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Theatre Terms

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Theatre Terms (A-Z) Definition
LIGHT CURTAIN A lighting effect which, when an area is diffused with smoke, produces a wall of light. Produced (usually) by a batten of low voltage PAR lamps wired in series. Automated versions are available which have color changers built-in and are able to tilt up and down.
LIGHT TREE A vertical pole on which horizontal arms can be mounted, carrying instruments. Often used behind wings for side-lighting, etc. Trees (or booms) have a base plate or stand at the bottom and are tied off to the grid or fly floor at the top (not always necessary for short booms). Trees can also be fixed to the rear of the proscenium arch or hung from the ends of lighting bars.
LIGHTING PLOT or LIGHTING PLAN A scale drawing detailing the exact location of each instrument used in a production and any other pertinent information (E.g. its dimmer number, focus position and color number). Often drawn from the theatres' groundplan. In U.K, this is called a Lighting Plan; the Lighting Plot there refers to the process of recording information about each lighting state either onto paper or into the memory of a computerized lighting board for subsequent playback.
LIGHTING STATE The format of lighting used at a particular point in the production; a lighting "picture."
LIGHTING TEMPLATE Plastic stencil containing a range of scale symbols for current lighting equipment. Greatly facilitates the drawing of lighting plans. The use of a template is now supplanted by computer aided design (CAD).
LIMELIGHT An obsolete source of intensely bright light, most recently used in followspots. See limes. Derived from a burning jet of oxygen and hydrogen impinging on a rotatable cylinder of lime.
LINE 1) A rope or wire used to hang scenery, etc. 2) A portion of dialogue, usually a sentence, but also a single row in the script (thus the origin of the word). Thus, to be up on one's lines, or to ask, "What's my next line?" or simply "Line?"
LINE LEVEL SIGNAL Standard level at which the inputs and outputs of domestic and professional sound equipment operate. Slight variations are that some equipment works at +4dB, some at -10dB.
LINE REHEARSAL A rehearsal for spoken lines rather than for body movements.
LINK

Another name for a  cue inserted during/after plotting between two existing stage-manager cues. (e.g. 8.5 is inserted between cues 8 and 9 and cues by the stage manager as 8A).
LINNEBACH PROJECTOR Lensless system for projecting a shape from a gel or glass slide etc. placed in front of a floodlight onto the set. Often used for shadow effects.
LITTLE THEATRE Any small theatre, but especially one for amateur productions, often with an interest in experimentation.
LOAD 1) The electrical power rating, in watts, of the equipment connected to a particular lighting dimmer. 2) The equipment connected to a dimmer.
LOAD-IN The process of, or time-period for, moving sets, props, etc, into a theatre before a production.
LOAD-IN (electrical) 1) The electrical power rating, in watts, of the equipment connected to a particular lighting dimmer. 2) The equipment connected to a dimmer.
LOAD-OUT The process of, or time-period for, moving sets, props, etc, out of a theatre after a production.
LOADING DOCK or LOADING BAY

Exterior access into the rear area of theatre stage for bringing in scenery and other equipment. 
LOGE Seating area in traditional proscenium arch venues. Exact location varies according to the venue, but is usually a "box" position at the dress circle level. (From the French Logè).
LORT League Of Resident Theatres. It is an agreement with Actor's Equity regarding payment/treatment of actors. Prior to this agreement, Equity basically dealt with Broadway type productions and nothing else.
LOUDSPEAKER Device for converting the electrical signal from an amplifier back into sound waves, most commonly by vibrating a paper cone. Most speaker systems are composed of a number of sources - each designed to handle a specific range of frequencies. Usually shortened to just "speaker."