Theatrical superstitions
Encyclopedia
Theatrical superstitions are superstition
s particular to actor
s or the theatre
.
's play Macbeth
is said to be cursed, so actors avoid saying its name (the euphemism
"The Scottish Play" is used instead). Actors also avoid even quoting the lines from Macbeth
inside a theatre, particularly the Witches' incantations. Outside of a theatre the play can be spoken of openly. If an actor speaks the name Macbeth in a theatre, he or she is required to leave the theatre building, spin around three times, spit, curse, and then knock to be allowed back in. There are several possible origins for this superstition. One is the assumption that the song of the Weird Sisters is an actual spell that will bring about evil spirits. Another is that there is more swordplay in it than most other Shakespeare plays, and the more swordplay must be rehearsed and performed, the more chances there are for someone to get injured. Yet another option is that the play is often run by theatres that are in debt and looking to increase patronage. Another superstition is the belief that the Globe Theatre
was burned down during a performance of Macbeth
, but it is revealed that this was actually during a performance of Henry VIII.
There is also a legend that the play itself was cursed because the first time it was ever performed, the actor playing Macbeth
died shortly before or after the production (accounts vary). It is also said that the original production of the play used actual witches and witchcraft, and so the play is cursed.
" replaces the phrase "good luck
". The exact origin of this expression is unknown, but some of the most popular theories are the Shakespearean Theory or Traditional Theory, and the Bowing Theory. If someone does say "good luck", they must go out of the theatre, turn around 3 times, spit, curse, then knock on the door and ask to be readmitted to the theatre. The expression "break a leg" has spread outside of the theatre and is regularly used by non-actors toward actors and in non-theatrical situations.
In Australian theatrical circles saying "good luck" is also avoided, but the replacement is often "chookas!".
In Portuguese and Spanish-speaking countries, before each performance, director and actors gather on the stage, join hands and scream "Muita Merda!"/"¡Mucha mierda!" ("A lot of shit!"). The term "A lot of shit" reputedly comes from the success of a play. Where historically people would arrive by carriage. Lots of people meant lots of carriages and horses, leaving "a lot of shit". Instead of saying "break a leg", those who want to wish good luck to the performers wish "mierda" to them. Similarly, in France and in Italy, actors say the word "Merde!" (French) / "Merda" (Italian) just before making an entrance. The French "Merde!" is also popular among ballet dancers across the world regardless of their mother tongue.
Theatres that have stood for more than a few decades tend to have lots of associated ghost stories, more than other public buildings of similar age.
, holds a place of privilege in theatre lore. Historians used to believe that Thespis of ancient Athens
(6th Century BCE) was the first person to speak lines as an individual actor on stage (hence the term "thespian" to refer to an individual actor). Any unexplainable mischief that befalls a production is likely to be blamed on Thespis, especially if it happens on November 23 (the date he supposedly uttered the first lines).
s:
Though it's a superstition, it does have practical value: the backstage area of a theatre tends to be cluttered, so someone who enters a completely darkened space is liable to be injured while hunting for a light switch.
has its origins in sailing rigging), sailors, and by extension theatrical riggers, used coded whistles to communicate scene changes. Actors who whistled could confuse them into changing the set or scenery, though in today's theatres, the stage crew normally uses an intercom
or cue light
system.
under their pillow will help them to learn it faster. This is sometimes known as "learning by diffusion". Script under the pillow is said to have caused bad luck.
Superstition
Superstition is a belief in supernatural causality: that one event leads to the cause of another without any process in the physical world linking the two events....
s particular to actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
s or the theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
.
The Scottish play
ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
's play Macbeth
Macbeth
The Tragedy of Macbeth is a play by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and is believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607...
is said to be cursed, so actors avoid saying its name (the euphemism
Euphemism
A euphemism is the substitution of a mild, inoffensive, relatively uncontroversial phrase for another more frank expression that might offend or otherwise suggest something unpleasant to the audience...
