Glossary

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Only terms in this Handbook are defined

A - D

A

Acting area: Space onstage enclosed by scenery, drape, or a cyclorama.

Act curtain: Drapery usually located as close as possible to the front of the stage which may be used to indicate opening and closing of scenes and acts.

Adjudicator: Especially qualified person who ranks and critiques all plays seen in the contest. Certified adjudicators are listed on the TTAO website.

All-Star Cast: Those actors who in the opinion of an adjudicator played roles in a particular contest in a superior manner. (Also Honorable-Mention All-Star Cast)

Alternate: Students declared eligible to serve as replacements for cast or crew members.

Approved lists of plays: Lists of long and short plays approved for contest use by the League. The current list may be found by going to the UIL website.

Apron: The area of the stage in front of the proscenium.

Area contest: A contest subordinate to the regional contest.

B

Back drop: Large piece of soft good with a batten at top used to represent exterior parts of a scene or to mask backstage areas.

Backstage: Area behind the acting area, offstage or out of the acting area and for UIL purposes, the light/ sound booth or light/sound position(s).

Bases (Pylon): Scenic Device placed around the bottom of pylons.

Batten: Length of plastic, rope or rigid metal/wood material. Not to exceed twelve feet.

Bi-District Contest: A contest subordinate to the area contest.

Business: Things actors do onstage during performance: walking, eating, sitting, writing, mime.

C

C&CR: Constitution and Contest Rules 

Capital: Scenic Device placed on top of pylons. 

Company: All persons in a cast or crew involved in the production of a contest play.

Conference: Schools classified for competition on the basis of enrollment in the last four grades in high school. (1A-6A) 

Contest manager: Person appointed by district officials and instructed by district play directors and the League to organize and administer the district One-Act Play Contest. 

Contest Site: The site includes the stage, building facilities, stage equipment, curtains, rigging, stage lighting instruments and controls. The items that compose the “basic set” must be provided equally to all companies competing in a One-Act Play Contest. 

Critique: An adjudicator’s detailed, specific comments about the acting and directing of an adjudicated play.

Curtain line: Imaginary line upon which the act curtain falls or is drawn.

D

District: Basic geographical conference assignment of schools (below the regional level) for organized inter- school activities to determine representatives to the next level of competition.

District Chair: Chairman of the District Executive Committee. 

District Executive Committee (aka DEC): Administrators from schools who are responsible for organizing and administering all League contests in their districts. 

E - I

E

Evaluation Form: A document created by the TTAO and the UIL Advisory Committee that is filled out by the adjudicator and given to the school after the play is critiqued. 

F

Festival: A brief, intensive educational program used to critique works in progress.

Flat: Framed scenery covered by cloth or other materials. 

G

Gobo: Pattern or template placed in an ellipsoidal light to project a pattern. 

Ground cloth/Floor Covering: Any item designed to cover the floor of the acting area. 

Ground plan (floor plan): Diagram drawn to scale showing the shape of the setting as viewed from above. 

H

Hand properties (hand props): Small items necessary to the play’s action which are carried on the set by actors: books, letters, dishes, flowers, etc.  

Handbook: Refers to the UIL publication, the Handbook for One-Act Play. 

House: That part of the theatre or auditorium in which the audience sits. 

J - N

L

Leaguer: Online publication of the University Interscholastic League. 

Lip: The outer edge of the stage floor. Downstage extreme edge of the apron. 

O - R

O

OAP: One-Act Play. 

Official Timekeepers: Adults selected by the Contest manager to time set/strike, running time, scene changes and music effects. 

Offstage: Areas right and left of the set or out of the acting area. 

Onstage: The acting area of the stage. 

P 

Panel Judging: A form of judging where three or five adjudicators are used to select the advancing plays and individual awards. 

Planning meeting: Meeting of district play directors held well before the district organizing date where recommendations concerning the One-Act Play Contest are made and forwarded to the District Director. 

Play director: Faculty member who produces the contest play from its selection to final performance.  

Prompting: Providing an actor or actors on stage temporarily forgotten lines or time cues. This may be done by another actor, crew member or by a prompter by using cue cards, flash cards, hand signals or verbal cues. 

Proscenium arch: The picture frame of the stage dividing the house and the stage house.

Pylon: Unit set element. 

R 

Region: Site designated by the League where contests are held for those schools advancing beyond the district meets. A State subdivision, above the district level, leading to the State Meet.

Rehearsing: Time spent by the company and director developing the performance piece. Sometimes erroneously termed “play practice.” 

S - V

S 

Scenery: Drapes, flats, ground rows, etc., arranged around or near an acting area to represent interior or exterior scenes. 

Scenic Background: Non-essential, decorative scenery that represents what lies behind objects in the foreground  

Scrim: Translucent open-weave fabric which may be used as a drop to create fantasy effects or to enhance a sky background. 

Script: The written text of a stage play. 

SEC: State Executive Committee. 

Set additions: Scenery such as special drops, curtains, step units, flats, etc., which are not part of the Approved Unit Set or allowed under contest rules. 

Set Up: Placing scenery, props and lights in the acting and offstage areas prior to or during a performance. Set up must be accomplished in 7 minutes or less. 

Site Crew: Group of adults and students who help run the contest. 

Special: A name given to a lighting instrument hung specifically for one show but made available to all companies as part of the basic set. 

Spring Meet Director: Administrator in charge of each level’s academic and athletic spring contests. 

Stage house: That section of the theatre or auditorium from the curtain line up to the ceiling or grid and back to the rear wall. 

Stage manager: Adult or very experienced student who is in charge of companies backstage. If an adult is used, this can be your backstage timer. This is the person responsible for getting the contest started and kept on time. He or she is in charge of the stage crew. 

Standard properties (props): General term referring to articles and materials used on stage by actors or to furnish the setting, usually interior or exterior furniture or substitutes for furniture. Commonly available furniture such as chairs, tables, settees, stools, benches, desks, etc. 

State Theatre Director: Person at the UIL office who oversees the operation of the One-Act Play Contest. 

Step units: Stairway containing two or more risers covered by treads. 

Strike: Removing scenery, props and lights from the acting area during or after a performance. Strike shall be accomplished in 7 minutes or less. 

Student Activities Conference: League-sponsored meetings for play directors and students held during September–December at host colleges, universities and schools to discuss and demonstrate methods of improving contests and the quality of educational theatre

Sweepstakes: Overall award given to the school accumulating the most points from the Spring Meet contests. 

T 

Trim properties (props): All decorative elements related in use to standard or unusual stage properties and used to dress the stage, such as pictures, lamps, clocks, books, ornaments, dishes, etc. Trim properties may also be stage or hand properties if directly used by the actor. 

U 

UIL: University Interscholastic League 

Unit Set (League approved): Flexible and portable modular units described in the “Supplements” of this Handbook. 

W - Z

W

Wings: Offstage space right or left. May also refer to drapes or flats located as masking agents of these spaces. 

Workshop: A brief, intensive educational program for a relatively small group of people in a given field. 

Z

Zone: Recommended pre-district contests when there are nine or more entries in the district contest