Acting Dictionary | Unfamiliar Acting Terminology Explained

Acting Dictionary

Actors Dictionary

Ever wondered what a director means when they talk about stakes, images, an objective, sides or any other acting terminology? We have put together a collection of articles that unpacks the most common acting terminology. Don’t be embarrassed. Most of these terms are misused and can be hard to get your head around!

Acting Glossary of Terms

For a quick overview of acting terms, click here to read our actor’s glossary!

What is Blocking?

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“Hit your mark and say your lines.” So goes the world’s shortest piece of acting advice. And while it’s a little bit reductive, there’s truth to the importance of knowing where to stand and why....

Punctuation for Actors

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Punctuation. Oh, man. Punctuation is absolutely vital to an actor’s performance, it is the writer communicating with you the actor about who this character is, how they relate to the world around them and the...

What is an Inner Monologue?

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You may have read some alarming news recently that not everyone has an inner monologue, an internal thought process that is constantly ticking over that if you were to print it out would read like...

What are ‘Beats’?

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Beats. One of the most common terms in acting training and also one of the most amorphic. It seems like every acting teacher you speak too will have a slightly different interpretation of what exactly...

What is a ‘Side’?

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‘Sides’ refers to the selections from a script that an actor is provided as material for an audition. The term ‘sides’ dates all the way back to our friend Will Shakespeare’s day, where actors were...