# Theatre Superstitions



## HighWattageKid92

I said to an actor I know "good luck" and some other actor comes up to me and goes "you *****hole" you dont say good luck to an actor you have to say break a leg. As a techie i say to all the techies in my school good luck and never once thought it would be that big of a deal. Is there a very special "code" of the actors i should know about or does it not matter if a techie says good luck instead of Break a leg?


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## elite1trek

*Re: I was yelled at*

Actors are weird like that. I assume you are familiar with the M****** word.


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## icewolf08

*Re: I was yelled at*

The answer is best stated as follows (from _The Producers_):

ROGER:
Ah, it's Bialystock and Bloom. Well, gentlemen ... merde! 

CARMEN:
Toi, toi, toi 

FRANZ:
Hals und Beinbruch! 

LEO:
And I just want to wish everybody ... good luck! 

CARMEN:
Ahhhhh! 

ROGER:
Mr. Bloom, hasn't anyone ever told you...
It's bad luck to say "good luck" on opening night
If you do, I tell you
It is certain by the curtain
You are through! 

MAX:
Good luck! 

CARMEN:
It's bad luck to say "good luck" on opening night
Once it's said, you are dead
You will get the worst reviews
You've ever read! 

MAX:
Good luck! 

ROGER:
Even at the Comedie-Francaise,
On the opening night they are scared
"Bon chance, mes amis", no one says
The only word you ever hear is... 

ROGER, CARMEN & FRANZ:
Merde! 

MAX:
Good luck, good luck, good luck 

FRANZ:
It's verboten, vishing "luck" on opening night
Take advice, don't think twice
Or your show will surely end
Up in the Scheiss! 

MAX:
Guten lucken. 

CARMEN:
At the famous La Scala in Milan On opening night it's a rule
"In boccu lupa" they say with elan
And just for luck they all shout... 

ROGER, CARMEN & FRANZ:
"Bah fongool!" 

LEO:
I got it!
Now I'll never say "good luck" on opening night
That's the rule, I'm no fool!
What do I say, I beg? 

ROGER, CARMEN & FRANZ:
What you say is "break a leg"! 

LEO:
Break a leg? 

ROGER, CARMEN & FRANZ:
Yes, break a leg! 

LEO, ROGER, CARMEN & FRANZ:
If you're clever... 

MAX:
Good luck! 

LEO, ROGER, CARMEN & FRANZ:
You'll endeavour
To never, never, never, never
Ever, ever, ever say...
...on opening night!​
It is kinda like saying "Macbeth" in front of actors. In general most crews are not superstitious, though many believe in ghosts, so crews won't mind, but actors are just plain strange.


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## waynehoskins

*Re: I was yelled at*

That's just standard superstition.

Though really, I don't recall hearing "break a leg" recently (which could be good, since those hard legs are bothersome to repair time and time again), nor do I recall "good luck" either. I think it becomes understood between everyone that we all wish everyone the best, and we just do our jobs. And then make our way after performance to the cast party, where the celebration happens.

But yeah, "good luck" to an actor = bad, as is the M word.


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## philhaney

*Re: I was yelled at*


HighWattageKid92 said:


> I said to an actor I know "good luck" and some other actor comes up to me and goes "you *****hole" you dont say good luck to an actor you have to say break a leg. As a techie i say to all the techies in my school good luck and never once thought it would be that big of a deal. Is there a very special "code" of the actors i should know about or does it not matter if a techie says good luck instead of Break a leg?




elite1trek said:


> Actors are weird like that. I assume you are familiar with the M****** word.



To some people it does not matter. However, I have found that most if not all of the time actors will get rather angry with you if you do not follow theatre tradition (or superstition). Crew members as well.

Among them are:

- _Never say "good luck" instead always say "break a leg."_ I used to know the origin of this but have forgotten.

_- Never say "Macbeth." _Always refer to it as "that Scottish play." Actors are very superstitious over this one. I was running sound for a production of "Lion in Winter." Before we opened the house one evening, an actor was rehearsing his lines on stage. He stepped up on a platform, held out a dagger in front of himself, and said "Macbeth." All eight or nine people (techies, actors, etc.) in the house turned in unison said, "What?" Well, that night, the lead went up skipping two pages in act one, a major prop broke, we had a lamp burn out in act two, etc.

- _Never whistle on stage unless it is part of the play._ The reason for this is that most theatres were in sea ports. They were hemp houses, and they employed sailors ashore to run the rigging. The sailors would whistle commands to each other. So, whistling on stage was an open invitation to have a batten or sandbag fall on your head.

However, as I am the flyman at my venue and I was in the Navy, I whistle on stage from time to time (except when I'm within ear shot of certain crew members as they really don't like it. I figure I can be a self-centered jerk or I can be polite. I choose polite).

- Always leave one lamp on stage on at all times. This is the ghost light.

- _Don't break the fourth wall_. This means never go from the stage to the house, or vice versa, by going through the invisible wall that would be there if the curtain was solid and the stage was a separate room from the house. Always go through a door backstage that leads into the house or a hallway that goes to the house. At one venue where I work, this means going out the back (stage) door and around to the front of the theatre (and yes, I do it, every time  ).


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## Pip

*Re: I was yelled at*

Haha what a great thread! Philhaney - fantastic post!

We had something similar happen to us last year where an actor freaked out when one of us wished a fellow tech good luck on his show... So we started to saying "break a line set" as a tongue-in-cheek way to wish each other good luck/ make fun of the actors at the same time


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## NickJones

*Re: I was yelled at*

Hehe, yeah, the main thing to remember about all actors is they are all idiots.


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## Sony

*Re: I was yelled at*

Why this is posted in Lighting and not General Advice is beyond me...

It's just superstition, tell them to get the hell over it...


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## Pip

*Re: I was yelled at*


Sony said:


> Why this is posted in Lighting and not General Advice is beyond me...
> 
> It's just superstition, tell them to get the hell over it...



Haha I wondered that too lol

And yes. 

Woah! It was moved *right* as I posted this! xD


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## waynehoskins

*Re: I was yelled at*


philhaney said:


> - _Never say "good luck" instead always say "break a leg."_ I used to know the origin of this but have forgotten.



I hear it comes from the olden days (vaudeville maybe?) where the theatres had hard legs rather than velour, and in curtain call the flymen would bang the hard legs against the deck to add to the energy of the appaluding crowd. If you did really well, they broke some of the hard legs.

I suppose you could translate it to modern lighting-speak as "blow a lamp" (or "blow an ACL"), for those Bump Button Bonus cues and curtain calls where you fire off stuff.

Or I could have heard completely wrong, though I do believe it was at college I heard that from a reputable source.


