This is a late-20th century concept without a single definition. Generally, it argues that past truths are constructions by a dominant culture; it invites and opens up the possibility of new and equally valid forms of artistic expression.

These are accepted codes of communication and interaction between performers and spectators for the duration of a performance that enhance storytelling.

A character who directly thwarts the desires of the lead character.

This type of dramatic structure has a main plot and several subplots; many characters; ranges over several different locations and time frames, such as weeks, months or years.

This is a configuration of a theatre space in which the audience faces the actors on only one side.

These are six forces underlying the diversity of today’s theatre.

This type of dramatic structure has a small number of characters, one plot line, one setting, and a very compressed action timeline.

The main or most prominent character whose decisions drive the action of the play from beginning to end.

The performer’s attempt to exploit the capacity of the spectator to identify emotionally with a character through a recognition of similarity.

This is any theatrical tradition that preserves conventions of staging, music, dance, masks, and acting/characterizations passed down orally, generation-to-generation, rooted in the belief systems of tightly-knit communities.

This is a euro-centric theatrical tradition based on a written text, meant to be reinterpreted by different artists at different times and in different places.

The performer’s attempt to exploit the capacity of the spectator to relate to the characters and situations on stage as different from themselves.