Blue Fire - Theatre Etymology - Part 18

When something is amazing in the theatre, these days, people just tend to say it was amazing or give other similar adjectives. However, back in Victorian days, there was a term for anything amazing, astounding, or sensational. If an audience had never seen anything like what they had seen on stage before, they called it blue fire.

The current definition of blue fire is compositions of various combustible substances, as sulfur, niter, lampblack, etc., the flames of which are colored by various salts, as those of antimony, strontium, barium, etc. This is exactly where the theatre term originated. A mixture containing sulfur was ignited in order to create an eerie blue glow on the stage. The audience had never seen anything like it before, so then any special effect was dubbed blue fire.

The word blue might have come from the Middle English word blewe which comes from the Anglo-French word blew, bl(i)u, or bl(i)ef meaning livid or discolored. It may also have come from the Old French word blo or blau (French bleu) which came from Germanic word blǣwaz. This can also be compared to the Old English word blǣwen which is a contraction of blǣhǣwen meaning deep blue. It may also have come from the Old Frisian word blāw, the Middle Dutch word blā(u), the Old High German blāo (German blau), or the Old Norse word blār.

The word fire might have come from the Middle English or Old English word fȳr which probably came from the Old Norse word fūrr, the German word Feuer, or the Greek word pŷr.

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Greedy Scene - Theatre Etymology - Part 17

A greedy scene sounds like it means the scene is eating, or perhaps there is a lot of eating in the scene. However, a greedy scene actually means a scene in a play in which the lead actor or actress (or star) has the stage all to himself or herself.

There does not seem to be any recorded origin of the phrase. However, it is said to have come from 1909. It can be understood that when an actor has the stage to himself, he may seem greedy. Then, obviously, a scene takes place on stage. It seems like the phrase may have come from people say that an actor was greedy for a scene and it was shortened to greedy scene. Yet, this is only a theory.

The word greedy has many possible origins. One possibility is that it from the Old English word grǣdig, which is related to both the Old Norse word grāthugr and the Gothic word grēdags meaning hungry. It may also come from the Old High German word grātac. The word scene comes from the Latin word scēna meaning background (of the stage) which comes from the Greek word skēnḗ meaning booth (where actors dressed).

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Mumble-Mumper - Theatre Etymology - Part 16

These days, people don't tend to attribute certain names to actors that they can't hear on the stage. There isn't a movement in theatre like there is in films and television known as mumble acting (which surprisingly even has fans, so the genre and fans call it mumblecore). In theatre, people need to be heard.

However, there are times when an actor cannot be heard. Directors try to avoid having this happen. However, it can always be a problem. It seems to have been more of a problem from the mid-19th to the early 20th century. There was even a term, "mumble-mumper." However, this wasn't applied to any actors. It seems like these actors had to be old. The most common definition found is "An old, sulky, inarticulate, unintelligable actor." It is thought that the term comes from around the year 1860.

Other defitions of mumble-mumper are "an old, inarticulate performer whose lines cannot be easily heard or interpreted by the audience" and "an old, inarticulate actor that the audince struggles to understand." It is fairly obvious why mumble would be part of the term, but mumper is more of a mystery.

Mumble can mean "to speak in a low indistinct manner, almost to an unintellible extent." It comes from the Middle English word momelen or the Dutch world mommelen or the German word mummeln. However, mumper has nothing to do with acting or speaking. It also has nothing to do with the mumps. Mumper means "a beggar, a mandicant; a person who sponges on others." Sometimes the word mumper was only applied to genteel beggars, but it seems to have ended up being applied to all beggars. In some parts of England, the word mumper is only applied to troops of beggars who go from house to house. Sometimes this is on St. Thomas's day or St. Stephen's day.

While this is not theory found by others, I have a theory that an actor may have ended up being a beggar and with the confusion of a troop of beggars and a theatre troupe, that an actor also being a mumper ended up being called a mumble-mumper. Somebody heard the term and liked it, so then it was applied to all old actors who couldn't be understood.

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Not a Dry Eye in the House - Theatre Etymology - Part 15

If somebody says there's not a dry eye in the house, that tends to mean that everybody was crying. However, usually not every single person was crying. The phrase is mostly used exaggeratively when most people or at least most people that are seen, are crying at a performance. This is usually in response to something on stage that is extremely sad or extremely happy that it makes people cry.

