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Backstage Tech Terms Glossary - Basic Edition
You definitely should've learned these in high school.
Xander Thomson
May 14, 2025
If you just graduated high school and you’re trying to get into theater, broadcast, or live shows, nobody’s going to sit you down and walk you through the terms. You either show up knowing them or you’re already behind.
FOH? Cue? A1? Strike? These aren’t fancy insider words. This is how crews talk. And if you don’t know the language, you're not gonna get invited back. Best case, someone kind corrects you. Worst case, you get left off the next call sheet and you don’t even know why.
So this is the fix. The Tier 1 glossary. The first set of terms you need to have locked before you show up on headset. If you already know them, great. If not, you’ve got some catching up to do, but you’ve got time.
Print it. Study it. Don’t show up clueless. You’re not expected to know everything. But you are expected to listen, move quick, and not make the same mistake twice.
Acronym / Term | Full Name | What It Means | “Could you use it in a sentence?” 👉👈 |
|---|---|---|---|
FOH | Front of House | Anything the audience sees — lighting, sound, video, crew positions. | “We’re patching that camera to fronnahouse so the TD can see it.” |
BOH | Back of House | Everything the audience doesn’t see — backstage, tech world, racks. | “Move the cases back of house so they’re out of sight before doors.” |
SM / ASM | Stage Manager / Assistant Stage Manager | The person calling cues, wrangling talent, and keeping the show on time. | “Stand by to strike. Wait for the SM to give the word.” |
TD | Technical Director | Oversees all tech aspects — comms, cues, crew, and execution. | “Clear that with the TD before plugging anything in.” |
LX | Lighting | Shorthand for lighting department or gear. | “LX says they’ve just been lamped off but not fully cooled down. Leave those Technos hot so the fans keep running.” |
A1 | Audio Lead | The person mixing front of house or running the full audio system. | “The A1 will unmute your mic. Don’t touch little switch, please.” |
A2 | Audio Assistant | Handles mic swaps, monitors, backstage sound fixes. | “Let the A2 know that mic is sweated out, we’ll need a replacement for show 3” (of course, if you’re a good A2 worth your weight in mic tape, you should already fucking know the mic is going bad and have a spare element ready to go) |
V1 | Video Lead | Oversees all video sources and routing during a show. | “Talk to the V1 if you need your laptop PowerPoint added to program.” |
V2 | Video Assistant | Pulls cable, patches feeds, handles converters. | “Tell the V2 to run a second SDI line. Just in case.” |
Comms | Intercom | The headset system used to coordinate live crews. | “Is Gary on comms? The lights are going haywire!” |
Cue | — | A trigger word that tells someone to execute a task (light, sound, etc). | “We’re going to jump to cue 66. On my G-O, we’ll take the house to half, roll the restart announce, and continue the show from there.” (Make sure you select Go-To-Cue with a time value!) |
Strike | — | Tear down. The load-out. Post-show breakdown. | “Show ends at 9. We can strike whatever the house can’t see at 9:01.” |
Deck | — | The stage floor, usually monitored by crew. | “Clear the deck before reset. Too many bodies out there.” |
Grid | — | Overhead rigging system where lights, audio, and scenery hang. | “You’re up on the grid today. Harness up.” |
Call Time | — | When you are expected to be onsite and ready to work. | “Call time is 1500. Don’t show up at 1501.” |
Hot | — | Something that’s powered on, live, or dangerous. | “That cam is hot. Keep your hands off.” |
Cold | — | Something that’s powered off and safe to handle. | “It’s cold. You can pull it.” |
Clear | — | A command meaning "move out" or “make space.” | “Clear the deck. Scene change is coming fast.” |
This isn’t the full dictionary. But it’s the one that you should know, or else even I can’t help you.
You’ll likely hear every single one of these words on day one. Some of them will be yelled. Some of them will come across headset so fast you’ll barely catch them. But they matter. The faster you understand the language, the faster you can read the room.
When someone says strike is at 9:01, that doesn’t mean you get a second cup of coffee at 9:01. It means it’s already happening.
When someone says clear, they’re not asking.
The way crews talk isn’t just efficient. It’s culture. It’s tempo. You want to be in the room? Learn how to talk like someone who belongs there.
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