Prompt (theatre)

Prompt (theatre)

The prompt (sometimes prompter) in a theatre is traditionally the person who prompts or cues an actor when they forget their next line or neglect to move on the stage to where they are supposed to be situated.

Usually the task is undertaken by the stage manager, who will have a copy of the script called the prompt book. This is the most definitive version of the script for any one performance, and will contain details of all cues, with their precise timings with respect to the action on stage. This allows the prompt to direct lighting, sound and flying effects and scene changes during a show. The prompt book also often contains blocking notes, so that the prompt is always aware of the intended positions and movements of all the actors on stage at any given time.

In professional and most high-quality community theatre productions, the prompt is never used during a performance to instruct actors if they forget a line or movement, only during a rehearsal.

The prompt is located on the stage, in the prompt corner.


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  • prompt — prompt, prompte [ prɔ̃(pt), prɔ̃(p)t ] adj. • 1540; « prêt, disposé à » 1205; lat. promptus I ♦ Qui agit ou se produit tôt. 1 ♦ Qui agit, fait (qqch.) sans tarder. PROMPT À [ prɔ̃a ]. « Il était violent, généreux, prompt à l injure, prompt aux… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Theatre technique — Theatre techniques are procedures that facilitate a successful presentation of a play. They also include any practices that advance and enhance the understanding the audience brings to the action and the acting by the caston stage. The Playwright …   Wikipedia

  • Prompt book — The prompt book, also called promptbook, transcript, or sometimes simply the book, is the copy of a production script that contains the information necessary to create the production from the ground up. It is a compilation of all blocking,… …   Wikipedia

  • Prompt corner — The prompt corner or prompt box in a theatre is the location at the side of the stage where the prompt (usually the Stage Manager or Deputy/Assistant Stage Manager) is located in order to coordinate the performance and prompt the performers when… …   Wikipedia

  • prompt — I UK [prɒmpt] / US [prɑmpt] verb [transitive] Word forms prompt : present tense I/you/we/they prompt he/she/it prompts present participle prompting past tense prompted past participle prompted ** 1) mainly journalism to cause something to happen… …   English dictionary

  • prompt — /prɒmpt / (say prompt) adjective 1. done, performed, delivered, etc., at once or without delay: a prompt reply. 2. ready in action; quick to act as occasion demands. 3. ready and willing. –verb (t) 4. to move or incite to action. 5. to suggest or …  

  • theatre, Western — ▪ art Introduction       history of the Western theatre from its origins in pre Classical antiquity to the present.       For a discussion of drama as a literary form, see dramatic literature and the articles on individual national literatures.… …   Universalium

  • prompt box — noun a booth projecting above the floor in the front of a stage where the prompter sits; opens toward the performers on stage • Syn: ↑prompter s box • Hypernyms: ↑booth, ↑cubicle, ↑stall, ↑kiosk • Part Holonyms: ↑ …   Useful english dictionary

  • prompt box — /ˈprɒmpt bɒks/ (say prompt boks) noun the place in a theatre where a prompter sits …  

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