There does not seem to be a record of when the phrase was first used or first printed. However, it is obvious that eyes are wet when people cry. So, if everybody is crying, that would make every eye be wet and there wouldn't be a dry eye in the house.

The word dry when used as an adjective seems to come from the Old English word dryge which comes from the Proto-Germanic word draugiz. These words can be compared to the Middle Low German word dröge, the Middle Dutch word druge, the Dutch word droog, the Old High German word trucchon, the German word trocken, and the Old Norse word, draugr. However, the Proto-German word draugiz seems to come from the Proto-Indo-European prefix dreug.

When the word eye is used as a noun, it comes from before 900. It seems that it is from the Middle English word eie or ie or the Old English word ēge which is a variant of ēage. This is a cognate of the German word Auge which is then akin to the Latin word oculus, the Greek word ṓps, and the Sanskrit word akṣi.

Then, the same origin for house is in the post for Bring the House Down.

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Get the Show on the Road - Theatre Etymology - Part 14

Get the show on the road means to get an activity started. This can be any activity. A parent may tell children to get the show on the road if they need to clean up the toys. That same parent may use the same phrase to the same children to get them to get going and get ready to leave for school. A teacher may say "Let's get this show on the road," meaning to get a class started. A director may say, "Let's get this show on the road" meaning to start a rehearsal or even at the very beginning of rehearsals. Another may not use the phrase until it is time for the show to open and only use the phrase for when the show opens, meaning for the show to get started and have a good run.

Get seems to come from the Middle English word geten which comes from the Old Norse word geta which means to obtain or to beget. It may also come from the Old English root -gietan (from the Middle English word yeten) or the German -gessen (as in vergessen which means to forget). The word show seems to come from the Middle English word showen, shewen, or schween meaning to look at or the Old English word scēawian meaning to look at. The word road seems to come from the Middle English word rode or rade or the Old English word rād meaning a riding or a journey on horseback.

The first recorded instance of the phrase seems to be from the 1951 novel From Here to Eternity by James Jones. It is loosely based on his experiences in the infantry from before Word War II. He wrote in it, "'Come on, come on,' Prew said, 'What's holding things up? Let's get this show on the road.'" However, it is thought that the phrase was in common use by the 1930s and came into use around 1910.

The reason for the phrase coming into use is though to be related to when a Broadway or West End theatre show started touring, so the show literally had to get on the road. There is also the possibility that the phrase came from the circus because it toured and literally had to get the show on the road. If I had actually written about this phrase first in my Theatre Etymology series, I could have said that I was getting the show on the road with the series.

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Chew the Scenery - Theatre Etymology - Part 13

If a person is known to chew the scenery, that doesn't mean that the person is like Cookie Monster, who will eat anything, and actually eats the scenery. Instead, it means to overact or to act melodramatically. Depending on the context of the phrase, it can have a positive or negative meaning.

An actor may perform so well that he was said to chew the scenery because while everything else and all the actors supported the actor, the actor managed to shine and not take away from any of the support. It is just that the actor was extremely impressive. However, an actor might also chew the scenery if he overacts and takes away from the other performers and the tehcnical effects.

Most sources seem to cite that the phrase comes from a 1930 article by Dorothy Parker in which she wrote, "more glutton than artist . . . he commences to chew up the scenery." However, there are earlier evidences of the phrase being used. The first printed occurance of the phrase seems to be from March 1, 1891 in Rocky Mountain News. It read, "The Antony of Mons. Dermont was quite devoid of dignity and real force. He was inclined to 'chew scenery.'" This was part of a review of Cleopatra by Vicorien Saroud that starred Sarah Bernhardt and took place in New York. The next occurance of the phrase seems to be from 1894 from the novel Coeur D'Alene by Mary Hallock Foote. She wrote, "Lads, did ye hear him chewin' the scenery, giving' himself away like a play-actor? 'I'm not what ye think I am', says he. 'I'm in a cruel, equizzical position.'...You can't make evidence out of such rot as he was talkin', ...a young fella turning his chin loose about his mash! He chins wid us, an' listens to our talk, but he's too fancy for a miner. He's a bird, he's a swell, and makes out he's a workin'man like the rest av us."

