ENTR'ACTE

n. intermission (French)

For Entr'acte, the film by René Clair, and Relâche, the ballet by Erik Satie see 3rd example below. Entr'acte is French for "between the acts". It can have the meaning of a pause between two parts of a stage production, synonymous to intermission, but is more often used to indicate that part of a theatre production that is performed between acts as an intermezzo or interlude. Originally entr'actes resulted from stage curtains being closed for set or costume changes: to kill time, in order not to halt the action, to make a transition from the mood of one act to that of the next, or to prevent the public from getting noisy. During set changes, the action could be continued in entr'actes in front of the closed curtain (only players, no other scenery than the curtain, and a minimum of props). In this sense of taking the action from one part of a large-scale drama to the next by fitting in a part of the story that completes the missing links, an entr'acte is similar to an interquel (which is a much later concept however, and indicates an "interlude" of the same kind of resources and magnitude as the parts it joins).
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Noun
1. the interlude between two acts of a play
(hypernym) interlude
2. a brief show (music or dance etc) performed between the sections of another performance
(synonym) interlude, intermezzo
(hypernym) show
(classification) music

(n.)
The interval of time which occurs between the performance of any two acts of a drama.
  

(n.)
A dance, piece of music, or interlude, performed between two acts of a drama.
  

INTERMEZZO. INTERVALLO