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## cdub260

*Re: I was yelled at*


waynehoskins said:


> I hear it comes from the olden days (vaudeville maybe?) where the theatres had hard legs rather than velour, and in curtain call the flymen would bang the hard legs against the deck to add to the energy of the appaluding crowd. If you did really well, they broke some of the hard legs.
> 
> I suppose you could translate it to modern lighting-speak as "blow a lamp" (or "blow an ACL"), for those Bump Button Bonus cues and curtain calls where you fire off stuff.
> 
> Or I could have heard completely wrong, though I do believe it was at college I heard that from a reputable source.



If you do a Google search break a leg origin, you'll get a slew of possible origins. The one thing that most sources seem to agree on is that no one really knows the origin of the phrase.

Now the origin story that I learned in college had to do with a 19th. century actress. I don't recall the name. Just before a performance, someone said "Good luck!" to her. During the performance, she fell and broke her leg. Hence the superstition regarding "Good Luck!" and the substitution with "Break a Leg".


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## Pip

That's interesting... Seems *slightly* far-fetched, but at the same time i can see how it would make sense... ^^


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## WillowEllery

*Re: I was yelled at*


NickJones said:


> Hehe, yeah, the main thing to remember about all actors is they are all idiots.



Hm, I beg to differ. Without actors, tech would be out of a job, and without tech, actors would be out of a job. It's a symbiotic relationship. Don't call those people who make the techie craft possible idiots. 


As far as superstitions: don't walk under ladders, don't peek between the small splits in the curtains behind the actors to view what's going on from backstage, (got in trouble for both of those, because I did them when I was first starting out in drama in hs... lol.)

There are other superstitions mentioned here.

Theatrical superstitions - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


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## Pip

*Re: I was yelled at*


WillowEllery said:


> Hm, I beg to differ. Without actors, tech would be out of a job, and without tech, actors would be out of a job. It's a symbiotic relationship. Don't call those people who make the techie craft possible idiots.
> 
> 
> As far as superstitions: don't walk under ladders, don't peek between the small splits in the curtains behind the actors to view what's going on from backstage, (got in trouble for both of those, because I did them when I was first starting out in drama in hs... lol.)
> 
> There are other superstitions mentioned here.
> 
> Theatrical superstitions - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia



That's a good point. I definitely don't agree that actors are idiots. A bit crazy at times, yes, but I think you make a great point about the relationship between actors and techs.

On the other hand - I walk under ladders all the time. I occasionally whistle on stage, blah blah blah, and I have had no problems with crazy random happenstance occurring in otherwise unexplainable ways... xD


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## sk8rsdad

The origin story for "break a leg" that I learned isn't listed on the wikipedia article. I'm not saying it's a TRUE origin but it makes a good story...

The term comes from vaudeville, where you did not get paid unless you performed. "Breaking a leg" means moving from the wings on to the stage. If an actor made it on stage they earned wages for the day.


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## seanandkate

Yup. Back in vaudeville days, producers would always book more acts than the evening could accomodate (in case some acts got canned / boo-ed off, etc) so you would only get paid if you broke the the visual plane of the stage. ie got past the leg curtains and onto the stage. Hence: "break a leg" = "Hope you get onstage and actually get paid."


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## jwl868

For dancers (particularly ballet), "Merde" is used instead of "break a leg". (See the lyrics posted by Icewolf08, earlier in the thread.)

[Merde is French for sh*t.]


Joe


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## derekleffew

*Re: I was yelled at*


WillowEllery said:


> ...Don't call those people who make the techie craft possible idiots. ...


An actie without technicians is a person standing naked, unheard, on a bare stage, in the dark, trying to emote. A technician without acties has marketable job skills.

Back to Sayings and Superstitions: 
Can anyone explain the meaning and origin of "making one's 'nut'" as it relates to theater?


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## sk8rsdad

*Re: I was yelled at*


derekleffew said:


> An actie without technicians is a person standing naked, unheard, on a bare stage, in the dark, trying to emote. A technician without acties has marketable job skills.
> 
> Back to Sayings and Superstitions:
> Can anyone explain the meaning and origin of "making one's 'nut'" as it relates to theater?



The first sentiment is untrue. There are all sorts of entertainers who can manage to dress themselves and perform without benefit of technical support, buskers for example.

The second expression probably evolved from "Make one's bones" which has been attributed to a rite of passage in organized crime by killing somebody, thereby earning a reputation. 

I am not sure how it relates to the theatre unless it involves over-tightening a cast c-clamp without a safety chain attached, thereby killing an innocent bystander below.


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## Pip

*Re: I was yelled at*


derekleffew said:


> An actie without technicians is a person standing naked, unheard, on a bare stage, in the dark, trying to emote. A technician without acties has marketable job skills.
> 
> Back to Sayings and Superstitions:
> Can anyone explain the meaning and origin of "making one's 'nut'" as it relates to theater?



Hahaha


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## philhaney

*Re: I was yelled at*


derekleffew said:


> A technician without acties has marketable job skills.
> 
> Back to Sayings and Superstitions:
> Can anyone explain the meaning and origin of "making one's 'nut'" as it relates to theater?



There are idiots and geniuses in every field, acting and technical theatre included. It takes just as much effort to be nice to someone as it does to be rude, but if you're nice the gears turn a lot more smoothly.

Besides, I got a lighting gig (LD, gaffer, and board op) because when the producer/director said, "I want to add lights to our annual production this year. Does anyone know someone with lighting experience?" An _actie _gave him my name. This was in 1997, and I've done their show every year since.....

-----

As far as "making one's nut" is concearned, one link says:

_Achieving average overhead, or reaching the break-even point, is commonly referred to in the business world as "making one's nut."_

While this site says, _"If you're in business for yourself, the point when you break even is the point when you make your nut. Carny slang, if I recall correctly. The peanut vendors had to sell a certain number of peanuts before they would start making a profit. When they sold the amount that covered their cost, the had made their nut."_

As you can see, they pretty much say the same thing. I even found Make Your Nut which has articles about personal finance tips, tricks, and pitfalls.

I haven't found any theatre specific uses of the term unless it means when a show goes into the black.....


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## jdandreas09

*Re: I was yelled at*

i thought it had to do with brakeing the sight line of the legs 
or a shortend form of brake a legond


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## Pip

*Re: I was yelled at*


jdandreas09 said:


> or a shortend form of brake a legond



What????


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## gafftapegreenia

I have taken to saying "drop a leko" instead of "break a leg". Seems more appropriate for wishing my comrads a successful show.

Actors are not idiots, they are sheep. I had an actor tell me this, NOT MY WORDS.