The word chew seems to come from the Old English world ceown when comes from the West Germnic word keuwwan which comes from the Dutch word kauwen. However, it may lso comes from the Old High Germn wsord kiuwan (or German word kauen) which comes from the proto-Indo-European root gyeu, meaning to chew, the Salvonic word živomeaning to chew, the Lithuanian word žiaunos meaning jaws, or the Persian word javidan meaning to chew. The word scenery seems to come directly from the Italian word scenario, being adapted into English as scenery for the set of a theatrical play. There is no exact record of why an actor may "chew the scenery," but it is thought that the phrase may have originated by people saying that an actor did everything but chew the scenery in order to get attention.

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Bring the House Down - Theatre Etymology - Part 12

Bring the house down sounds like it means to literally find a house on top of a hill or a mountain and bring it down to the base. It also sounds like it could mean that a house collapses in on itself. However, when people in the theatre use the phrase bring the house down or any of its variations (bring down the house, brought the house down, brought down the house, etc.), it means that a performer or the performers (and crew) did so well that the a loud response (usually applause or laughter) came from the audience.

The reason that this phrase is used is that the word house described the part of a room or theatre where an audience sat. Back in the 18th century, the response from an audience could be so loud that it seemed like the audience was in an earthquake and that the structure in which the performance was held was literally about to fall in on itself.

The origin of the word bring seems to be from sometime before 950 and could possibly come from Middle English (bringen), Old English (bringan), Dutch (brengen), German (bringen), or Gothic (briggan). The origin of house comes from before 900 and could be from Middle English (h[o]us), Old English (hūs), Low German (huus), Old Norse (hūs), German (Haus), or Gothic (-hūs or in gudhūs temple). The origin of the word down comes from before 1100 and seems to have come from either the Middle English word doune or th Old English word dūne which seems to have come from adūne. Basically, it lost the first syllable which makes the word dūne aphetic (meaning a word that has lost a syllable from the original). Adūne originally meant something like "off the hill" or "down from the hill."

While loud applause or laughter (or even stomping) in appreciation of a performance sounds like it is a plausible reason for a theatre collapse, there do not seem to be any instances of a theatre collapsing for this reason. All cases of theatres collapsing or parts of theatres collapsing, whether while an audience was present or not, seem to be due to incorrect, weak, or weakened structure. A few examples are the 1910 collapse of an open-air (airdome) theatre in New Jersey, the 2008 collapse of Nicosia municipal theatre in Cyprus, and the 2013 collapse of the Apollo theatre in London, United Kingdom.

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Behind the Scenes - Theatre Etymology - Part 11

When something is done behind the scenes, that means that it is done in secret from the public. Only a few people who are involved with the action know what is happening. This can be anywhere. It may be done in government, in a school, in a club, or even within a family among different members. A person might even refer to intimate times as "behind the scenes" from others.

The term "behind the scenes" comes from theatre. It can also be used in television and in film. It literally means the action that goes on behind the scenery of a play (or television show or movie). A lot has to happen for a show to be made. The actors are not the only people who make a show. There are people who run lights and sound. There are people who make sure the set is made and in place. There are people who work on costumes. There are often people who move props (although sometimes the actors do this). There's the writer or writers. There's the director. There are usually even more people.

As for the etymology of each word, behind comes from the Middle English word "behinde" or "behinden" or the Old English word "behindan." Then, scene comes from the Latin word "scēna" which comes from the Greek word "skēnḗ" meaning a booth where actors dressed.

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Curtain Call - Theatre Etymology - Part 10

A curtain call is the time the cast of a show comes out after the curtain closes (if it does) and then reopens at the end of the show. It seems that curtain calls became popular in the 1800s. There is no exact date recorded for the first curtain call or how they were introduced into theatre. By 1839, Charles Dickens had written a scene in Nicholas Nickleby that described an audience as "calling" for the actress Miss Snevillicci to come out after a successful show. Even though it is not certain when curtain calls became popular, it is thought that theatre always had rituals for the end of the show.

The reason for the term "curtain call" seems fairly obvious. One might ask why it is not a "curtain cue" if thinking it comes from "calling the cues" and calling a cue for the last curtain. However, cues aren't always called for a curtain as they often operated by backstage crew who follow a script and are among the actors. Also, the call seem to be, as suggested above, a calling from the audience to the actors. As for the words themselves, c curtain comes from the Old French word "cortine" which comes from the Late Latin "corina" meaning a round vessel or curtain comes from the Latin word "cortem" meaning an enclosure or a courtyard. Call comes from the last Middle English word "callen" which probably came from the Old Norse word "kalla" meaning to call out. It is thought hat this may have been confused with or mixed with the Old English (West Saxon) word "ceallian" meaning to shout. It is also possible that the word call came from the Middle Dutch word "kallen" meaning to talk or the Old High German word "kallôn" meaning to shout.

