7
votes
Accepted
What are dress-boxes in a theatre?
Dress boxes are boxes at the level of the "dress circle" or "dress gallery." This is usually the first level above the floor of the theatre. It is the level at which audience members are most visible ...
- 996
5
votes
Accepted
What's a word for ensuring certain categories play certain roles?
"Authentic" seems to be the word that best renders the expected meaning.
Here are a few examples of its use (bold mine) :
Authentic casting has been one of the most prominent issues facing ...
- 805
3
votes
What's a word for ensuring certain categories play certain roles?
The word being looked for is hard to find. It rather depends on exactly how far the questioner is wanting to take it. I wonder, for example, whether the idea is that, for example, the part of a rich ...
- 11.4k
3
votes
Accepted
"Double or nothing" - Seinfeld season 6
You're not wrong about the expression. "Double or nothing" means doubling or canceling the existing debt. In this case, the $3200 Kramer has already lost betting on airport arrivals would ...
- 10.3k
3
votes
Is there another more official theatrical term for “straight man”?
Straight man is the term that tends to be used for that role in the theatrical community. From the The Methuen Drama Dictionary of the Theatre, at the end of the entry for stooge:
A straight man, ...
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3
votes
Accepted
Is there a word for the talking an artist does between songs?
A very standard term is stage banter.
An example of usage:
Stage banter––what you say to the audience between your songs––can make or break a live performance, and it's something that's especially
...
- 12.6k
2
votes
Is there a word for the talking an artist does between songs?
Patter can be used generally for any interstitial talk by an artist during a live performance. Patter also has a more specific meaning: the talk done to keep the audience from getting restless while ...
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2
votes
What is the origin of the phrase "And scene!"
I found a helpful source: http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=674271
It seems that in rehearsals and improv, to signal that a scene is over, there was a word that a director would ...
- 21.6k
2
votes
What is word for lover of live theater?
Merriam Webster's defines a theatergoer as:
a person who frequently goes to the theater
There is also the term theater patron which can imply someone who also provides financial support or a very ...
- 423
2
votes
What are dress-boxes in a theatre?
Describing the "Old Vic," King Street,
Bristol, Avon, Great Britain, Simon Tidworth wrote,
"The floor of the auditorium, known in France as the parterre and in England, and hereafter in this ...
- 6,767
2
votes
"Double or nothing" - Seinfeld season 6
Yes, "double or nothing" means a doubling of the debt or a cancelation of the debt. If the debtor wins the bet, the debt is canceled.
I'm not familiar with that Seinfeld episode, but I believe the ...
- 4,378
2
votes
What's a word for ensuring certain categories play certain roles?
I've seen the term "race-conscious casting" though that doesn't encompass gender identity, etc.
"Descriptive representation" also comes to mind, which is a political term that ...
- 117
1
vote
What's a word for ensuring certain categories play certain roles?
Type casting refers to the character, not the actor.
If you are type cast, it's because the casting agents think you fit that character but that is not ONLY due to your physical aspect but because of ...
- 15.3k
1
vote
What do you call someone who performs in musical theatre?
The catch-all word would be performer. To be more specific would depend on the show and a performer's on-stage role. In an opera the performers are definitely singers. In most musical plays they are ...
- 5,740
1
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What is the origin of the phrase "And scene!"
Definition 1:
An attempt to retract a social faux pas, often a rant, implying, usually jokingly, that the whole thing was just an act.
Definition 2:
Derives from auditioning on the stage, when an ...
- 151
1
vote
What does "passion-tearing" mean?
Passion-tearing = Dramatic over-acting.
Woe-is-me loud wailing declamations and dramatic expressions of grief / joy / ... .
Google Ngram results help heaps.
Click blue year-ranges at bottom of page ...
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