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## ReiRei

I learned about theatre superstitions the hard way. My first job was costume crew and someone had left a Macbeth script in the make-up room. It was the the second to last day and I picked it up because we were cleaning and I asked the actors whose Macbeth book it was. Everything went silent and two of the guys picked me up, took me outside and made me do the spitty sweary thing to ward off the evil Macbeth spirits. 

Ever since then, I say it before every show... and nothing bad has ever happened... except for the guy who flew in the first electric instead of the sign, and when he flew the sign back in it hit the electric and a gel fell onto the floor. But that's it.

And once upon a time ago, my friend walked under a ladder with an umbrella while whistling and saying Macbeth before a show. In front of actors. I must say it was a bit humorous... and what a concept, nothing bad happened.

And I never knew about the "Good Luck" thing until our Drama club had a movie night last friday and I ran the equipment. We were watching the Producers and after the movie I was talking to one of my actor friends about it and he was like, "yeah, it's legit dood..."


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## ReiRei

gafftapegreenia said:


> I have taken to saying "drop a leko" instead of "break a leg". Seems more appropriate for wishing my comrads a successful show.
> 
> Actors are not idiots, they are sheep. I had an actor tell me this, NOT MY WORDS.



I actually had an LD tell me that actors were bugs. Either they're cockroaches or moths. Moths find the light, and cockroaches find the dark spots.


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## Vanndel

My bosses wife is so superstitious that if you did anything against what supersttion says you were takin outside and performed a ritual involving salt, plus she'd leave you there to wait a bit


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## waynehoskins

ReiRei said:


> I actually had an LD tell me that actors were bugs. Either they're cockroaches or moths. Moths find the light, and cockroaches find the dark spots.



If there's a black hole anywhere on stage, an actor will find it and feel compelled to be there as long and often as possible.


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## derekleffew

*Re: %26quot%3Bnut%26quot%3B lore*


philhaney said:


> ...As far as "making one's nut" is concearned, one link says:
> 
> _Achieving average overhead, or reaching the break-even point, is commonly referred to in the business world as "making one's nut."_
> 
> While this site says, _"If you're in business for yourself, the point when you break even is the point when you make your nut. Carny slang, if I recall correctly. The peanut vendors had to sell a certain number of peanuts before they would start making a profit. When they sold the amount that covered their cost, the had made their nut."_
> 
> As you can see, they pretty much say the same thing. I even found Make Your Nut which has articles about personal finance tips, tricks, and pitfalls.
> 
> I haven't found any theatre specific uses of the term unless it means when a show goes into the black.....


As it was told to me by a Theatrical Producer (and is therefore inherently questionable): In days of yore, when a theatre company would come into town, the mayor or other town official would confiscate a nut holding on one of their wagon's wheels. After the engagement, once the mayor had verified that the company had paid all its debts, he'd return the nut so they could leave. Hence "the nut" of a show refers to the "break-even point" or operating expenses. A one-man show has a much smaller nut than a major musical.


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## Grog12

waynehoskins said:


> If there's a black hole anywhere on stage, an actor will find it and feel compelled to be there as long and often as possible.



How many dancers does it take to change a light bulb?

Heh dancer's can't find their light.


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## cdub260

ReiRei said:


> And once upon a time ago, my friend walked under a ladder with an umbrella while whistling and saying Macbeth before a show. In front of actors.



The walking under a ladder one actually has a fairly mundane and somewhat obvious origin. People who walk under ladders have a nasty habit of getting things dropped on them. Hence the belief that it's unlucky to walk under a ladder.

Personally, I'd consider this one more of a safety tip than a superstition.


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## TOG

*Re: I was yelled at*


sk8rsdad said:


> "...I am not sure how it relates to the theatre unless it involves over-tightening a cast c-clamp without a safety chain attached, thereby killing an *innocent bystander* below.



You let 'danes on deck while hanging?

I refuse to be the blunt instrument for some Darwin Award contender. The last noob who tried to walk under my ladder got to spend the next hour walking backwards through the house seats row-by-row while singing the "A-B-C" song over and over.


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## philhaney

Grog12 said:


> How many dancers does it take to change a light bulb?
> 
> Heh dancer's can't find their light.



How many Master Electricians does it take to change a light bulb?


One, and it's a lamp, d_mn it!


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## Van

philhaney said:


> How many Master Electricians does it take to change a light bulb?
> 
> 
> One, and it's a lamp, d_mn it!


 

How many IATSE electricians does it take to change a light bulb?





5 .....You got a problem wi' dat?


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## Smurphy

Ok that mad me laugh van. I am actually very superstitious, (coming from my acting background) I was acting before teching, I find tech tweaks my interest more. But anyway I do not say the M word in the theatre and do not say good luck but I do whistle thats just crazy.


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## toyboyt122

Regardless of the superstitions, I knew I found my long sought black shoes when i found the brand Macbeth. I don't have to say it to proudly wear the dreaded name for every performance.


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## TheSlowPoisoner

Well, I'm not much for superstitions, other than the "M" word, but last week, I think I may have gained myself a new one. I'm not really one for whistling usually, I'm more of a hummer for the most part, but on this particular day I had pantomimed stealing a sardine from the set, and thus whistled as the universal sign of "I didn't do it". 

The very next day, while retrieving a lamp base from our storage space, the top rung pulled out of the ladder on which I was climbing and I went splat. I probably didn't fall more than eight feet, but apparently it was loud enough to terrify the people in the hallway by the stage door on the opposite side of where I was that somebody had finally crashed our revolving set into one of the side set pieces. Luckily, I didn't hit my head on impact, and my only lasting injuries were a bruised rib, whiplash (or at least a neck muscle injury that felt a lot like it), and an overwhelming feeling I'm a fat***. 

Although it probably had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that I was whistling on stage, I probably won't be doing it again any time soon.


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## derekleffew

Well, okay, TheSlowPoisoner, but you DO realize that not whistling onstage is not a superstition, but a tradition, regardless of whether or not one believes the oft-debated fable about sailors.

philhaney said:


> ...
> - _Never whistle on stage unless it is part of the play._ The reason for this is that most theatres were in sea ports. They were hemp houses, and they employed sailors ashore to run the rigging. The sailors would whistle commands to each other. So, whistling on stage was an open invitation to have a batten or sandbag fall on your head. ...


Some theatre historians have totally debunked this as myth, and have suggested it must have been started by someone who found whistling annoying. What would prevent the audience from hearing these whistles, and wouldn't that be distracting?

See Theater Superstitions for more fiction.


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## TheSlowPoisoner

Interesting that you didn't call out any of the other nine thousand people in this thread who cited whistling in a theatre as a superstition. 