Today, curtain calls often consist of actors coming out and giving a bow or a curtsy as the audience claps and cheers. The reason for a curtain call seems to be two fold. Some actors love getting praise and affirmation that they did a good job and a curtain call allows for that. It also seems that, in general, audiences love to go crazy. A curtain call allows an audience to go crazy with congratulatory sounds and actions for actors. However, some actors hate curtain calls and will try to leave as soon as possible.

There was a time when curtain calls were more elaborate. The curtain call for a musical may have been a musical number at the end of the show and then the actors would turn to the audience and bow. At times, this type of thing still happens in the theatre, but it is not as common. For a straight play, each actor may have come out and given a bow or a curtsy separately if the cast was not too large.

It is also important for actors to rehearse the curtain call. It might be odd performing a curtain call in front of an empty house, but it is necessary to know how a curtain call is going to go rather than tripping over other actors in an impromptu one. Rehearsing a curtain call can also allow a director to let a cast known when he or she is pleased. The curtain call can be rehearsed and the director may want to go directly into giving notes afterwards. However, when a play is rehearsed with a curtain call and the director claps, that probably means that he or she is pleased with the performance. However, this does not mean there will not still be notes taken. This simply means that the director was pleased and there still may be more to fix in the play.

Another thing that a curtain call does is allow the audience to see the actors for themselves. The actors may come out as their characters, but they do not have to stay in character for the curtain call. The audience can watch how the actors interact with each other at this time. Actors can also decide on if they are going to bow or curtsy and their arm movements. If actors are coming out in sets or pairs, do they hold hands? It is also customary to acknowledge the technical operators and/or the orchestra after the initial bows. At times, if these positions are paid, they may not be acknowledged if the actors are not paid as the paycheck is seen as their reward. However, they are often acknowledge for the work, even if they are paid. This way the entire cast and crew feels like they did a great job.

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In the Round - Theatre Etymology - Part 9

Theatre in the round is a style of theatre where the audience surrounds the stage where the actors perform on three or four sides. The stage is usually either lower than the audience or on the same level as the audience. In rare cases, the acting area is actually raised above the audience. Some theatres are purposely built in the style of in the round. At other times, a theatre may be a proscenium stage or a black box and the audience's sitting area is made by putting chairs around the acting area.

Theatre in the round was common in ancient Greek theatre. This is because of the landscape. The audience's seats would be on the rising area of hills and the acting area would be on the low parts between them. Theatre in the round grew out of fashion until the medieval era, but by the 17th century, it grew out of fashion again and a proscenium stage was preferred.

The etymology is fairly simple. It is literally theatre that is performed in a circle of audience members. The audience members are around the actors, thus the theatre is in the "round." The word theatre seems to come from the Latin word theātrum which seems to come from the Greek word théātron, meaning seeing place. Then round seems to come from the Old French stem ront or reont which seems to have come from the Latin rotundus.

Around the time of World War I, theatre in the round started becoming popular again. It was appearing in colleges in the United States. In 1924, Gilmore Brown founded the theatre company Fair-Oaks Playbox in Pasadena, California. Then in 1930, Nikolay Pavlovich Okhlopkov founded the Realistic Theater company. It started to work in the style of theatre in the round because the stage designers did not like the limitations of the proscenium stage. In 1940, the first purpose built theatre for theatre in the round appeared in Seattle Washington.

In 1955, the Studio Theatre company was the first known to work in the theatre in the round style in the United Kingdom. They first performed in the Library Theatre in Scarborough during the summers. During the winters, they would tour to towns without theatres. They had a temporary home in the Civic Hall of Newcastle-under-Lyme. However, the dream of a purpose built theatre for theatre in the round would not come to fruition until 1986, when the New Vic Theatre was built in Newcastle-under-Lyme.

There still are not many purpose built theatres for theatre in the round. However, the style if often chosen when a director or a theatre company wants to give a more intimate feel for a performance. This is because it will often result in a smaller audience around the actors, allowing them to address different audience members or different areas of the audience. However, sometimes, in a purpose built theatre for theatre in the round, the audience can often be bigger and more spread out than one that is found in a typical proscenium arch theatre. The difficulty for actors can be that they are trained in a proscenium arch theatre and taught not to turn their backs to the audience, but in theatre in the round, somebody is always going to be seeing the actors' backs.

