Glossary
of Selected
Terms
objective—t. A character’s goal or intention.
observational drawing skills—v. Skills learned while observing firsthand an
object, figure, or place.
one-point perspective—v. A means of illustrating three-dimensional objects on
a two-dimensional surface. Lines appear to go away from the viewer and meet
at a single point, known as the vanishing point, on the horizon.
opera—m. A drama set to music for voices and orchestra and presented with
costumes and sets.
operetta—t. A theatrical production with elements of opera but lighter and
more popular in subject and style.
oratorio—m. A dramatic musical composition usually set to a religious text and
performed by solo voices, chorus, and orchestra without action, special
costumes, or scenery.
organic—v. Refers to shapes or forms with irregular edges or to surfaces or
objects resembling things in nature.
ostinato—m. A rhythmic or melodic accompaniment figure repeated persis-
tently at the same pitch throughout a composition.
pacing—t. The tempo of an entire theatrical performance.
pageant—t. An elaborate street presentation or a series of tableaux across a
stage.
paint program—v. Software emulating and expanding traditional two-dimen-
sional art-making media and processes, such as drawing, painting, watercolor,
pastel, and charcoal.
pantomime—t. Acting without words through facial expression, gesture, and
movement.
partnering—d. Skills that require cooperation, coordination, and dependence
with a partner, including imitation, lead and follow, echo, mirroring, and call
and response as well as traditional male-female classical duets.
pathway—d. A line along which a person or a part of the person, such as an
arm or head, moves. Examples: “Her arm took a circular path.” “He traveled
along a zigzag pathway.”
pattern—v. Lines, shapes, and colors repeated in a variety of predictable
combinations.
pentatonic scale—m. A scale having five tones to the octave and containing no
half steps: do, re, mi, so, la.
performance art—v. A type of art in which events are planned and enacted
before an audience for aesthetic reasons.
performance standards—Education Code Section 60603(h) defines this term as
“standards that define various levels of competence at each grade level in each
of the curriculum areas for which content standards are established. Perfor-
mance standards gauge the degree to which a pupil has met the content
standards and the degree to which a school or school district has met the
content standards.”