Being a theater kid is like moving to a foreign country; you have to learn the meanings of a bunch of words you thought you knew and try to survive with your brand new vocabulary. Here are five words that have totally different meanings when you’re a theater kid:

1. Crisis

To the real world, it means: an issue or problem bigger than oneself, sometimes internal, suffered through at midlife.

To theater kids, it means: a decisive point in the plot of a play on which the outcome of the remaining action depends.

2. Cue

To the real world, it means: the stick used to shoot balls while playing pool.

To theater kids it means: A signal, either verbal or physical, that indicates something else, such as a line of dialogue or an entrance, is to happen.

3. Level

To the real world it means: to keep something even or straight; alternately, any starting point in a video game, often each is harder than the previous.

To theater kids, it means: The height of an actor’s head actor as determined by his or her body position (e.g., sitting, lying, standing, or elevated by an artificial means).

4. Pacing

To the real world it means: to walk back and forth, often in deep thought about something.

To theater kids, it means: The tempo of an entire theatrical performance.

5. Pitch

To the real world, it means: when a baseball player throws the ball to the person at bat.

To theater kids, it means: The highness or lowness of one’s voice.

To all of the new theater kids out there, good luck mastering these and many more terms in your journey to stardom.