"The Scottish Play" is used instead). Actors also avoid even quoting the lines from Macbeth
Macbeth
The Tragedy of Macbeth is a play by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and is believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607...
inside a theatre, particularly the Witches' incantations. Outside of a theatre the play can be spoken of openly. If an actor speaks the name Macbeth in a theatre, he or she is required to leave the theatre building, spin around three times, spit, curse, and then knock to be allowed back in. There are several possible origins for this superstition. One is the assumption that the song of the Weird Sisters is an actual spell that will bring about evil spirits. Another is that there is more swordplay in it than most other Shakespeare plays, and the more swordplay must be rehearsed and performed, the more chances there are for someone to get injured. Yet another option is that the play is often run by theatres that are in debt and looking to increase patronage. Another superstition is the belief that the Globe Theatre
Globe Theatre
The Globe Theatre was a theatre in London associated with William Shakespeare. It was built in 1599 by Shakespeare's playing company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men, and was destroyed by fire on 29 June 1613...
was burned down during a performance of Macbeth
Macbeth
The Tragedy of Macbeth is a play by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and is believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607...
, but it is revealed that this was actually during a performance of Henry VIII.
There is also a legend that the play itself was cursed because the first time it was ever performed, the actor playing Macbeth
Macbeth
The Tragedy of Macbeth is a play by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and is believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607...
died shortly before or after the production (accounts vary). It is also said that the original production of the play used actual witches and witchcraft, and so the play is cursed.
Not wishing "good luck"
Generally, it is considered bad luck to wish someone "good luck" in a theatre. Prior to performances, it is traditional for the cast to gather together to avert the bad luck by wishing each other bad luck or cursing - in English-speaking countries, the expression "break a legBreak a leg
"Break a leg" is a well-known idiom in theatre which means "good luck." It is typically said to actors and musicians before they go on stage to perform. The origin of the phrase is obscure....
" replaces the phrase "good luck
Luck
Luck or fortuity is good fortune which occurs beyond one's control, without regard to one's will, intention, or desired result. There are at least two senses people usually mean when they use the term, the prescriptive sense and the descriptive sense...
". The exact origin of this expression is unknown, but some of the most popular theories are the Shakespearean Theory or Traditional Theory, and the Bowing Theory. If someone does say "good luck", they must go out of the theatre, turn around 3 times, spit, curse, then knock on the door and ask to be readmitted to the theatre. The expression "break a leg" has spread outside of the theatre and is regularly used by non-actors toward actors and in non-theatrical situations.
In Australian theatrical circles saying "good luck" is also avoided, but the replacement is often "chookas!".
In Portuguese and Spanish-speaking countries, before each performance, director and actors gather on the stage, join hands and scream "Muita Merda!"/"¡Mucha mierda!" ("A lot of shit!"). The term "A lot of shit" reputedly comes from the success of a play. Where historically people would arrive by carriage. Lots of people meant lots of carriages and horses, leaving "a lot of shit". Instead of saying "break a leg", those who want to wish good luck to the performers wish "mierda" to them. Similarly, in France and in Italy, actors say the word "Merde!" (French) / "Merda" (Italian) just before making an entrance. The French "Merde!" is also popular among ballet dancers across the world regardless of their mother tongue.
Ghosts
One ghost-related superstition is that the theatre should always be closed one night a week to give the ghosts a chance to perform their own plays. This is traditionally on Monday nights, conveniently giving actors a day off after weekend performances.Theatres that have stood for more than a few decades tend to have lots of associated ghost stories, more than other public buildings of similar age.
Thespis
One specific ghost, ThespisThespis
Thespis of Icaria , according to certain Ancient Greek sources and especially Aristotle, was the first person ever to appear on stage as an actor playing a character in a play...
, holds a place of privilege in theatre lore. Historians used to believe that Thespis of ancient Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
(6th Century BCE) was the first person to speak lines as an individual actor on stage (hence the term "thespian" to refer to an individual actor). Any unexplainable mischief that befalls a production is likely to be blamed on Thespis, especially if it happens on November 23 (the date he supposedly uttered the first lines).
Ghost light
One should always leave a light burning in an empty theatre. Traditionally, the light is placed upstage centre. That is, farthest from the audience, centre stage. Several reasons are given for this, all having to do with ghostGhost
In traditional belief and fiction, a ghost is the soul or spirit of a deceased person or animal that can appear, in visible form or other manifestation, to the living. Descriptions of the apparition of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to...
s:
- the light wards off ghosts.
- a theatre's ghosts always want to have enough light to see. Failure to provide this may anger them, leading to pranks or other mishaps.
- it prevents non-spectral personnel from having to cross the stageStage (theatre)In theatre or performance arts, the stage is a designated space for the performance productions. The stage serves as a space for actors or performers and a focal point for the members of the audience...
in the dark, falling into the orchestra pitOrchestra pitAn orchestra pit is the area in a theater in which musicians perform. Orchestral pits are utilized in forms of theatre that require music or in cases when incidental music is required...