Superstition, tradition--I don't care. I was merely telling a story that seemed to pertain to what this thread was intended to discuss.


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## WestlakeTech

One of the Tech1s on the crew said Good Luck to one of the actors last night. He got a bit sarcastically upset. 
"You never say GL!" 
"oh, sorry, break a leg."

We actually made a joke on the last show that techies should say "Break a light."

Whistling on stage is a new one for me. I know plenty of people who have whistled on stage and no one's had a sandbag or batten dropped on them yet.


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## genericcomment

I never tell anyone Good luck, I don't say Macbeth on stage, but I do whistle because I can (not while an audience is present). I walk under ladders but warn the person on them I'm passing and I say "buttered toast" as I pass under them. "Buttered toast" was just something my high school theatre department came up with if someone was going to pass under a ladder to suede off the bad luck. I mostly believe in the superstitions just for fun.

I am going to argue against the comment that actors are idiots. They are not. They are some of the funnest people to be around, and are just as intelligent as the techies. It takes a lot of work to create a character and keep it consistent. Those who disagree with me should go take an acting class.


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## cdub260

genericcomment said:


> ... and I say "buttered toast" as I pass under them.



The chance of a piece of toast landing with the buttered side down is directly proportional to the cost of the carpet.


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## soundop

ok, so me and one other tech had to explain the macbeth superstion to our freaking sm, who said it like 8 times before the show today, any way as i was going up to our fly rail, which i hate as its a double purchase, so 3/4s of our rail is above the stage, with no way to mask the crew from the stage left side of the house, any way on my way back down to fix the scrim that i had brought in, i slipped, and pulled myslef back into the ladder, i weigh 300 pounds, and smashed my ribs into the ladder to save my self, i bruised two ribs, and knocked the wind out of my self, well it was funny cause the sm saw it, and i said thats why we dont say macbeth. During strike to day, the curse hit all of our other techs, we all had a few band aids, and had to kick a few actors out of the building for almost breaking our apron that covers the pit by pounding on the frame under the stage.


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## ruinexplorer

derekleffew said:


> Well, okay, TheSlowPoisoner, but you DO realize that not whistling onstage is not a superstition, but a tradition, regardless of whether or not one believes the oft-debated fable about sailors.
> 
> Some theatre historians have totally debunked this as myth, and have suggested it must have been started by someone who found whistling annoying. What would prevent the audience from hearing these whistles, and wouldn't that be distracting?
> 
> See Theater Superstitions for more fiction.



While I agree that it is a tradition, that does not exclude superstitious beliefs. As soon as someone accepts it as bad luck, it crosses the realm of rational thinking into superstition regardless of the sailor "fable." Seeing as most superstitions stem from oral traditions prior to their mystical beliefs, it is difficult for historians to truly debunk them or completely define their origins, but they do come up with some quite logical theories. This is why sayings like "the whole nine yards" have an extremely long list of origins from many different time periods. Check out B.F. Skinner's work with pigeons and their superstitious behaviour. 

Following that link didn't seem to show that it is not a superstition: 'If an actors whistles during rehearsals or in their dressingrooms during a play it is believed that the play will be doomed to failure and presumably the whistler will soon be out of work..

According to Kevin Robertson's Dissertation on Theatre Superstitions, "The reason for this superstition is as follows: before the advent of walkie-talkies or clear-coms, cues for theatre technicians were called with a sailors whistle. Therefore, one who whistles in a theatre may, inadvertantly, call a cue before it's time, setting all types of catastrophy into motion." '


I would also disagree with the home page's statement that "Of all professions, actors are the most superstitious." I would argue that professional athletes are much more superstitious, especially baseball players. Watch their routines as a batter comes up to the plate or a new pitcher comes to the mound.

Sorry, I was planning on being an archaeologist prior to working as a professional stagehand, so I have done a great amount of study into human psychology, anthropology, history, and religion (which some claim to be organized supertition).

For me, the only superstition that I regularly practice is "knock on wood" to avert something I say tempting fate. I don't believe that my action really has any bearing on actual events, but it has become habit.


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## WestlakeTech

I never knew saying "Macbeth" in a theatre was supposedly bad luck before I came on these boards. I said it this morning before the 1st of two shows (the only actor present called me an SOB as his make-up was being applied). 1st show went fine. 2nd show had a minor fog issue, but nothing terrible and nothing the audience (of elementary schoolers) noticed.


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## Van

ruinexplorer said:


> .......................
> For me, the only superstition that I regularly practice is "knock on wood" to avert something I say tempting fate. I don't believe that my action really has any bearing on actual events, but it has become habit.


 
One, for those that don't know, "knocks on wood" to let the Faries, Driads, or nyphms, who might be living in the wood to leave before you start cutting or burning it. It also gave tehm a chance to let you know you were about to burn or cut up their house. Often times the Driads would continue to live in the wood once it had been cut and, as they are Fey Folk, they tend to be mischevious and like to express themselves anytime a sailor would tempt fate by saying something. The Knock was to tell them "Just Kidding". 
I just planted a Fairy terarium with my daughter and she's convinced she saw a fairy in it the other night.......


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## gafftapegreenia

Van said:


> I just planted a Fairy terarium with my daughter and she's convinced she saw a fairy in it the other night.......




I want to make a joke o how I want to make a joke.


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## WestlakeTech

I finished reading Macbeth yesterday and I just don't understand why it's bad luck to mention the name in a theatre setting. I've been told it's because everybody dies, but it seems to me that just as many die in Hamlet, though I haven't actually counted either.


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## gafftapegreenia

The play is cursed because supposedly the spells are too "real". It is said the witches of the age were upset that their secrets had been so widely revealed on stage, and thus cursed the play and it's future productions.


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## philhaney

derekleffew said:


> Well, okay, TheSlowPoisoner, but you DO realize that not whistling onstage is not a superstition, but a tradition, regardless of whether or not one believes the oft-debated fable about sailors.
> 
> 
> philhaney said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...
> - Never whistle on stage unless it is part of the play. The reason for this is that most theatres were in sea ports. They were hemp houses, and they employed sailors ashore to run the rigging. The sailors would whistle commands to each other. So, whistling on stage was an open invitation to have a batten or sandbag fall on your head. ...
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Some theatre historians have totally debunked this as myth, and have suggested it must have been started by someone who found whistling annoying. What would prevent the audience from hearing these whistles, and wouldn't that be distracting?
> 
> See Theater Superstitions for more fiction.
Click to expand...


According to the man who was the TD at the Pageant when I started in '86, during the '40s and '50s before they had coms the SM would would sit in the prompter's box down stage center. The fly crew would climb up to their places in the rigging, and they would communicate cues and such by whistling to each other....

