| | 
| 
| 
| 
  
#63135
03/31/2002 8:12 PM
 |  
| 
Joined:  Mar 2002 Posts: 1 stranger
 |  
| stranger
 Joined:  Mar 2002 Posts: 1 | 
I want to know some words related to the theatre, I have found some in the archive. Can any one offer me other words.
 I would like to know the word describing a balcony viewing that protrudes from a wall in some theaters?
 
 Some words from the archive:
 
 Impresario (im-pruh-SAR-ee-o) noun
 
 1. An organizer, promoter, or manager of public entertainments, such as
 A ballet, opera, concert, or theater company.
 
 2. Any manager or director.
 
 Buskin (BUS-kin) noun
 
 1. A thick-soled, laced boot, reaching to knee or calf, worn by actors
 of ancient Greek and Roman tragedies. Also known as cothurnus.
 
 2. A tragic drama.
 
 
 Dramaturg (DRAM-uh-turj) noun, also dramaturge or dramaturgist
 
 1. A playwright, especially one affiliated with a specific theater
 company.
 
 2. A member of a theater company staff who selects, edits, and adapts
 plays for performance, and writes program notes.
 
 Proscenium (pro-SEE-nee-uhm) noun
 
 The part of the stage that is in front of the curtain.
 
 Odeum (oh-DEE-uhm) noun, plural odea
 
 1. A theater or concert hall.
 
 2. A roofed building in ancient Greece and Rome used for theatrical
 performances.
 
 
 
 |  |  |  
| 
| 
| 
  
#63136
03/31/2002 8:16 PM
 |  
| 
Joined:  Feb 2002 Posts: 833 old hand |  
|   old hand Joined:  Feb 2002 Posts: 833 | 
Hmmmm. I THINK the word you want is "loge" - from the Canadian Oxford: loge (n) 1. a seating area in a theatre, usu. eleveated above the orchestra level and on the side. 2. a private box or enclosure in the theatre. "I think we're in da loges!" (Kiss Me Kate) welcome to the board - hope you enjoy it! (sure you will!   ) |  |  |  
| 
| 
| 
  
#63137
03/31/2002 8:47 PM
 |  
| 
Joined:  Mar 2000 Posts: 1,981 Pooh-Bah |  
|   Pooh-Bah Joined:  Mar 2000 Posts: 1,981 | 
>"loge" - from the Canadian Oxford
 Commonly know in the UK at least as a box. One of them is usually set aside as the Royal Box. I always feel sorry for them, they are amongst the worst seats in the house.
 
 
 
 |  |  |  
| 
| 
| 
  
#63138
03/31/2002 8:54 PM
 |  
| 
Joined:  Mar 2000 Posts: 1,981 Pooh-Bah |  
|   Pooh-Bah Joined:  Mar 2000 Posts: 1,981 | 
>usu. elevated above the orchestra level In the UK this level is called the orchestra stalls but is generally known as the stalls. In the USA I noticed that this is usually called the orchestra. In the UK the seating names do vary but in a traditional theatre, if there are several levels, they are commonly called: Stalls (lowest level), Circle, Dress Circle or Royal Circle (1st level looking down), Upper Circle or Grand Circle (2nd level looking down) and Balcony (right at the top), although there are exceptions. There are sometimes boxes at the back of the stalls, at the side and further forward than the dress circle, similarly with the grand circle. The site for London's Globe Theatre has some interesting theatre history. The construction of the the theatre, with space for the groundlings, was quite different to modern theatre. http://www.rdg.ac.uk/globe/ |  |  |  
| 
| 
| 
  
#63139
03/31/2002 8:54 PM
 |  
| 
Joined:  Jan 2001 Posts: 13,858 Carpal Tunnel |  
|   Carpal Tunnel Joined:  Jan 2001 Posts: 13,858 | 
My dictionary says a loge is;
 the forward section of a mezzanine or balcony in a theater, set off by an aisle or railing
 
 I think that seats in the loge are purchased as a block, ordinarily for VIPs/
 
 
 |  |  |  
| 
| 
| 
  
#63140
04/01/2002 4:41 AM
 |  
| 
Joined:  Nov 2000 Posts: 3,146 Carpal Tunnel |  
|   Carpal Tunnel Joined:  Nov 2000 Posts: 3,146 | 
Another term for the highest level of seating in theatres in NZ is "the gods".   I've always rather liked it!
 