Theatre in the round is also known as central stage, arena stage, or island stage. Theatre in the round is also seen hyphenated as theatre-in-the-round. In the round can also be used to describe an art form. This basically means a statue as it is not a flat painting or a relief, but a sculpture that can be seen from all 360 degree around it and is in the open air.

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Footloose and Fancy Free - Theatre Etymology - Part 8

Many people associate the phrase footloose and fancy free with dancing. This is most likely because of the 1984 movie, Footloose. Sometimes, it is also associated with the theatre. It tends to mean to be free of any commitments and to be able to move about as one pleases.

Part of the phrase does originate with theatre, but the other part does not. The phrase fancy free comes from the theatre. It seems that it was first used by Shakespeare in his 1598 play, A Midsummer Night's Dream. When Shakespeare used the phrase, it meant to be free of any romantic or amorous thoughts or commitments. This was because in Tudor England, fancy meant an amorous inclination. Oberon states, "But I might see young cupid's fiery shaft / Quench'd in the chaste beams of the watery moon, / And the imperial votaress passed on, / In maiden meditation, fancy free."

However, it is debated if footloose comes from sailing terms or from terms used in law. There don't seem to be years related to when the term would be used with sailing. However, the story for the origin of the word footloose with sailing states that the bottom of the main sail, the foot, was always tied to the base, or the foot, of a boom in order to keep it from flapping in the wind. At times, there were reasons for a main sail not being tied to a boom, especially if the shape were not to be kept the same. At other times, the bottoms of smaller sails were not tied to a boom. It is thought that these sails were said to be footloose.

The idea of the word footloose coming from the law has a stronger basis. It is thought that the word has been used to mean free to act as one pleases as early as the 17th century. Online dictionaries state that the word was first used sometime between 1650 and 1700, but give no sources.

It is known that on January 16, 1834, the Indianapolis Journal reported on a case about a financier and it said, "The Senate declared this connection unlawful, and immediately divorced this great financier from the revenue bill, sent the bill back to the House without its defilement, leaving the great financier again foot loose in the world."

It is thought that the two phrases (or word and phrase) were put together simply because the alliteration sounded good. Different sites give what they think was the first usage. The earliest seems to be from the Wednesday, March 20, 1867 edition of the Nashville, Tennessee periodical, Republican Banner. The part of the story that used the phrase read, "The people of Tennessee hate, loathe and spurn all professional slanderers as they hate, loathe and spurn all political corruptionists, shoulderstrikers, mobbists, incendiaries, [sic] civil government in our midst, and we want the aid of no extremists, North or South. We are the ally of no party hostile to the Government or the Congress. We are foot-loose and fancy-ree [sic], bound at the wrist by no entangling alliances. We shall make a plain Republican effort here for a plain Republican fabric - and we shall GO IT ALONE."

The next time the phrase appeared seems to be in the Louisville, Kentucky newspaper, The Courier-Journal, from Sunday and Monday, Gust 29 and 30, 1869 when it said that the Democratic party was "foot-loose and fancy free, with the whole country pick and choose from." The phrase also appeared in a January 1877 edition of the Daily Arkansas Gazette that said "Footloose, fancy free, but of marriageable age" and the October 19, 1882 edition of the Jackson Sentinel from Maquoketa, Iowa that said, "All of which, fellow citizen, means that the people are footloose and fancy free."

Even though only part of the phrase originated in the theatre, with the current meaning of the phrase, footloose and fancy free, being that a person is free from commitments and able to do what he or she wants, it makes perfect sense to be in a theatre. Sometimes, even though actors actors are extremely dedicated to the productions, they seem to have a freedom that others do not. The phrase could also be one that a person gives a theatre when starting to work with the theatre because they will need the time to work with the theatre and will need to be free of other commitments and to move about the theatre as needed.

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Ghost Light - Theatre Etymology - Part 7

In the theatre,a ghost light is not a luminescent plant or fungus. It is a light that is left on after everybody has left the theatre and it stays on the whole time when people are not there until lights in the theatre are operating again. Before electricity was mainstream, ghost lights in theatres were gas lamps. Every theatre had their own gas generator. It was required that a flame continued burning because it would prevent pressure from building up in the gas lines which meant that the theatre would not explode. The ghost light, in current times, is usually an electric light. It tends to be a bulb on a long stand. Sometimes the bulb has a wire cage around it. The stand is then usually placed center stage or down center on the stage.

