WMU Theatre Glossary
AEA: Actor’s Equity Association (Actor’s Union).
The D. Terry Williams Theatre: This 70′ x 70′ black box theatre seats between 270 and 350 audience members, depending on which stage configuration is being used. The permanent balcony has 70 fixed seats; the main floor has 8 units of 25 seats each on telescoping platforms that can be stored under the balcony area when not in use. These seating platforms can be arranged in numerous configurations including thrust, proscenium, corner, stadium, and arena. A full fly house extends over the main floor with 55 line sets that are able to fly scenery, lighting, and soft goods. The floor is sprung to help prevent actors and dancers from injuring themselves. The first gallery ring, which holds the balcony, can be used for audience seating on all four sides. The second gallery ring contains the stage manager’s control room as well as the control rooms for lighting and sound. The third gallery ring is the catwalk level.
Dorothy U. Dalton Center: Home of WMU’s School of Music, it offers some of the finest music rehearsal, study, practice, and performance spaces in the world. Adjacent to the nationally recognized James W. Miller Auditorium, the Dalton Center boasts 157,000 square feet of space (equivalent to 4.5 football fields). Its distinctive spaces include two recital halls, a multi-track digital recording studio, an electronic music laboratory, a 10,000 square foot music library, a state-of-the-art multimedia room, a music therapy clinic, a computer laboratory featuring iMac workstations (each equipped with a Korg Triton keyboard), and one of the world’s largest installations of pre-fabricated, sound-isolated practice rooms and teaching studios.
Hell Week: The week of rehearsals leading up to opening night. These rehearsals are collectively called “Hell Week,” because of the long hours and the insanity of trying to throw together all of the different elements without going insane.
The Laura V. Shaw Theatre: The University Theatre’s largest performing space, the Shaw Theatre has 550 seats with a flexible proscenium, traps, and a partial fly system. Shows are lit using a Strand, dimmer-per-circuit lighting system controlled by a Strand Mini Palette 90. Over 300 instruments are available for use in the space. The theatre has a 16-channel audio system, including reel-to-reel, cassette, and DAT tape decks and 4 independent amplifier channels. The system also includes wireless body mics and can be arranged in a variety of configurations making it versatile for amplifying singers and actors or producing recorded music or sound effects.
Moment Work: Technique used by the Tectonic Theatre Group. Defined by group founder Moises Kaufman as “A method to create and analyze theatre from a structuralist (or Tectonic) perspective. . . . A Moment does not mean a change of locale or an entrance or exit of actors or characters. It is simply a unit of theatrical time that is then juxtaposed with other units to convey meaning”
Techies: Anyone who is involved with the technical elements of putting on a show.
Staged Reading: A performance of a musical or play, usually in it’s development phase that focuses on text, music and blocking, for the purpose of playwright, composers, etc. to see their work performed live so they can determine what works and what needs to be edited. Staged readings are also used to help a show to find financing without the cost of a full production. Staged readings are closely regulated by the Actor’s Equity Association.
Strike: The term used to describe all the activities involved in returning a theater to its original condition after closing a show. This includes putting away props and costumes, tearing down sets, rearranging lighting fixtures, cleaning dressing rooms and the performance space, and anything else deemed necessary. Depending on how large the show is and the complexity of the set, this can last anywhere from under an hour to over six hours.
MMR: Multimedia Room. Frequently used as a classroom space, for dance performances, and previously for art gallery exhibits.
MTP: Musical Theatre Performance Major.
The Zack L. York Arena Theatre: The Arena Theatre is a black box or experimental theatre that seats up to 100 in a flexible seating arrangement. The theatre is fully equipped with lighting and sound equipment. The Arena is frequently used for student-directed productions and the Footlights I and II series, as well as acting and directing classes. It is also the home of the York Arena Series consisting of two faculty or student directed productions each season.
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