 
 The idiot also known as Capfka ...
 |  |  |  
| 
| 
| 
  
#63141
04/01/2002 5:45 AM
 |  
| 
Joined:  Mar 2001 Posts: 4,189 Carpal Tunnel |  
|   Carpal Tunnel Joined:  Mar 2001 Posts: 4,189 | 
Welcome masa969!    Here's a look at the terms used for seating sections from a theatrical site:http://www.talkinbroadway.com/rialto/past/1999/8_5_99.html Because auditorium and ticket terminology varies from one theatre to another, it is not surprising that many customers are confused when it comes to ordering tickets. How, then, should the various sections of a theatre be labeled? Some terms are preferred because they may sound more elegant than others: "terrace" instead of "first balcony," "family circle" instead of "second balcony." While the fancy labels may be desirable for some theatres, more accurate terms are probably a better choice in most cases. Almost any box office treasurer will attest that a surprising number of ticket buyers don't even understand the term "orchestra." Suffice it to say that theatregoing should be made as easy as possible. The following are the most commonly used seating terms: 
 Front Auditorium: Orchestra or Stalls (England)
 
 Middle Auditorium: Mezzanine, Dress Circle, Front Balcony, First Balcony, Boxes, Side Terrace, Side Balcony, Loge, Parterre, Galleries (England), and First Tier
 
 Rear Auditorium: Balcony, Rear Orchestra, Family Circle, Second Balcony, Rear Balcony, The Gods (England), Second Tier, and Second Terrace
 In the US there's also a slang term for the furthest, and highest, seats in the back of the theatre or auditorium, notoriously the worst seats in the house: the nosebleeds .  |  |  |  
| 
| 
| 
  
#63142
04/01/2002 11:35 AM
 |  
| 
Joined:  Mar 2000 Posts: 1,981 Pooh-Bah |  
|   Pooh-Bah Joined:  Mar 2000 Posts: 1,981 | 
>Galleries (England) Funny, I used to work in a West End Box Office and can't think of anywhere with Galleries, except the Globe. See this list of theatres: http://www.londontheatre.co.uk/lashmars/price.htm The Gods is a term used here. You can go to the box office and ask for a seat in the Gods but you would never see it printed as a seating section in a brochure. I like the sound of "nosebleeds". I used to go to the theatre two or three times a week (London, esp in the Gods always was much, much cheaper than Broadway) and remember some bad experiences with cheap tickets whilst eight months+ pregant - nosebleeds would have been the right name. Mind you, it was running for the bus afterwards that laid me up in the end.  |  |  |  
| 
| 
| 
  
#63143
04/01/2002 2:09 PM
 |  
| 
Joined:  Mar 2001 Posts: 4,189 Carpal Tunnel |  
|   Carpal Tunnel Joined:  Mar 2001 Posts: 4,189 | 
the nosebleeds
 I should have mentioned that the term is usually used in this phrase: We were sitting up in the nosebleeds; up in the nosebleeds; or way up in the nosebleeds.
 
 
 |  |  |  
| 
| 
| 
  
#63144
04/02/2002 12:56 AM
 |  
| 
Joined:  Nov 2001 Posts: 16 stranger
 |  
|   stranger
 Joined:  Nov 2001 Posts: 16 | 
Can any one offer me other words.
 If the Juliet is facing the audience:
 stage left- to her left
 stage right- to her right
 center stage- where she is standing in the middle of  the stage
 upstage- the stage behind her
 downstage- the  stage in front of her
 
 
 
 |  |  |  
| 
| 
| 
  
#63145
04/02/2002 3:04 AM
 |  
| 
Joined:  Nov 2000 Posts: 1,289 veteran |  
|   veteran Joined:  Nov 2000 Posts: 1,289 | 
"Nosebleed section" is a term frequently used herebouts for the highest tier of the bleachers at the ballpark.  (And that is very high up.  At Camden Yards, if you're in the nosebleeds, you can't see what direction a hit ball is going -- you have to watch which way the fielders are running.  You are so high up the perspective is skewed.)
 