There is a practical reason for the ghost light. Having a ghost light lets anybody who may legally or illegally enter the theatre see. This way a person does not step on any scenery, costumes, or props that may be where the person walks. It also makes sure that a person does not fall into the orchestra pit if there is one.

However, being that theatre people are superstitious, a ghost light is also placed on the stage in order to appease theatre ghosts. The exact reason they need appeasement can be different. Some people think that if a light is not provided for the ghosts, that they will ruin the production. Others think that the ghosts desire to act on the stage when the theatre is empty and having a ghost light allows them to do this. Others think that the ghosts simply want the light so that they feel like they are welcome in the theatre.

The story that seems to be the most associated with the beginning of the use of a ghost light is that a burglar once broke into a theatre before ghost lights were used. He fell off the stage into the orchestra pit and even though he was not supposed to be in the theatre, he still sued the company.

Ghosts are still known to appear in theatres today. At the Palace Theatre on Broadway, Judy Garland still appears. Workers at the theatre report that set pieces randomly move and that items randomly disappear and appear in different places. At the Tampa Theatre, the ghost there is one of a person who was a projectionists. Multiple people who have worked as a projectionist at the theatre report chills, cold winds, and doors randomly opening.

The ghost light is also known as the Equity Light or Equity Lamp. It is thought that this is because leaving a light out and on was a requirement by Actors Equity, though it seems that nobody can find this rule. However, there are currently rules from OSHA that require lights to be on in a theatre. Sometimes ghost lights aren't the traditional bulb on a stand. The New Amsterdam Theater in New York has lights (in the grid) that basically stay on all the time due to OSHA's rules for the type of building. However, they still function in the same way as a ghost light. The lights are said to appease Olive Thomas, the ghost of a former Ziegfeld show girl.

Ghost lights are so well known in the theatre that "ghost light" has even become parts of the names of theatres and theatrical troupes. Examples are the Seattle theatre company known as Ghost Light Theatricals and Ghost Light Theatre in North Towanda, NY. Even Mandy Patinkin and Patti LuPone have incorporated the ghost light into their duet show because of how well the ghost light is known in the theatre.

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The Scottish Play - Theatre Etymology - Part 6

In theatre, many people will say "The Scottish Play" rather than saying "Macbeth." (Yes, this is the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare.) There are people who are extremely superstitious and believe that the play is cursed, thus saying the name at all is bad luck. There are others who believe that saying the name of the play is only bad luck when in a theatre (including the house [audience], dressing rooms, green rooms, and lobby) or dealing with theatre business (preparing for a show by meeting with designers and technicians, in a gathering about theatre, or teaching theatre). Then there are those who don't believe in the curse and thus will say "Macbeth" when among each other, but out of respect for people who believe in the curse, will say "the Scottish play" when among them.

It is thought that when "Macbeth" is said, that something is going to go wrong, especially during the production of a play if it is said during a rehearsal or performance. This can be something as minor as a tiny prop breaking or major such as an actor receiving a major injury. The origins of this superstition are not known, however there are plenty of anecdotes about things that have gone wrong during performances of Macbeth that make people think the play is cursed.

The theory that William Shakespeare had to replace the actor who played Lady Macbeth in the very first production is not true. It is known that Maximilian Beerbohm, an English parodist, created this story for a theatrical review published in the October 1, 1898 edition of the London publication, The Saturday Review of Politics, Literature, Science and Art.

In 1937, many disasters happened during a performance run of Macbeth at the Old Vic Theatre. The director, Michael Saint-Denis barely escaped death when he was involved in a taxi accident. Darius Milhaud kept tearing up pages of his music because he was not happy with his musical score. Opening night was postponed when Lilian Baylis was sent into major depression after her favorite dog died. Baylis then died one day before the show's postponed opening. A falling sandbag nearly hit Laurence Olivier on the head and Olivier kept wounding many of the actors who played Macduff because of his passionate acting that would truly wound them in the final battle scene.

In 1849, during a production of Macbeth in New York, the American actor Edwin Forrest and the English actor, William Charles Macready, who both played Macbeth in opposing productions had a rivalry that caused a riot at Astor Place. This resulted in at least 20 deaths and more than 100 injuries. .

