Product Description

Theatre, like every profession, has adapted the English language to suit its own special needs. So, anyone wishing to work in theatre, do business with it or just understand its mysteries, needs some knowledge of theatrespeak. This glossary explains the common words and phrases that are used in normal conversation between actors, directors, designers, technicians and managers.

All entries represent the author's own understanding of what the words mean and reflect his use of them. Although working in theatre for nearly fifty years and trying to teach the subject for nearly as long, Francis Reid has never undertaken any formal theatre studies. Consequently, it is quite probable that his personal vocabulary has acquired not just minor inaccuracies but major misconceptions. Furthermore, since theatre is a people industry, it is inevitable that some of the entries may be coloured by personal experiences and opinions.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #517701 in Books
• Published on: 2001-09-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 106 pages

Cueline, Autumn 2001
If you want to know and don't already – buy the book!

About the Author
Francis Reid is a veteran freelance lighting designer and lecturer, writer and adviser on theatre design and technology. After reading science and psychology at Edinburgh University, he spent five years in stage and production management including Rep Drama, Touring Opera, Aldeburgh Festival and Edinburgh Fringe.
He was lighting director of Glyndebourne Festival Opera throughout the decade of the sixties and subsequently responsible for the lighting design of over 300 productions including several in Paris, Amsterdam and Brussels, and over 30 in London (musicals such as Man of La Mancha, Bubbling Brown Sugar, Grease, Joseph And The Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat and Anne Of Green Gables; plays such as Sleuth, Move Over Mrs. Markham, Vieux Carre, Soldiers, Flint, The Happy Apple, Anyone For Denis? - also many operas and over 60 pantomimes).
From 1979 to 1981 he was director of the Theatre Royal in Bury St Edmunds, and from 1982 until 1987 head of theatre design at London's Central School of Art & Design. He is currently a director of Festival City Theatres Trust in Edinburgh and was formerly on the boards of Norwich Puppet Theatre, Norwich Playhouse and Extemporary Dance Theatre.
He taught Lighting Design at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art from 1965 until 1983 and has been a regular visiting lecturer at the National Theatre School of Canada in Montreal since 1974.
Lecture tours include Adelaide, Auckland, Bangalore, Bangkok, Christchurch, Cochin, Goteburg, Helsinki, Hong Kong, Hyderabad, Kuala Lumpur, Kuching, Madras, Madrid, Melbourne, Munich, Nicosia, Penang, Pennsylvania, Reykjavik, Seoul, Seville, Singapore, Stockholm, Sydney, Taipei, Trichur, Wellington and Wolfenbuttal. Conference Papers have been presented in Auckland, Berlin, Bournemouth, Bradford, Cologne, Delft, Geilo, Harrogate, London, Manchester, Melbourne, Moscow, New York, Oldham, Orlando, Rimini, Stockholm and Tel Aviv.
He was director of studies for the British Council international Theatre Lighting Seminars in London in 1988, 1991, 1993, 1995 and 1998 and a member of the British Council drama and Dance Advisory Committee from 1993-99. A member of the Hong Kong Government accreditation Panel for The Academy for Performing Arts (1988), an advisor/external assessor to the academy's School of Technical Arts (1989-1991), Dean of the school (1992-93) and External Examiner (1995 and 98), he was awarded an Honorary Fellowship of the Academy in 1996.
Francis Reid is the author of The Stage Lighting Handbook, now in its 5th edition and translated into Spanish and Swedish. Other titles include The Staging Handbook, Theatre Administration (also in Spanish), Designing For The Theatre, Stages For Tomorrow, The ABC of Stage Technology, The ABC of Stage Lighting, Lighting The Stage (also in Catalan) and Discovering Stage Lighting (also in French). He provided the Theatre Buildings entry in Cambridge Guide to World Theatre and contributed to Making Space for Theatre. He was editor of TABS (1974-1977) and wrote for each of the 56 issues of Cue (1979-1988). He reviewed many new theatres for the Architect's Journal and is a frequent contributor to journals of theatre design and technology.

Customer Reviews

Great Introduction
I bought this for my son who is organising a schools production. He is using it to teach the company the jargon for communications and says it is great.