| No. | Item | Definition |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | act | major division of a play |
| 2. | acting | the craft of performing a role |
| 3. | aside | brief remark to audience |
| 4. | assured | confident and controlled |
| 5. | atmosphere | mood created by production |
| 6. | authenticity | sense of being genuine |
| 7. | awkwardness | clumsy or uneasy quality |
| 8. | balance | effective proportion among elements |
| 9. | beat | small unit of dramatic action |
| 10. | blocking | planned movement onstage |
| 11. | bombast | pompous, overblown language or style |
| 12. | brisk | quick and energetic |
| 13. | cadence | rhythmic flow of speech |
| 14. | characterization | creation of a believable character |
| 15. | chemistry | natural rapport between performers |
| 16. | choreography | planned movement or dance |
| 17. | climax | point of greatest intensity |
| 18. | comedy | humorous dramatic work |
| 19. | conflict | central struggle in the drama |
| 20. | costumes | clothing worn by performers |
| 21. | delivery | manner of speaking lines |
| 22. | denouement | resolution after the climax |
| 23. | depth | richness of meaning or feeling |
| 24. | dialogue | spoken lines between characters |
| 25. | diction | clarity and style of speech |
| 26. | direction | overall artistic guidance of production |
| 27. | dramaturgy | research and textual development work |
| 28. | economy | achieving much with little |
| 29. | energy | vital force of performance |
| 30. | ensemble | cast working well together |
| 31. | evocative | bringing strong images or feelings |
| 32. | excess | too much emphasis or display |
| 33. | exposition | background information in drama |
| 34. | expressionism | distorted style showing inner feeling |
| 35. | farce | broad comedy with absurd situations |
| 36. | fluency | smoothness and ease of execution |
| 37. | focus | clear concentration of attention |
| 38. | foreshadowing | hint of later events |
| 39. | gravitas | seriousness and dignity |
| 40. | gripping | intensely engaging |
| 41. | hammy | overacted in a showy way |
| 42. | haunting | lingering eerily in memory |
| 43. | hilarious | extremely funny |
| 44. | immediacy | sense of present urgency |
| 45. | impact | strong effect on audience |
| 46. | incisive | sharply perceptive and clear |
| 47. | intelligence | thoughtful artistic insight |
| 48. | interpretation | particular artistic reading of text |
| 49. | intimacy | close emotional immediacy |
| 50. | invention | creative originality in choices |
| 51. | labored | strained and effortful |
| 52. | levity | lightness or humor |
| 53. | lighting | use of stage illumination |
| 54. | lyrical | musical and poetic in quality |
| 55. | melodrama | exaggerated emotional drama |
| 56. | miscast | poorly assigned to a role |
| 57. | momentum | forward dramatic drive |
| 58. | monologue | extended speech by one character |
| 59. | mood | prevailing emotional feeling |
| 60. | moving | emotionally affecting |
| 61. | naturalism | heightened realism stressing environment |
| 62. | nuance | subtle distinction in performance |
| 63. | originality | freshness and novelty |
| 64. | overlong | too lengthy in duration |
| 65. | pacing | speed and rhythm of scenes |
| 66. | pathos | quality that evokes pity |
| 67. | payoff | satisfying dramatic result |
| 68. | performance | an actor’s execution onstage |
| 69. | plot | sequence of dramatic events |
| 70. | precision | exactness in execution |
| 71. | presence | commanding effect of a performer |
| 72. | props | objects handled onstage |
| 73. | ragged | uneven or rough in execution |
| 74. | realism | lifelike representation of experience |
| 75. | resonance | lingering emotional or intellectual effect |
| 76. | restraint | controlled avoidance of excess |
| 77. | riveting | holding attention completely |
| 78. | scene | unit of dramatic action |
| 79. | script | the written text of a play |
| 80. | set | scenery and physical stage environment |
| 81. | soliloquy | speech revealing private thoughts |
| 82. | sound | audio elements of production |
| 83. | spectacle | striking visual theatrical display |
| 84. | staging | the way a play is presented |
| 85. | subtext | unstated meaning beneath dialogue |
| 86. | taut | tense and tightly controlled |
| 87. | tension | felt pressure or suspense |
| 88. | theme | central idea or message |
| 89. | timing | sense of rhythm and cueing |
| 90. | tone | overall emotional quality |
| 91. | tragedy | serious drama ending disastrously |
| 92. | underwritten | insufficiently developed in the script |
| 93. | uneven | inconsistent in quality |
| 94. | unity | harmonious wholeness of effect |
| 95. | verisimilitude | appearance of truth or reality |
| 96. | virtuosity | brilliant technical skill |
| 97. | vitality | liveliness and vigor |
| 98. | wit | clever verbal humor |
| 99. | wooden | stiff and lifeless in acting |
| 100. | wry | dryly humorous |