(How they did this without being heard by the audience, I have no idea.)


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## ScottT

gafftapegreenia said:


> The play is cursed because supposedly the spells are too "real". It is said the witches of the age were upset that their secrets had been so widely revealed on stage, and thus cursed the play and it's future productions.



I have also that along with it being because if a show was doing badly (read: not enough sales) they would drop the current show and switch to preforming a crow favorite Macbeth. Our theater teacher is very very very strict with this rule and has failed actors from her class because they said it once!


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## jessamarie6

I just have to take the time to put in my two cents about actors. I'm not so comfortable with the "stupid actors" posts on this site. 
We have to remember that most actors are not stupid people, they are only stupid when they are actors. In the end this is simply because while they are doing the work they do their brains are occupied by a totally different type of thought. 
In my scene shops I have had many students and interns and actor/techs working for me who understand exactly how all of the technical elements work. When they get offended when I "actor proof" a prop or a scenic element, I remind them that, though I have respect each of them as people, it is impossible to use and actor brain and a tech brain at the same time. 
Not that you can't get frustrated with actors, and not that you can't vent about it on this site, but don't become the tech who is always rude and condescending to the actors. No one hires that person back, especially ina small company. Theatre is a collaborative art, and we need them as much as they need us. 
(and yes your skills are more marketable outside the theatre then theirs are, but you know you don't want to work outside the theatre. I sure don't)


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## Dionysus

I think the most important part of theatre superstitions and traditions is to respect them even if you don't believe in them yourself. I've come across quite a few people who don't believe in them, and it ended up causing serious problems when they pissed off other people.
Theatre people are generally superstitious and love traditions. Just one of those things.

*Macbeth, the Scottish play*
This is one of the most common theatre traditions. DO NOT Quote from the play or say the name of the play "The Scottish Play" is the usual reference.
I've heard some good stories about this one, and have some myself. Please respect this one above many others, because violating this tradition can actually get you booted out of some theatres (even if you paid for a ticket, or are working).
At theatre school we had a HUGE discussion on this in "Theatre History" class. Anyways I'll say a few of the 'theories' behind this myth.

1) The witches' incantations actually lend power to the words of the play, inciting the spirits around to have a little fun, when not presented properly.
2) The play was overproduced after it was published for quite some time, and people, and the spirits of people who got sick of it started to cause a little trouble to anyone who mentioned the play.
3) The spirit of the REAL Macbeth (One of the greatest and fair kings of Scotland) is very PISSED at how he is portrayed in this play (Shakespeare would of been hung if it was historically accurate, since the queen's ancestors come from the line that took over after Macbeth's line ended its rule).
4) The spirits of a ship that actually sunk during the bard's (Shakespeare) time are not allowed to rest because he wrote the ship's tragedy into the play. (You can find it quite easily).
5) Some people who believe in the curse, make things happen to punish people for making fun of their superstitions.

By the way there are some generally accepted ways to belay the curse if you accidentally say the M-word.
- Leave the theatre space, and then turn around three times counter-clockwise (widdershins) then spit (or curse) and ask politely for re-admittance to the theatre (out of respect for the other people in the theatre).
- Leave the theatre, and then ask for readmittance
- Simply turn widdershins on the spot, and then curse.

At Theatre Sheridan during Sweet Charity, a friend of mine said the M-word in the catwalk during act 2. He said that he thought the curse was bull$hit, and would not do any of the rituals to cleanse his mistake. When it came time for the elevator scene, the power went out for a good 5 minutes at least. Throwing off the projectors, lighting, everything. The theatre was about to be evacuated when the power came back on... The projections had to be scrapped for the rest of the performance.

At my highschool during a teardown a fellow said the M-word. Everyone told him to do the ritual, so he danced around the stage quoting the play, and yelling "Macbeth, Macbeth, Macbeth". After he was done causing a scene (pardon the pun) suddenly a board from a setpiece dislodged and landed on his head, a nail penetrated his skull and he needed to be rushed to the ER. He has since died of brain cancer.

During a rehearsal for a SEARS drama festival play in highschool, one of the actors said the M-word while in the rehearsal space (also a presentation space). He of course refused to do the corrective ritual. The performance for the competition went beautifully, and we received a lot of praise. Unfortunately the adjudicators did not appreciate one of the oldest plays in existence and told us to change the ending. We did not advance. However all three of the shows advancing contacted us and told us that they believed our show should of advanced instead of ours (yes even with official festival correspondence). Oh well.

*walking under ladders*
I never felt that this one applied to theatre, more to stupid kids out in the world. Something that parents say to their kids to keep them safe.
Actually my lighting teacher told me that if somethings dropped, its safer to be under the ladder than beside it.

*Whistling in a theatre*
This indeed dates back to early rigging (usually hemp). Many theatres did use sailors for rigging who used varied whistles to communicate the fly commands. You actually could of made a whistle and inadvertently caused a batten to come in and hurt someone. My rigging teacher was very strict that you do not whistle in a theatre. He actually worked with a few riggers at one point that did use whistles to communicate. You never know, you could just piss someone off enough for them to drop a sandbag on your head.

*Break a leg*
Just like the practise of knocking on wood so spirits can't hear you to make things go poorly. Saying "Good luck" is considered very BAD luck. "Break a leg" thus being insurance that things will go well.


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## ruinexplorer

Dionysus said:


> *Macbeth, the Scottish play*
> This is one of the most common theatre traditions. DO NOT Quote from the play or say the name of the play "The Scottish Play" is the usual reference.
> I've heard some good stories about this one, and have some myself. Please respect this one above many others, because violating this tradition can actually get you booted out of some theatres (even if you paid for a ticket, or are working).



Well, I wonder how this will affect our President? This is from CNN:

In Ford’s Theater, Obama invokes forbidden word
Posted: 03:33 PM ET

On a trip to Ford’s Theater, site of President Lincoln’s assassination, Obama paid tribute to the 16th president’s ability to recall passages of Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Macbeth.
WASHINGTON (CNN) — It’s a word so fraught with superstition, its very mention can send grown men ducking for cover — and President Obama used it Wednesday night.

Macbeth.

On a trip to Ford’s Theater, site of President Lincoln’s assassination, Obama paid tribute to the 16th president’s ability to recall passages of Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Macbeth. And with that reference, he unwittingly ventured into what many theater hands believe to be dangerous territory: any mention of the name of the doomed Scottish king in a theater outside of a performance is considered verboten by many actors, who believe it will result in a cursed production — including a greater possibility of injury, bankruptcy, even death.

So does Obama have anything to fear from uttering the unluckiest word in what may be the unluckiest theater in American history? Theater-goers can relax: Many stage afficianados believe that the prohibition only applies to performers or theater hands, and non-actors have nothing to worry about.

