In
show business, a
guest appearance is the participation of an outsider performer (such as a
musician or
actor) in an event such as a
music record or
concert,
show, etc., when the performer does not belong to the regular cast, band or other performing group. In music, such an outside performer is often referred to as a
guest artist. In
performance art, the terms
guest role or
guest star are also common, the latter term specifically indicating the guest appearance of a
celebrity. The latter is often also credited as "
special guest star" or "
special musical guest star" by some production companies. A
guest character is a character being portrayed within a fictional entertainment setting who is only involved as part of the plot once or a few times at most. A guest character has fewer appearances than
main characters,
supporting characters, and
recurring characters.