Gaff
(1) An inexpensive or free form of entertainment, such as found in music halls, street fairs, cheap theaters, etc. Gaffs are often employed to get the public's attention so other items can be sold to them, such as drinks in pubs, patent medicine, concession stand merchandise, etc. Gaff is a term used mostly by the British and by carnival workers.
(2) Also known as the Hook, it is that long cane-like grabber that snagged a bad actor/singer/whatever and literally yanked him or her off the stage. As crude as that sounds, it was necessary for removing some really terrible yet insistent vaudeville acts.

Gaffer
The stage crew's foreman.

Gel (short for Gelatin)
A thin piece of transparent colored material that is put directly in front of a floodlight or spotlight to produce colored lighting effects. Nowadays they are either cellophane sheets (which can melt or fade in a short time) or tinted panes of glass (which last much longer but are fragile, heavy and expensive).

Ghostlight
(1) A light left burning on a darkened stage to keep friendly spirits illuminated and unfriendly spirits at bay. Also believed to keep the theatrical Muses company and, for safety, to prevent people from tripping over scenery and props when they come into a lightless theater. Also known as an Equity Light.
(2) The light emitted by a lantern when a dimmer has not been turned off completely.

Girlie Show
See Striptease.

Gobo
A thin metal or glass plate etched to produce a design which can be projected by a profile or ellipsoidal reflector spotlight. The image can be used soft focus to add texture, rather than a defined image, or hard focus to depict recognizable shadows such as foliage or windows. Simple gobos patterns are made of metal but very complex patterns are created on glass. Also called a Template or Cookies.

Gobo Holder
The metal plate unit designed to hold a gobo in a lantern or light. Gobo holders vary in size depending upon the model and size of lantern but the gobos themselves are of a standard size.

Grand Guignol
A type of 19th century French sensationalistic drama which stressed violence, horror and terror. A forerunner of slasher movies, sometimes troughs lined the stage's apron to catch the gallons of artificial 'blood'.

Grand Valance
The border cloth between the proscenium arch and the main curtain, usually made of the same material as the curtain.

Grease Paint
Originally, an oily mixture of melted tallow or grease and pigment, used by actors to make up their faces. Nowadays, the term grease paint means any form of theatrical make-up.

Grip
A stagehand who assists the head carpenter in moving scenery, etc.

Grid
See Gridiron.

Gridded
Any flying piece raised to the limit of the fly lines, as high as possible into the loft.

Gridiron
A framework of metal bars which carries the pulleys (sheave blocks) and lines (cables or ropes). It hangs from the stage's ceiling and supports flying scenery, light bridges, etc. Also known as a Grid.

Grip
Crew member who moves scenery and equipment, especially lighting. See Stagehand.

Ground Cloth
A heavy piece of muslin used to cover the stage to deaden the sound of walking on a wood floor. Often a dark green to resemble grass.

Ground Plan
As if seen from above, a scaled plan showing the exact position of all items on the stage and the position of items suspended above.

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Glossary Index - Main Menu - Overture

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A - B - C - D - E - F - G - H - I - J - K - L - M

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N - O - P - Q - R - S - T - U - V - W - X - Y - Z

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