But in the near future, the president might want to stick to movies. Just to be on the safe side.




Dionysus;120847[b said:


> walking under ladders[/b]
> I never felt that this one applied to theatre, more to stupid kids out in the world. Something that parents say to their kids to keep them safe.
> Actually my lighting teacher told me that if somethings dropped, its safer to be under the ladder than beside it.



You're right. As far as as I know, this is more of a Christian superstition. The ladder creates a triangle which often represents the Holy Trinity. By crossing under a ladder, you are breaking the Trinity, or going against God. Frankly, I think it's good practice, as opposed to what your lighting teacher seems to imply, to avoid crossing under a ladder as that increases the risk of making something fall, which would put you in the danger zone.


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## ReiRei

*Re: I was yelled at*

I'm taking a Shakespearean Literature class and my teacher called the technicians "dopey" because we don't believe in the Macbeth curse... It's funny because now I can't stand him just for that particular comment. Apparently every tech that has taken one of his classes has just had a deep dislike for one reason or another... Also, I do enjoy how actors tried to create circumstances in which you can say Macbeth without there being any consequence.

It just doesn't work like that... do you know why? BECAUSE IT'S A BOGUS CURSE!!! *does angry defiance dance*


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## icewolf08

*Re: I was yelled at*

In actuality, the stigma behind Macbeth comes from the fact that it was often the show that many theatres decided to produce when times were tough (like the current economic crisis that is forcing many theatres to close). Hearing Macbeth in the theatre scared many people because it usually meant that they would be loosing their jobs or the theatre may be closing after the production due to financial hardship.

I would call shenanigans on any accidents that people attribute to saying Macbeth in a theatre. Most of the times that I have heard of things going wrong are because people make a big deal and stop paying attention to what they are doing. Thus, things go wrong when Macbeth is said because people get too preoccupied with that instead of what they should be doing!

So, unless your organization is about to go under, then I suggest you get over Macbeth and get on with your job.


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## themuzicman

jessamarie6 said:


> We have to remember that most actors are not stupid people, they are only stupid when they are actors. In the end this is simply because while they are doing the work they do their brains are occupied by a totally different type of thought.
> In my scene shops I have had many students and interns and actor/techs working for me who understand exactly how all of the technical elements work. When they get offended when I "actor proof" a prop or a scenic element, I remind them that, though I have respect each of them as people, it is impossible to use and actor brain and a tech brain at the same time.
> Not that you can't get frustrated with actors, and not that you can't vent about it on this site, but don't become the tech who is always rude and condescending to the actors. No one hires that person back, especially ina small company. Theatre is a collaborative art, and we need them as much as they need us.



I honestly don't get where you are trying to come in at all on this. I know actors who can build/design as good or better than any scenic tech. I also know technicians who can act. It's a matter of what you want to do, not a matter of "tech/acting" brain. It is where your passions lie, not some misunderstanding. You "actor proof" everything not in terms of stupidity, but for ease of use. If you make a ridiculous prop that an actor can't use, the comfort level is thrown, and he cannot effectively do his/her job. 

Though, I have never heard an actor put-down in the shop I work in. If there is a serious problem, they either rectify it by fixing the set, or helping the actor, no put-downs needed. When the actors work in the shop, they are given tasks to suit their level of skill, and used to the best of their ability.

-------
I also call shenanigans to the Macbeth BS. I don't play the superstition game.


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## philhaney

jessamarie6 said:


> We have to remember that most actors are not stupid people, they are only stupid when they are actors. In the end this is simply because while they are doing the work they do their brains are occupied by a totally different type of thought.




themuzicman said:


> I honestly don't get where you are trying to come in at all on this. I know actors who can build/design as good or better than any scenic tech. I also know technicians who can act. It's a matter of what you want to do, not a matter of "tech/acting" brain.



I've seen it go both ways. I have experience working with actors who are really good techs, until they get on stage and start to act. Then their tech savvy goes right out the window and we have to "actor proof" things for ease of use _AND _stupidity (I've seen some good techs get _really stupid _when acting) to prevent damage, injury, etc. And yes, we help these actors without putting them down.

I also have experience working with actors who can run circles around good techs, and retain their tech awareness when acting.

It's all a matter of your personal experiences.


jessamarie6 said:


> I just have to take the time to put in my two cents about actors. I'm not so comfortable with the "stupid actors" posts on this site.



While I'm sure you don't do it, Themuzicman, I have seen far too many posts on this site putting down actors, including some by "grizzled veterans" who should know better, and I don't like these posts either.


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## rchu3149

There is one other "counter-curse" to the M- word - I prefer it actually. A quote from Hamlet... "Angels and ministers of grace defend us." 

Granted, I strongly believe in this curse and choose to NEVER say M-, but if I slip, you can bet I'll be quoting Hamlet...


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## Dionysus

rchu3149 said:


> There is one other "counter-curse" to the M- word - I prefer it actually. A quote from Hamlet... "Angels and ministers of grace defend us."
> 
> Granted, I strongly believe in this curse and choose to NEVER say M-, but if I slip, you can bet I'll be quoting Hamlet...



I've not heard of that remedy before, and I LIKE IT...
I also strongly believe in the curse....


> The play is cursed because supposedly the spells are too "real". It is said the witches of the age were upset that their secrets had been so widely revealed on stage, and thus cursed the play and it's future productions.


Ahhh I've heard that one too, but I don't put any stock in it... I know a lot of Wiccans and the so called incantations don't sound like any I've come across anywhere but in fiction.


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## ruinexplorer

Dionysus said:


> I know a lot of Wiccans and the so called incantations don't sound like any I've come across anywhere but in fiction.



Slight highjack:

The Wiccans you know probably know little of the history of Wicca (similar to many Christians and others who know little about the history of their own respective faith). It is a reconstruction religion that is based on the ideals of original druidism and other nature worship religions of the Celtic people, but has no direct ties to those people and definitely not witches. Read the Wiki article on the origins of Wicca and some of the questions of its origins. Also, you can see here where Silver RavenWolf (a practicing Wiccan) states that Wicca of today doesn't even represent the practices of 30 years ago, let alone 1,000 years ago. So, it is of no suprise to me that the "spells" don't sound like anything except something out of fiction. :^)


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## misterm

I really wish our small auditorium we use for a theatre would allow me to plug in a ghost light. But I'm too afraid that I'd open it up on Monday for rehearsals and it'd be gone. I think our ghosts live in the lighting since our board has never worked. In high school, the ghost of a former director would show up late at night. We could only see the glowing of his cigarette up in the balcony in his former seat. Kinda creepy, especially when you're there late at night and know that no one is up there.
My favorite "word-that-is-not-to-be-said" story is from a monologue show we did last year. A senior actor decided to make everyone mad and say it in green room. Opening night, tech guy unplugged a light in a scene change and an actor had to start in the dark. The next night, the curse offender forgot his monologue (about a die-hard Star Trek fan) halfway through, looked down, muttered "f***", shot the audience a vulcan salute with a "Live long and prosper," and left the stage. No one has even uttered it since.


