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repertory company

repertory company

1 6.8
A group of actors who regularly perform different plays during a season
  • noun
  • /ˈrɛpərˌtɔri ˈkʌmpəni/
translation icon : compañía de repertorio
  • After joining the repertory company, the actor enjoyed performing different roles each week.
  • repertory company of actors
  • repertory company in the theater

Examples

  • There are pick-up companies that come together for specific performances and then disband, and there are repertory companies in which a dancer is asked to dance many different styles, even within a single evening.

    Academic text (2000)
  • Her great-grandmother sang with the Calhoun repertory company.

  • "They have a good repertory company.

    Fiction book (2001)
  • We were in his repertory company in Middlesbrough.

  • She started college, quit, and joined a repertory company.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • She waited tables, joined another repertory company, waited tables some more, and took acting lessons when she could afford them.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • Last I heard, she was doing Medea, Blanche Dubois, and Lady Macbeth for some repertory company up in Canada.

    Fiction book (1997)
  • Capitalizing on OSF's large repertory company, the playwright employs 17 actors to portray more than 50 characters.

    Blog text (16)
  • The two lawyers chuckled, but the neurosurgeon seemed disturbed by this conversation and by the camaraderie that suggested maybe he hadn't been involved in a battle between good and evil, but had been a bit player in a repertory company.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • The local repertory company performs a variety of plays throughout the year.

Synonyms

company
vsrepertory company
168 3.5

A group of actors, dancers, or other performers who work together

is specifically a theater group that rotates plays from a set repertoire
repertory
vsrepertory company
12 7.4

A theater group that performs different plays on a regular schedule

is the specific performing group that rotates plays across a season
theater company
vsrepertory company
  • US
9 2.7

A group of people who put on plays for an audience

regularly rotates a selection of plays over a season not merely producing shows
community theater
vsrepertory company
  • US
7 2.7

A group of local people who are not professional and perform plays for people in their town

regularly rotates selection of plays by a resident professional ensemble rather than local volunteers
summer stock
vsrepertory company
  • US
3 6.8

Plays put on by a local theatre group in the summer at holiday places

is used for groups that rotate plays across a season not only warm months
stock company
vsrepertory company
  • Jargon
7.5

A group of actors who perform a set of plays regularly in one theatre

focuses on rotating a selection of plays over a season rather than fixed cast

How Regular

resident
1.8
repertory company
1 6.8
on tour
85 2.7
to guest
7 4.3

Surface Forms

Morphology

repertory + company

The meaning is directly compositional: 'repertory' (relating to a repertoire of works) combined with 'company' (a theatrical troupe) yields a troupe that regularly performs a set repertoire. This noun+noun combination follows regular English compounding patterns, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would be able to infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

Repertory company comes from repertory, related to the word 'repertoire' meaning a set list of plays, and company meaning a group of actors. These groups kept that set list and took turns performing the same plays, so today the phrase means a group of actors who regularly perform a selection of plays.