In 1953, the stage caught on fire during an open air production in which Charles Heston starred. This happened because it was meant for Macbeth's castle to be burned on stage, but the wind blew the fire in unexpected directions. This included blowing it into the audience, which ran away. Heston also suffered from leg and groin burns as for some reason, his tights had accidentally been soaked in kerosene.

Saying "Macbeth" has even migrated into film production. During the 2018 taping of Hereditary writer and director Ari Aster said "Macbeth" after the actor Alex Wolff told him that "Macbeth" shouldn't be said. During the shooting of the scene after Aster said "Macbeth," one of the lights burst.

There are superstitions that have to do with breaking the curse. Many of them involve going outside of the theatre, spinning around three times and spitting. This can be accompanied by having to say something such as a swear word or a line from another Shakespeare play. Sir Patrick Stewart says that the only thing needed to undo the curse of anybody saying "Macbeth" in the theatre is to say any quote from A Midsummer Night's Dream.

You can watch him speak about it here:


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Green Room - Theatre Etymology - Part 5

The green room, if a theatre has one, is the room where actors wait in order to go onto the stage and also to relax before and after the performance, and sometimes even during the performance if they are not on stage. This room may be directly connected to the dressing rooms or it may be located somewhere that is both near the dressing rooms and the stage. However, green rooms aren't always green, so why are they called green rooms?

The origin of the term "green room" is not clear. There are many theories as to why green rooms are called green rooms. One theory is that the term comes from medieval theatre. It is thought that the performing area was called "The Green" and thus any room where actors waited might be called "a green room" because it was a room that would lead to "The Green." Then there's the theory that the room is known as a green room because in Shakespeare's day, actors would warm up in a room that contained plants. It was thought that being in a room with plants was good for the actors' voices. Since there were plants in the room, the room was known as a green room.

Another theory that claims to be from around the time of Shakespeare is that the room held unexperienced actors. Although the room was not limited to only unexperienced actors, it was likely that they would spend more time there than on stage like experience actors. These actors were "green" and thus the room was a "green room." There's also the theory that the room was where nervous actors would wait. When an actor was nervous, he might look sick or "green." Thus, the room was called a green room because of nervous actors.

There are also theories about makeup. One states that actors had to apply uncured makeup to their faces and then wait for it to cure. When the makeup was uncured, it looked green. So, actors sitting in a room would literally look green, and the room became known as "the green room." Another theory dealing with makeup is that actors often had to use fake blood when on stage. It is thought that the fake blood would get onto the walls in this back room. Fake blood on most walls looked very odd or concerning, but fake blood on green walls did not look as bad and thus the walls were painted green.

There are more theories that focus on the walls of the room actually being green. Another one is that an inexpensive material that was usually white or tan was dyed green and put over expensive areas of the theatre in order to keep them from getting damaged. This material also supposedly helped keep costumes clean, and thus it covered the walls of the room where costumes were kept, which also ended up being the room where actors waited and relaxed as sometimes it was also the dressing room. Then, there is the theory that the walls were painted green in the room to give relaxation to the actors. It is thought that this was to help relax their eyes from the bright stage lights, but it can also simply be that green is a relaxing color.

There are also the theories that come from language. One is that the term came from Cockney Rhyming Slang. It is thought that the stage was called the greengage, often shortened to green. Thus, the waiting room would be the "greengage room" or "the green room." Another is that the room was the "scene room" where the scenery was kept. For some reason, the word "scene" was misheard and and "green" replaced it and the room was called the green room.

There are probably even more theories. You can pick your favorite one for yourself (although you should teach others that there are many theories) or you can make up your own theory as well.

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In the Wings and Wing It - Theatre Etymology - Part 4

The phrase "in the wings" means to be ready at a moment's notice. "Wing it" is a phrase that means to improvise. Both phrases have origins from the theatre.

For anybody that knows terminology for parts of a theatre, the first phrase makes perfect sense. The wings are the areas on the side of proscenium stage where the actors who are going to go on stage next wait. The phrase moved from the theatre to use in every day language to mean to be ready at a moment's notice. Sometimes the phrase is used when people are waiting for somebody to be finished with a job or to retire because they are ready to replace that person.