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## ReiRei

misterm said:


> I really wish our small auditorium we use for a theatre would allow me to plug in a ghost light. But I'm too afraid that I'd open it up on Monday for rehearsals and it'd be gone. I think our ghosts live in the lighting since our board has never worked. In high school, the ghost of a former director would show up late at night. We could only see the glowing of his cigarette up in the balcony in his former seat. Kinda creepy, especially when you're there late at night and know that no one is up there.
> My favorite "word-that-is-not-to-be-said" story is from a monologue show we did last year. A senior actor decided to make everyone mad and say it in green room. Opening night, tech guy unplugged a light in a scene change and an actor had to start in the dark. The next night, the curse offender forgot his monologue (about a die-hard Star Trek fan) halfway through, looked down, muttered "f***", shot the audience a vulcan salute with a "Live long and prosper," and left the stage. No one has even uttered it since.



Why would your ghost light disappear?

And about your Macbeth story... did anyone beat the guy up who unplugged the light? Because that's one of the biggest things that bothers me about this curse. I've seen angry actors and even a couple techs try to screw people up because they've said it. I try not to say it in front of people and when I do I say the little counter curse from Hamlet (thank you rchu3149, it's come in handy because now I don't have to be dizzy and look somewhat silly). Anyways, it's fine if people get all, "oh no you said that M word! Shame upon thee!" but when it interferes with someone's performance, that's a line that should never be crossed...

It's also super irritating when people say to piss off other people. I've learned my lesson, so I don't like to step on anyones toes. 

By the way misterm, I hope you don't take this as me bagging on you or anything. You just had a good example story for me to run off of.


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## TechnicalAngel

*~*~*~SPECIAL TRADITIONS/SUPERSTITIONS~*~*~*

Usually ever theatre has special traditions or superstitions that the crews or actors follow. Im curious to know if any other theaters have these strange customs. Please post a few then describe how they came to be. 

With our high school I can name a few.

Never go up to the grid without petting the crocodile head on the ladder (it protects you). This started because of the "Grid Master Ghost," up there. Strange clanking is always heard going on...even when you know someone is not up there. I hate being in the Auditorium alone, weird noises seem to echo from wall to wall. Plus with 14 hundred seats...it looks like figures are all staring at you when there is no one sitting there! My what the human mind can do to scare you *shivers*

Obviously my theatre strongly believes in the "Macbeth" superstition.

After every show our cast and crew go to Sam Diego's for food (they hate us too haha)

We rave inside one of the sleeves off stage after the last show had ended. The room is covered up with black felt so its nice and dark. We use the fog machine, the strobe light, the black lights and a random ipod with sandstorm on it. The actors just dont understand~




now its your turn~


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## misterm

ReiRei said:


> Why would your ghost light disappear?
> 
> And about your Macbeth story... did anyone beat the guy up who unplugged the light?



Our ghost light would disappear because the theatre is not on site at the school, but at the Board of Education and maintenance has a bad habit of going in there and messing things up. The auditorium gets rented out for conferences and stuff as well, so we often have to load scenery and thrust stages out at the last minute, then load back in before the show. I don't trust leaving anything in there, not even spike tape on the floor, much less equipment.

No one beat the techie up. It was simply a mistake, not on purpose. He felt bad enough and we still give him grief about it. Unfortunately, he is no longer with us.  Alternative school called him away from us.


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## misterm

I just remembered one we like to abide by. Not so much a superstition as a rule we abide by. Because we don't have a full time tech crew, our actors are required to participate in set construction and such. The rule we follow is: No singing or playing music from the musical we are currently working on during set construction!


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## PeytonJr

So whats the conventions on saying "MacBeth" if it's in the title of the play that is going on?
This summer a theatre that I'm going to be working at is putting on "A Midsummer Night's MacBeth." So I'm just wondering.


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## WestlakeTech

misterm said:


> I just remembered one we like to abide by. Not so much a superstition as a rule we abide by. Because we don't have a full time tech crew, our actors are required to participate in set construction and such. The rule we follow is: No singing or playing music from the musical we are currently working on during set construction!



AAAAAAAAMMMMEEEEEENNNNNNNN!!!!!!!!

You will all be singing those songs for the ensuing weeks anyway. And they're usually songs nobody likes anyway, or they just get old fast. I had flashbacks to Luck Be A Lady this morning while getting ready for school... Guys and Dolls was TWO MONTHS ago...


........ MACBETH!!......


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## misterm

Yeah, we've finally stopped hearing "Little Shop" all over the school. 
One thing I like to do as a tradition/encouragement is to post quotes about theatre around the backstage area and dressing room for the students to see as they're about to go on.


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## ReiRei

misterm said:


> Yeah, we've finally stopped hearing "Little Shop" all over the school.
> One thing I like to do as a tradition/encouragement is to post quotes about theatre around the backstage area and dressing room for the students to see as they're about to go on.



Ha! Every time anyone says, "Downtown" Skid row plays in my head. In fact, I just caught myself singing it. Every now and then I hear myself humming the Dentist song. That was over a year ago. No matter how hard you try, you can't escape musicals.


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## renegadeblack

Dionysus said:


> I've not heard of that remedy before, and I LIKE IT...
> I also strongly believe in the curse....
> 
> 
> Ahhh I've heard that one too, but I don't put any stock in it... I know a lot of Wiccans and the so called incantations don't sound like any I've come across anywhere but in fiction.



Totally agreed. I watch "A Haunting" on Discovery Channel and get greatly angered. I have yet to see Wicca be properly portrayed just about anywhere. It saddens me really. We aren't evil!


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## ship

For me over the years walking under a ladder while on stage was fine and an exception to the nomal rule. Anyone else here this exception, know what's behind it and or follow that rule?


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## Grommet

The ladder belief is that the gates to hell are all triangle shaped. Going under a ladder symbolized passing through to hell...

i do not believe in superstitions. i go through ladders all the time. 

I have no routine to follow that will make the day good.

I do my job to the best of my abilities to keep everyone safe and create a good show.

If you believe in superstitions then you will be so absorbed in them you will end up acting them out.

"oh crap you said Macbeth! I said Macbeth! Twice! We're all going to die!"


