iambic pentameter: the metrical pattern in a line of verse (especially blank verse) in which five unaccented syllables alternate with five accented syllables: puh-POM puh-POM puh-POM puh-POM puh-POM. The pattern is most compatible with the normal rhythms of English speech, and was a fixture of Elizabethan verse.
imitation: the act of representing (or re-creating) another person through voice and gesture; see mimesis. Imitation is one of the founding principles of the theatrical arts.
independent theater(s): generic term for (mostly) small theaters at the end of the nineteenth century whose aim was not commercial success but artistic and social drama. The Théâtre-Libre in Paris, the Abbey Theater in Ireland, and the Provincetown Playhouse in America typify the independent theater movement.
interlude: short play or entertainment performed between courses of a banquet or other function in the early Renaissance; in England, interludes evolved into allegorical dramas and paved the way for secular plays.
intermezzi: Italian term for "interludes;" in Renaissance Italy they evolved into spectacular entertainments held at court (see masques).
integrated actor: an actor who combines both internal and external techniques as the basis of his or her work.
internal actor: an actor who relies on inner technique as the source of his or her performance; emotion memory, subtext, and psychological motivations are central to the internal approach.
irony: 1. an unexpected reversal of fortune (or peripitea) in a drama in which characters expect exactly the opposite of what occurs; 2. dramatic irony occurs when a character is deprived of knowledge that other characters and the audience share.
Jacobean tragedy: cynical, often violent, drama written during the early seventeenth century in England; stems from a pessimistic worldview and contends that all people, innocent and evildoers, ultimately die violent deaths.
jeu des paumes: early French theater spaces derived from tennis courts.
jidaimono: historical plays in the Kabuki theater which glorify the samurai code.
Kabuki: traditional Japanese popular drama that uses song and dance and is performed in a highly stylized manner in elaborate costumes and fanciful makeup; the Kabuki dates from the early seventeenth century.
Kabuki-za: the most prestigious Kabuki theater in Japan.
Kadensho: Zeami's seven-book treatise on Noh playwriting and performance.
kagami no ma: the "mirror room" in which Japanese Noh actors dress and prepare for performance through meditation.
kami (waki) play: one of the five types of Noh drama; a "god play" which celebrates an auspicious religious event.
kata: basic movement and vocal patterns used by Kabuki actors to create atmosphere and psychological states; they are antirealistic and employ exaggeration and rhythm.
kazura play: one of the five types of Noh drama; a "woman play" about an illustrious woman; these are sometimes referred to as "wig plays" because they are acted by men dressed as women.
keren: tricks and other scenic effects in the Kabuki theater (e.g., disappearances, transformations, etc.).
kiri plays: one of the five types of Noh drama; a "demon play" in which the protagonist is a demon, devil, or other supernatural figure.
kojo: an announcement made to the audience during a Kabuki play, usually to praise an actor for his accomplishments.
kokata: a child character in Japanese Noh drama, usually symbolizing a new order.
komos: literally "a joyful union;" it is the denouement in classical comedy and is usually marked by a wedding, a dance, or a banquet.
koryphaios: the leader of the chorus in Greek drama.
kothornoi: elevated boots (or buskins) worn by actors in the Greek theater.
K'un-chü: populist plays from the south of China which influenced the development of the Peking Opera.
k'ung-meng: stock character-the heroic king-in classical Chinese drama.
kyo-gen: 1. short farces in the Japanese theater; usually accompanying the Noh drama; 2. a clown character in a Noh drama.
lazzi: Italian term for comic stage business (e.g., a beating, a pratfall).
laughing comedy: term coined by Oliver Goldsmith in 1772 to describe conventional comedy of wit and humor, as opposed to the sentimental comedy.
linear plot: the most traditional form of plotting, begining with exposition and building through a series of minor crises to a major crisis and climax. Linear plots are usually based on causality, that is, one event "causes" another to happen.
liturgical drama: dramas enacted as part of a church service (or liturgy). In the Middle Ages such plays told stories from the Bible and Christian lore and eventually moved outside the churches.
logeion: in the Greek theater, a raised platform on which the principal characters are thought to have stood while performing; the forerunner of the modern raised stage.
low comedy: comedy that usually relies on physical humor or crude wordplay, as opposed to the more sophisticated high comedy.
