Performance
A live musical, dramatic or other entertainment presented before an audience. In theatre, we think of a 'performance' as a specific, single unit within the run of a show (eg. '"I have a ticket for the Wed matinee performance of Come From Away, on January 20, 2021".)
Places
The call by stage management to notify cast members to take their opening positions for the start of the act /show. eg. "Places please for the start of Act One."
Play
A written text designed to be performed on stage.
Post Show
Refers to the period of time following the end of the show, when the audience may still be in the theatre (eg. A post show Q&A with members of the cast, or an event reception in the lobby).
Pre Show
Refers to the period of time before the start of the show, when the audience has entered the theatre and may be in the front of house lobby areas or auditorium.
Pre-Broadway
This refers to a limited engagement run of production that happens prior to its planned Broadway debut.
Presenter
The presenter is responsible for booking the shows for their venue. They may occasionally also be involved as a producer, but not necessarily.
Preview
Public performances prior to the official opening (media) night. Traditionally, this period is used to test the show out with a live audience and allows time for some last minute adjustments before the show is 'frozen', prior to Opening Night.
Producer
The producer oversees all financial and managerial aspects of mounting a theatrical production. Along with helping to arrange money needed to put on the production, they are responsible for hiring the creative team (and sometimes performers).
Production Schedule
A timetable for preparing a production to be ready for opening. This includes overseeing dates for everything from audition casting, completion of designs and building of the sets/costumes etc, advertising launch, box office opening, rehearsals and getting in to the theatre.
Production Stage Manager
This important role coordinates production work across the organization, especially focussing on the technical / production aspects and logistics. The PSM oversees the stage management team, and is responsible for coordinating every aspect of a production from scheduling to calling cues during a performance to maintaining the director's artistic vision once the show has opened.
Productions Costs
The capital cost of preparing a show, up to the first paid public performance. This includes everything needed to arrive at the first performance, through all stages of the creative development and rehearsals.
Professional Theatre
Productions that are paying, involving people who do the work as a career.
Prompt Book
"Master copy of the script or score that is used by Stage Management to control the running of a show. Also referred to as the "Book" or the 'production bible', it contains all the actors' moves and technical cues in the show, as well as all the important information that is needed by the SM team including contact lists, show reports, emergency procedures, local amenities, venue info, etc. The member of the SM team that is calling cues during the performance is "on the book".
Proscenium arch
The opening in the wall that stands between the stage and the audience in some theatres, often highly ornate and decorative. It forms a picture frame through which the audience views the show and, traditionally, improved the acoustics of vocal projection for the performers on stage.
