THE NON-ACTORS GUIDE TO AN AUDITION & PRODUCTION

useful beginner's vocabulary

"stage left" is YOUR LEFT from the stage, facing the audience, not the director's left from the audience. Same with stage right.

"downstage" is to the front and "upstage" is to the back. This is because that's the way the stage was tilted (in ye olden days) before it was realized that tilting the audience was more helpful for viewing purposes.

"Ad-libbing," as mentioned above, is the making up of words on the fly to cover forgotten parts. A well-known ad-lib would be "I didn't know you could read" (spoken by Tom Felton to Goyle/Harry) in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Plenty of ad-libs are not even discovered by the audience until after the show, when revealed by a cast member. This is your goal when you are making things up.

"Choreography" is the dancing that goes along with songs in musicals. Guest choreographers or professional dancers are sometimes brought in to do this, or it might be a volunteer cast member. Respect and listen to them either way:)

"Blocking" is the movements and positioning onstage. This happens when lines are memorized and well-known, unless the director has other ideas. Some songs are blocked as well, depending on the feel and mood of the song. Blocking can be done by the director, assistant director, or a volunteer, though usually it's the director.

The "Green room" (can be known by other names) is where you go when you are not onstage. It could be a hallway, the dressing room, a nearby classroom (if you're in a school), or an actual room for that purpose.

"set pieces" are just that-pieces of setting that go onstage to make the scene more realistic. They can be backdrops, furniture, pictures, or even the interior or exteriors of houses. Some can be elaborate, some can be cardboard. I will warn you on this: set pieces will be annoying. They will take up residence in the wings, walkways, or green room; anywhere where it is convenient and plausible to take them on and off stage quickly. Be careful with these, they are meant for show and not for use and therefore will be easier to break.

The "wings" are the spaces to the sides of the stage that the audience cannot see, but where actors mostly exit and enter from. be quiet in there, the audience can definitely hear you. stay farther back when it is not your turn to go on, if you can see the audience they can definitely see you, and at least one of them is probably looking at the face peeking at them from inside the curtains.

"Projection" is the use of your diaphragm to speak louder. You may not think that this is necessary, with the use of mics, but those are not traditionally used in auditioning. To project, you must use the bottom of your stomach as you breathe. If your shoulders rise and fall, that is incorrect and you will sound like Justin Bieber. Practice yodeling outside, this is the easiest way to know if you are doing it right (doing it inside will make your voice seem louder than it really is). Push the air up with your core, don't restrict it in your throat, and make those prairie dogs in Colorado hear you. I would also advise looking up videos on this because it is not easy to describe in writing, but it is immensely important in auditioning that you are heard.

"Crunch time" is a general term referring to the crazy time in the week or two before opening night. This time is full of dress rehearsals, last minute costuming, "I can't find....," "Wait! Stop! Start over!" "AAAAAAHHHHH" "Stupid mic tape!" "That song is driving me crazy!" "How could you forget THAT?" and "Put that prop back where it came from or SO HELP ME!" If you are not at a rehearsal during crunch week, well.....good luck. I hope your director and castmates have cool heads, identifiable finger prints, and leave lots of DNA.

"Tech week" is the time when technical things are figured out, such as when the spotlight comes on, which stage lights to turn on, whose mic to turn off when, and "How long does it take for us to drag that thing onstage? We need to be faster!" oftentimes it is at the same time as crunch time, or it is the grand opening to the week of wonderful crazy. The scenes will likely be stopped and started often as things are cleaned and tech stuff (lights, set, props, etc) are added. This will be annoying. Not much I can tell you to help with that. If you skip this week, well, it's almost as bad as crunch time...

"mic tape" is the devil incarnate. only used for mics, if you do not have a mic, you are a lucky duck who gets to avoid the stress of trying to stick a flimsy piece of tape to three layers of makeup.

a "monologue" is a long line, or a play by one person. You really should have an idea of what they are already from reading the rest of the book. They are supposed to be memorized, and even if it is an excerpt from a larger work, such as a movie or book, they should make sense when spoken alone.

a "musical" is a play with songs. If it is only song, with no talking at all, it is an opera. They have been written for a long time and are well- loved, many being made into movies or have songs that have become independently popular, the songs "You Will Be Found" and "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" are good examples, from "Dear Evan Hansen" and "Meet Me in St. Louis" respectively. Even the "Martha Dumbstock" TikTok trend is from the musical "Heathers." actors in musicals have to sing, dance and act at the same time.