, dying in the fall and becoming ghosts themselves.
Though it's a superstition, it does have practical value: the backstage area of a theatre tends to be cluttered, so someone who enters a completely darkened space is liable to be injured while hunting for a light switch.
Whistling
Related to a similar rule for sailing ships, it is considered bad luck for an actor to whistle on or off stage. As original stage crews were hired from ships in port (theatrical riggingFly system
A fly system, flying system or theatrical rigging system, is a system of lines , blocks , counterweights and related devices within a theatre that enable a stage crew to quickly, quietly and safely fly components such as curtains, lights, scenery, stage effects and, sometimes, people...
has its origins in sailing rigging), sailors, and by extension theatrical riggers, used coded whistles to communicate scene changes. Actors who whistled could confuse them into changing the set or scenery, though in today's theatres, the stage crew normally uses an intercom
Intercom
An intercom , talkback or doorphone is a stand-alone voice communications system for use within a building or small collection of buildings, functioning independently of the public telephone network. Intercoms are generally mounted permanently in buildings and vehicles...
or cue light
Cue light
A cue light is a system of one or more electric light bulbs used to allow silent cues to be given to technicians and performers at various working locations during the running of a show. Typically, the Deputy Stage Manager sends signals to these cue lights at pre-arranged times...
system.
Script under pillow
A common superstition held by actors is that sleeping with a scriptManuscript
A manuscript or handwrite is written information that has been manually created by someone or some people, such as a hand-written letter, as opposed to being printed or reproduced some other way...
under their pillow will help them to learn it faster. This is sometimes known as "learning by diffusion". Script under the pillow is said to have caused bad luck.
Miscellaneous
- No real money should be used on stage. This may derive from gamblers' superstitions about money, or it could just be a sensible precaution against theft. In a similar vein, it is considered unlucky to wear real jewelry on stage, as opposed to costume jewelryCostume jewelryCostume jewelry is jewelry manufactured as ornamentation to complement a particular fashionable costume or garment. Costume jewelry came into being in the 1930s as a cheap, disposable accessory meant to be worn with a specific outfit...
. - It is bad luck to complete a performance of a play without an audience in attendance, so one should never say the last line of a play during rehearsals. To get around this, some production companies allow a limited number of people (usually friends, family, and reviewers) to attend the dress rehearsals.
- In some companies wearing the t-shirt of the play being produced before opening day is considered bad luck. Other companies however hold the exact opposite opinion, and actually encourage their actors to wear the shirt as often as possible before opening night to increase ticket sales.
- A bad dress rehearsal foretells a good opening night. Possibly, this is an example of sour grapes. However, it has a tendency to be true in that cast and crew are scared straight by a bad dress rehearsal and therefore fix their mistakes by opening night. (Alternatively, a director may offer this superstition to boost the confidence of the actors after they were disheartened by the bad dress rehearsal.)
- A company should not practise doing their bows before they feel they deserve them.
- Gifts such as flowers should be given to actors before a show, as opposed to after.
- Peacock feathers should never be brought on stage, either as a costume element, prop, or part of a setpiece. Many veteran actors and directors tell stories of sets collapsing and other such events during performances with peacock feathers.
- Some actors believe that having a BibleBibleThe Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
onstage is unlucky. Often, other books or prop books will be used with Bible covers. - The colour blue is considered unlucky, unless countered by wearing silver. As blue dye was once very costly; a failing acting company would dye some of their garments blue in the hopes of pleasing the audience. As for the silver to counter it, one would know that the acting company was truly wealthy, so to enable actors to wear real silver.
- The colour green is also considered to be unlucky. This is said to date from the time when most performances were given out-of-doors. Wearing green would make it hard to distinguish the actor from grass/trees/bushes in the natural setting beyond the performing area. Another possible cause of this superstition is that green light tends to make actors look corpse-like. Despite this superstition, the off-stage waiting area for actors is referred to as the green roomGreen roomIn British English and American English show business lexicon, the green room is that space in a theatre, a studio, or a similar venue, which accommodates performers or speakers not yet required on stage...
. - The colour yellow is another that is considered unlucky. This is said to date from the days of the religious plays. Yellow was the colour worn by the actor playing the devil.