 |  |  |  
| 
| 
| 
  
#63146
04/02/2002 3:48 AM
 |  
| 
Joined:  Feb 2002 Posts: 833 old hand |  
|   old hand Joined:  Feb 2002 Posts: 833 | 
Almost any box office treasurer will attest that a surprising number of ticket buyers don't even understand the term "orchestra."Ahhh, so true. I used to work in the box office at the Stratford Festival of Canada. How vividly I remember the strange questions and requests...including the one patron who asked for "orchestra seats in the balcony." Gotta choose one or 'tother, lady. Then there were the patrons who asked for seats facing the stage.....because we sold so many seats facing the back wall, I suppose.   |  |  |  
| 
| 
| 
  
#63147
04/02/2002 4:07 AM
 |  
| 
Joined:  Dec 2001 Posts: 688 addict |  
|   addict Joined:  Dec 2001 Posts: 688 | 
Then there were the patrons who asked for seats facing the stage.....because we sold so many seats facing the back wall, I suppose. 
 I was supposed to ask for front facing seats?  No wonder I saw so much of the rest of the theater!
 
 
 |  |  |  
| 
| 
| 
  
#63148
04/03/2002 3:06 AM
 |  
| 
Joined:  Nov 2000 Posts: 1,289 veteran |  
|   veteran Joined:  Nov 2000 Posts: 1,289 | 
To continue with Drow's work on supplying you with words:
 - Proscenium - the arch at the front of the stage which defines the limit of the stage and its action
 - Drop - a piece of scenery, usually in the back of a set, in which case it's called a backdrop, which is suspended from a metal bar and is raised and lowered.
 - Scrim - a gauze curtain which is semi-transparent or can be nearly opaque depending on how it is lit.  Nearly always hung from a rail, like a drop.  It has to be weighted with pipe in the hem at the bottom to keep it hanging straight without wrinkles.  The effect of a scrim is to cancel perspective -- anything you see behind it, you see in a flat plane.
 - traveler - a curtain which is in two parts and which opens and closes sideways, the two halves going offstage to left and right.
 - fly - v., to raise [a drop or curtain hung from a rail] off the stage.  n.  a curtain which rises in this manner
 
 
 |  |  |  
| 
| 
| 
  
#63149
04/04/2002 1:37 PM
 |  
| 
Joined:  Jan 2001 Posts: 1,819 Pooh-Bah |  
|   Pooh-Bah Joined:  Jan 2001 Posts: 1,819 | 
May I suggest the follow link for a well-organized glossary of theatrical terms: http://www.theatrecrafts.com/glossary/glossary.shtml
 Here are some excerpts:
 
 LOGE
 Seating area in traditional proscenium arch venues. Exact location varies according to the venue, but is usually a "box" position at the dress circle level. (From the French Logè)
 
 GREEN ROOM
 Room close to the stage (i.e. the green) for the actors to meet and relax.
 
 GODS
 Colloquial term for the Upper Circle of the auditorium.
 
 BLACK BOX
 A kind of studio theatre where the audience and actors are in the same room, surrounded by black tabs (curtains). Doesn't necessarily describe the audience layout.
 
 CIRCLE
 The balcony with tiered seating above the stalls. Also known as Dress Circle or Grand Circle. See also UPPER CIRCLE.
 
 THRUST
 Form of stage which projects into the auditorium so that the audience are seated on at least two sides of the extended piece. See also END ON, IN THE ROUND.
 
 
 THUNDER RUN
 Long channel down which a cannonball is rolled to give a realistic thunder rumble effect. Built into the roof of some older theatres, but mostly now unused (for safety reasons).
 
 
 UPPER CIRCLE
 Highest balcony in the auditorium. Also known as the GODS. Normally has a very steep view down to the stage, and highly raked seating.
 
