Read the following quotations about theatre. Which one do you like? Write an essay based on the one you’ve chosen.

1) “A talent for drama is not a talent for writing, but is an ability to articulate human relationships.” (Gore Vidal, American novelist, critic)

2) “Every now and then, when you’re on stage, you hear the best sound a player can hear. It’s a sound you can’t get in movies or in television. It is the sound of a wonderful, deep silence that means you’ve hit them where they live.” (Shelley Winters, American actress)

3) “My playground was the theatre. I’d sit and watch my mother pretend for a living. As a young girl, that’s pretty seductive.” (Gwyneth Paltrow, American actress)

4) “The primary function of a theater is not to please itself, or even to please its audience. It is to serve talent.” (Robert Brustein, American drama critic)

5) “The novel is more of a whisper, whereas the stage is a shout.” (Robert Holman, British dramatist)

LESSON 2. INSIDE THE THEATRE

Brainstorming

Discuss the following questions with your partner:

1) Are theatre tickets easy to get in your country?

2) What time do you usually arrive at the theatre (e.g. 45 minutes before the advertised start time)?

3) Do you usually dress smartly?

4) What do you usually do before the third bell rings?

5) How do you feel when you sit in a theatre before the performance begins?

 

Vocabulary

aisle -проход
all tickets sold –все билеты проданы	orchestra pit –оркестровая яма
Audience –публика, зрители	the pit –партер
(people) in the audience –зрители	the orchestra (AmE) –оркестр
a member of the audience –зритель в театре/кино	play to full/packed houses –переполненный зал seats –места
one of the audience -зритель в театре/кино	seating plan –план мест в зрительном зале
auditorium –зрительный зал	Scene– сцена, картина, место действия
Backstage –за кулисами, пространство за сценой	Scenery –пейзаж декорации
balcony –балкон	set(s) –декорации, съемочная площадка
bar/refreshment room -буфет	sold out –все билеты проданы
be on the stage –быть на сцене	Spectator –зритель
box office– касса	Stage –сцена
boxes –кассовые сборы	stage adaptation –инсценировка
buy a ticket outside the theatre –купить билет за пределами театра	stage design – сценография, дизайн сцены
cloak room– гардероб	stage door –служебный вход в театр
complimentary ticket –пригласительный билет	stage fright –волнение перед выходом на сцену
the circle –ярус в театре	stage hand –рабочий сцены, машинист сцены (a person who works backstage or off camera preparing or maintaining the stage or set for a recorded or live production, as by moving scenery or by setting up and adjusting video, audio, and lightning equipment)
dress circle –бельэтаж (the first level of seats above the ground floor in a theater)	the stalls –партер
dressing room –туалетная комната, уборная	back stalls –кресло в заднем партере
Foyer –фойе (an entrance hall or other open area in a building used by the public, especially a hotel or theater)	front stalls –кресло в переднем партере
Gallery –портик (a balcony, especially a platform or upper floor, projecting from the back or sidewall inside a church or hall, providing space for an audience or musicians)	standing room –место для стояния пассажиров/зрителей
the gods –галерка, публика, сидящая на галерке	standing ticket -билет на стоячее место
(the lights) go down/out –свет выключается/погашается	the curtain went down –занавес опускается
go on the stage –стать актером	the theatre (house) is
House –театр house full -	full/packed –театр переполнен зрителями the third bell –третий звонок
Lighting –освещение	tiers –ярусы, ряды в театре
lighting effects –световые эффекты	tune up –настраивать инструменты, запеть/заиграть
mezzanine (AmE) –бельэтаж	upper circle –верхний балкон (между бельэтажем и галеркой)
off stage –за кулисами, закулисный	Usher –капельдинер (a person who shows people to their seats, especially in a theater or at a wedding)
on stage –на сцене	Wings –кулисы (The wing space is used for performers preparing to enter, storage of sets for scenery changes and as a stagehand work area. Wings also contain technical equipment)
opera glasses –театральныйбинокль

Vocabulary