Number (performance)
A song, dance, or other discrete act performed as a distinct unit within a larger show. It often has its own performers, style, and beginning and end.
Song: A musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice, with or without instrumental accompaniment. A song can form a number’s musical and lyrical core.
Musical theatre: A theatrical form that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. Its productions commonly organize action into discrete musical and dance numbers.
Variety show: An entertainment program made up of separate acts, such as music, comedy, and dance. Its structure makes each act a discrete performance item.
Scene (drama): A division of a play or screenplay that presents a continuous unit of action, usually in one setting. A scene is organized around dramatic action, while a number is organized as a performance item.
Dance: A performing art in which patterned bodily movement expresses ideas, emotions, or rhythm. A dance number makes movement its central material.
Blocking (stage): The planned positions and movements of performers onstage during a scene or performance. Blocking coordinates entrances, exits, and movement within a number.
Revue: A theatrical entertainment made of loosely connected songs, dances, and comic sketches. A revue is organized largely as a succession of separate numbers.
Act (theatre): A major division of a play or theatrical production, often containing multiple scenes. An act is a larger structural unit that may contain several numbers.
Choreography: The design and arrangement of movement for dancers or other performers. It organizes the movement that gives a dance number its form.
Cue (theatre): A signal that prompts a performer or technician to take a specific action during a production. Cues synchronize a number’s performers, music, lighting, and transitions.