 
 
 
 
 |  |  |  
| 
| 
| 
  
#63150
04/04/2002 3:18 PM
 |  
| 
Joined:  Apr 2000 Posts: 10,542 Carpal Tunnel |  
|   Carpal Tunnel Joined:  Apr 2000 Posts: 10,542 | 
>Gotta choose one or 'tother, lady.
 not according to this, from above:
 
 Front Auditorium: Orchestra or Stalls (England)
 
 Middle Auditorium: Mezzanine, Dress Circle, Front Balcony, First Balcony, Boxes, Side
 Terrace, Side Balcony, Loge, Parterre, Galleries (England), and First Tier
 
 Rear Auditorium: Balcony, Rear Orchestra, Family Circle, Second Balcony, Rear Balcony,                   The Gods (England), Second Tier, and Second Terrace
 
 (color me confused)
 |  |  |  
| 
| 
| 
  
#63151
04/04/2002 4:26 PM
 |  
| 
Joined:  Sep 2001 Posts: 6,296 Carpal Tunnel |  
|   Carpal Tunnel Joined:  Sep 2001 Posts: 6,296 | 
Rear Orchestra...that's up where the pigeons roost? Good grief. That's news to me.
 Went to a play up at Ithaca rescently and the actors performed on the same level as the audience in a huge rehearsal room. "Chicago." Saw half of it due to an orchestra performance conflict.
 
 Anyway, sitting there on the same level as the actors proved to be a big bother. I couldn't see a lot of the action because the actors weren't elevated--but their performance was spiritually elevating, so I sorely felt the loss of getting to see more of their movement across the floor. Too bad some kind of temporary platforms weren't used to elevate the actors just a bit.
 
 Was this comparable to the "black box" type of performance area I read about in one of the above posts--even though there weren't any black curtains--just that rehearsal room with the orchestra elevated in back of the actors?
 
 Best regards,
 DubbedDubious
 
 
 |  |  |  
| 
| 
| 
  
#63152
04/04/2002 4:38 PM
 |  
| 
Joined:  Jan 2001 Posts: 1,819 Pooh-Bah |  
|   Pooh-Bah Joined:  Jan 2001 Posts: 1,819 | 
That sounds like a sort of black box approach, although a more typical black box theatrical production would be a play with a small cast of characters and not a lot of emphasis on scenery, something like "Waiting For Godot" for example. It is hard to imagine why a musical like "Chicago" would be done in such a setting, where you couldn't appreciate the choreography in the musical numbers.
 
 |  |  |  
| 
| 
| 
  
#63153
04/04/2002 4:43 PM
 |  
| 
Joined:  Apr 2000 Posts: 10,542 Carpal Tunnel |  
|   Carpal Tunnel Joined:  Apr 2000 Posts: 10,542 | 
here's a typical seating chart including "rear orchestra":http://www.statetheatre.com/events/seatch.html (first floor, not quite the nosebleeds) |  |  |  
| 
| 
| 
  
#63154
04/05/2002 12:16 AM
 |  
| 
Joined:  Sep 2001 Posts: 6,296 Carpal Tunnel |  
|   Carpal Tunnel Joined:  Sep 2001 Posts: 6,296 | 
Dear tsuwm,
 Well, thanks! That rear orchestra area in the illustration makes sense.
 
 In one of Richmond's old concert halls, which used to be called "The Mosque" until some folks decided it was an offensive term, the nosebleeds were the best seats in the house accoustically, even though the musicians looked like itchy, scratching ants on stage.
 
 Beat regards,
 doobydoobydubdub
 
 
 |  |  |  
| 
| 
| 
  
#63155
04/09/2002 9:57 PM
 |  
| 
Joined:  Mar 2000 Posts: 1,981 Pooh-Bah |  
|   Pooh-Bah Joined:  Mar 2000 Posts: 1,981 | 
>That sounds like a sort of black box approach, although a more typical black box theatrical production would be a play with a small cast of characters 
 Yes, more a design concept than a seating layout. The emphasis is on the performer and the piece not the props and costumes.
 
 Some of my favourite theatres (eg the Donmar Warehouse in London) tend to have the performers on the floor and the audience on three sides around them. It is a well known fact that more than three rows on the level is a waste of time - they should have used rostra to elevate the audience, no more than two rows on each successive level.
 
 Did we include "props" on the list? "Properties" movable items used by the performers in the course of action.
 
 
 |  |  |  | 
 |