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## WestlakeTech

Grommet said:


> The ladder belief is that the gates to hell are all triangle shaped. Going under a ladder symbolized passing through to hell...
> 
> i do not believe in superstitions. i go through ladders all the time.
> 
> I have no routine to follow that will make the day good.
> 
> I do my job to the best of my abilities to keep everyone safe and create a good show.
> 
> If you believe in superstitions then you will be so absorbed in them you will end up acting them out.
> 
> "oh crap you said Macbeth! I said Macbeth! Twice! We're all going to die!"



AMEN!!! I sometimes make it a point to say Macbeth on shows just to freak out all the superstitious people. Actually said it on a show I SMed a few months ago. The show only got better with each passing day.


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## ship

Seperate but Karma... one should never be so counter to superstition that it might bite you if you get known for speaking against it and by happenstance you get known for disbelief in superstition happening.

Not superstitious but observant perhaps in why such concepts were presented with at times valid reasons and respectful of that in perhaps even throwing salt over my shoulder at times for Pan should I spill the shaker. If I pass under a ladder, perhaps a bit more caution in doing so that's important when I cannot go around.

Calling MacBeth on stage... that's harsh and Why do you feel this important to expell as mythos as opposed to just having a good show without added worries? Noting happened besides the point, it's a tradition and something that should not be messed with.


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## WestlakeTech

Never exactly called it onstage. In the general theater though, yes I did. Thing was, we were in Hell Week. (Bear in mind, this is high school theater; a short run, with rehearsals starting at about 5pm.) Our facility was under construction, so we were using that of another local high school. I was Stage Managing a show that loaded in and had it's first rehearsal on Tuesday. Our first performance was Friday. Thursday was the first time we ran the show the entire way through and it had its fair share of problems (not the least of which were the directors, Tech and other). 

So I said Macbeth (repeatedly) as a challenge to myself and the others; an act of faith that we could still pull off a fantastic show, despite plenty of problems. We had 3 shows that weekend. Each one was better than the last.


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## nobl13

Fun story, our old stage manager's mother actually told her "break a leg" at one of her first shows with the company. When they were leaving that night, she was pushed down the stairs in front of the theatre and.... broke her leg.

We don't use that phrasing at our theatre any more.


ReiRei said:


> Ha! Every time anyone says, "Downtown" Skid row plays in my head. In fact, I just caught myself singing it. Every now and then I hear myself humming the Dentist song. That was over a year ago. No matter how hard you try, you can't escape musicals.



Oh god. Every time I hear that song, I start hearing spotlight cues in my head.


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## HornsOverIthaca

One tidbit I heard was that Shakespeare used the words of actual witches when he wrote Macbeth. When they found out about him doing so they cursed the play. I didn't know there were active witches in 16th century England but I'm no authority on them.

I've heard the whistling causing rigging confusion before, but I've also heard that when gaslights were blown out the gas would whistle as it was expelled. You wouldn't want someone to not turn off the gas thinking that it was just a person whistling away. However not many people continuously whistle a single tone for very long.


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## CSCTech

ReiRei said:


> Ha! Every time anyone says, "Downtown" Skid row plays in my head. In fact, I just caught myself singing it. Every now and then I hear myself humming the Dentist song. That was over a year ago. No matter how hard you try, you can't escape musicals.


 
Are you speaking of Bedside Manor?  "I'm a skidrow maaan ooh Im a skidrow man.."


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## BigBC68

I didn't believe in the Macbeth curse until I was helping my old highschool with a show, and during intermission someone said Macbeth. During the second act of that show, a flat got caught in grand and ripped it. Also, before intermission of the next show, the rope came untied from one of the carriers, and we had to re-rig it during intermission.


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## Emmanuelle

Hello,
I know this talk is quite old, but I m new here, and french.
So I'm glad to have learn why you guys say "break a leg", even with the two explainations. 
For the French side, we say "Merde" for all shows. It comes from the time in Paris when people were coming to the theater with a car pulled by horses. Then if you have a lot of **** in front of the theater, it means a lot of people into the theater... That why the actors wished **** to each other.
Emmanuelle


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## misterm

thats the first time i've ever heard that explanation and i love it! we were always told to say it and get out of your system so you don't say it onstage when you mess up.


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## ruinexplorer

OK, this was funny. Now we have to involve our audience?


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## chausman

ruinexplorer said:


> OK, this was funny. Now we have to involve our audience?
> View attachment 9271



They went to all the work to make the sign, they should have used elizabethan language. Or at least the word "whilst". It flows better with the rest of the sentence.


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## Brandofhawk

So.. I don't know if anyone has made these comments. 
I like all of the superstitions and refrain from using/doing them in the theater even if I don't believe in them in case others do.

I have heard many reasons for all of these and read 66% of this thread so I apologize if these things have already been said but I just want to throw my own story / two cents into the pot. 

Break a Leg: I heard that break a leg was started by dancers. At the end of the show, often people would throw flowers or money up on stage as dancers were doing their final bows and often their legs were held out straight in a pose. The idea was to "break" your leg (bend it) to pick up money / flowers showing that you've done a good job. The idea is wishing someone good luck by saying break a leg, as to get a favorable result from the audience. 

Whistling: I would imagine that during a show, there would be less need for the whole whistling as the show was set up and the person running knew what was coming. However during a load in, when they probably hired more crew to hang everything and get it set up, they probably used whistles to help in the process of weighting, hanging, and otherwise rigging the drops. All of these people may only work on the in and the out. 

Walking under a ladder: I gave up this notion when I first started professional theater. If I can avoid it, I will. More out of personal safety. I also ask others don't do it because they could send the person on top of the ladder over if they bump it just right or whatever. Safety. 

Ghost Light: This is my favorite as it always leads everyone to make up a ghost which lives in their theaters (sometimes new theaters!). I like the ghost light particularly because I have often entered a theater in a door which isn't by the light switch and have had to make my way there in the dark. 

Theater People are the best.   

EDIT: After this post I realize that this is a very old thread. =( Oh well! 
Love the sign that revived it.


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## leastlikely

I love the ghost light - I mean, yes I recognize that it's mostly just a safety thing, but I think it's a nice superstition to have as well. Leave a light on so the ghosts can roam while they're alone overnight. In fact I love it so much that I have a ghost light tattoo! 

I never thought of walking under a ladder as something superstitious... I just figured it was a safety issue. I mean I don't see it as important at all when there's nobody on the ladder, but yeah... if there's someone on it, I'm not gonna cross under it. I don't want to risk bumping it or just startling the person who's on it.

Working in Deaf theatre, I work closely with ASL interpreters, and I've learned that the "good luck" term here is "break a finger."


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