |
| galanty | as in galanty show, a pantomime shadow play, esp one in miniature using cutout figures from paper. |
| galleryite | a person who frequents the gallery in the theatre. |
| gracioso | (Spanish) a clown in a Spanish comedy. |
| greasepaint | a melted tallow or grease used in theater makeup. |
| guisard | a person in disguise; a masker; a mummer. |
| guiser | a person in disguise; a masker; a mummer. |
| guizer | a mummer. |
| ham | the thigh of an animal, esp of a pig salted and dried; a bad actor (verb) to overact, exaggerate |
| hambone | to overact. |
| hamfatter | a third-rate minstrel or variety actor; (verb) to perform as a third-rate minstrel. |
| hammily | (Adv.) HAMMY, overacted. |
| hamminess | the quality of being hammy, overacted. |
| hammy | overacted. |
| histrio | (Arch.) an actor. |
| histrion | (Arch.) an actor. |
| histrionic | relating to the stage or actors. |
| histrionical | relating to the stage or actors. |
| histrionically | (Adv.) HISTRIONICAL, relating to the stage or actors. |
| histrionicism | acting, theatricality. |
| histrionics | playacting; stagy action or speech. |
| histrionism | acting, theatricality. |
| hoke | hokum (verb) to overact a part in a play |
| improv | (Coll.) improvisational comedy. |
| interlude | an interval between acts of a play, etc; (verb) to write or perform a dramatic interlude. |
| interludial | relating to an interlude. |
| loquitur | (Lat.) 'He (or she) says', used with a person's name as a stage direction. |
| mainstage | the stage of the principal theatre operated by a theatrical company, usually the one on which major works are performed. |
| marionette | (Fr.) a puppet moved by strings, as in a puppet show. |
| matinee | (Fr.) an afternoon performance at a theatre, cinema, or concert hall. |
| mummer | an actor in a folk play, a mimer; (verb) to take part in mumming activities. |
| offstage | a part of a stage not visible to an audience. |
| onstage | of an actor, on the stage. |
| outact | to surpass in acting. |
| overact | to act with exaggeration. |
| overpart | to give too important or difficult a part to eg in a play. |
| panto | (Short for) pantomime. |
| parascenium | in the Greek theatre, a wing, a side-scene. |
| periaktos | (Greek) in the ancient Greek theatre, a tall revolving prism at the side of the stage, projecting a variety of backdrops. |
| pierrot | (Fr.) a comic character in French pantomime, dressed in a floppy white suit. |
| pittite | (Obs.) someone who frequents the pit of a theatre. |
| playdate | the scheduled date for showing a theatrical production. |
| playgoer | one who attends the theatre. |
| playgoing | the practice of visiting the theatre. |
| playmaking | the process of making a play. |
| playreader | one who reads over the script of a play. |
| plumper | a pad kept in the mouth to round the cheeks, used by actors. |
| premiere | (Fr.) the first performance of a play or film; (verb) to present or perform (a play, film, etc.) for the first time. |
| prolog | a prologue; (verb) to provide a play etc. with a prologue. |
| prologise | to speak a prolog. |
| prologize | to speak a prolog. |
| prologue | an introduction; (verb) to provide a play etc. with a prologue. |
| promptbook | a copy of a play for a prompter. |
| propman | a man in charge of stage properties. |
| puppeteer | one who operates a puppet; (verb) to operate a puppet. |
| restage | to stage again. |
| revue | (Fr.) a loosely constructed theatrical show. |
| revuist | one who takes part in a revue. |
| sceneman | the man who manages the movable scenes in a theater. |
| scruto | a stage trap door. |
| semichorus | half, or part of, a chorus; a passage sung by it. |
| soliloquy | an act of talking to oneself; a speech of this nature made by a character in a play, etc. |
| stageable | that can be staged. |
| stagecraft | the effective management of theatrical devices or techniques. |
| stagery | exhibition on the stage. |
| stagey | savouring of the stage, acted, assumed. |
| stagily | (Adv.) STAGY, savouring of the stage, acted, assumed. |
| staginess | being stagy, theatrical. |
| stagy | savouring of the stage, acted, assumed. |
| stichomythia | dialogue in alternate lines. |
| stichomythic | relating to stichomythia. |
| stichomythy | dialogue in alternate lines. |
| strawhat | of or relating to summer theatre. |
| supernumerary | above the stated, usual or necessary number; (noun) an actor without a speaking part. |
| theatral | of or pertaining to a theatre. |
| theatregoer | one who habitually visits the theatre. |
| theatric | relating to or suitable for the stage. |
| theatricality | the state of being theatrical. |
| theatricalize | to adapt to the theater. |
| theatrically | (Adv.) THEATRICAL, of or pertaining to a theater. |
| theatricise | to play a part. |
| theatricize | to play a part. |
| theatrics | the activity of a theatrical character. |
| thermochemist | one who studies thermochemistry. |
| thesp | (Short for) a thespian, a member of the acting profession. |
| thespian | a member of the acting profession. |
| tragedienne | (Fr.) a female tragic actor. |
| tragedy | a disastrous event. |
| tragic | very sad (noun) the element of the drama that produces tragedy |
| tragical | relating to tragedy. |
| tragically | (Adv.) TRAGIC. |
| tragicalness | the state of being tragical. |
| typecast | to cast continually for the same kind of part. |
| unactorish | not like an actor. |
| underplot | a series of events in a play, proceeding collaterally with the main story, and subservient to it. |
| upstage | to divert attention from (another person) to oneself, to outshine. |
| wayang | (Javanese) a type of Indonesian theatre featuring puppets or human dancers. |
| woman | a female (verb) to play the part of a woman |