"Wing it," while seeming it might come from the sudden movement of a bird's wing, also comes from the theatre. Sometimes, actors had to go on stage and act when they didn't know a role. This was usually when an actor suddenly had to fill in for another actor and wasn't prepared to do that because they were not assigned as an understudy or swing for the role they had to perform. There are different theories to exactly why actors would "wing it,' though.

The first, which was printed in an 1885 edition of Stage magazine stated that actors "wing it" because they are given the lines from somebody in the wings. The actor goes on stage and the person in the wings feeds them the lines. The other theory is that the actor was in the wings and had to quickly learn the lines at that moment. Thus, the actor would read the script while in the wings and memorize lines as best as he or she was able.

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Break a Leg - Theatre Etymology - Part 3

The phrase "break a leg" in theatre is used to wish somebody good luck in a performance. Sometimes when wishing a cast good luck, the phrase used is "break legs." It is known that there are many superstitions in theatre, however, the origin of this one is not certain.

The phrase started being used in the theatre in the 1920s. One thought is that the tradition came from a writing by Robert Wilson Lynd called "A Defence of Superstition." This was published in the October 1, 1921 edition of the New Statesmen. He said that the most superstitious people were those who bet on horse racing and it was bad luck to wish them good luck, so instead people should say something like, "May you break you leg!" Lynd did not give a source for this. In the same article, Lynd said that theatre people were the second most superstitious. It is thought that theatre people may have adopted the idea from this article or that Lynd got the idea from theatre people and put it in the article. The order is not certain.

Another theory is that the phrase "break a leg" comes from wishing somebody the chance to perform. This comes from when those who got to perform were the people who were paid and the people who didn't perform were not paid. It can also come from wishing that people might have to go out for a curtain call at the end of the show. In either theory, it means that the actor passed the "leg line" or passed the curtains in the wings known as "legs." Thus, the actor broke a leg, as the leg-line was crossed.

While those two theories are probably the ones that make the most sense, there are others such as when bowing, that would mean "breaking a leg" because the knees bent, so it was wishing an actor have a good performance so that multiple bows or curtsies be given. Then, there are the theories that the phrase came from the Greek practices of stomping in which if a person stomped too hard in appreciation of a performance, a person might break his or her leg. There's the theory that it could also mean breaking the leg of a chair from Elizabethan times when audiences would bang chairs on the ground in appreciation.

There are also theories that the phrase comes from translations of different languages and that they somehow made it into the English speaking world. No matter how the phrase came about, it has stayed as one of theatre's traditions to tell an actor "break a leg" in order to mean good luck.

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In the Limelight - Theatre Etymology - Part 2

To be in the limelight means to be in public attention. It was first used this way in a 1902 New York Times article that stated, "William S. Devery was in the limelight last evening. Tens of thousands of people of the district crowded the streets in the neighborhood and shouted the name of the ex-Chief of Police of New York." The origin of the phrase "in the limelight" comes from the theatre, but there is more history to how that originated.

It is not certain the lecturer in chemistry and philosophy at Surrey University, Goldsworthy Gurney, made the discovery by himself or if he built on the work of other scientists as differing accounts are given. However, it is known that sometime in the 1820s he created an oxy-hydrogen blowpipe. This was a pipe that introduced oxygen and hydrogen to a flame to make it very hot. He experimented with adding things in his blowpipe and found that when he inserted a bit of limestone, a bright and blinding white light that could be seen for miles was produced.

Thomas Drummond, a Scottish military engineer, saw a presentation about the blowpipe and limestone that Michael Farraday gave. Drummond was impressed and started using the "limelight" to help with surveying. He reported that he could see more than 60 feet, which helped in the dreary Scottish weather. Many people wanted access to bright white light, especially in the theatre so people could be seen on the stage even when it was dark.

In 1837, the first use of limelight at a theatre was seen in London's Covent Garden theatre. The limelights were placed downstaqge in order to light the rest of the stage. Actors and actresses were literally "in the limelight" during performances. The use of limelight became popular during the second half of the 19th century. Actors and actress could be seen on the stage and limelights could even be used to create the effects of moonlight and sunlight. However, it was not easy to use limelight because each light had to be monitored by a person and adjusted for each effect. The limelights were also extremely dangerous as they were fire hazards.

In 1879, Thomas Edison improved the design of the electric light bulb, finding the correct material for the filament. Because of this, the use of limelight faded and electric lights started being used. However, the phrase, "in the limelight" stayed.

Upstage - Theatre Etymology - Part 1

Upstage can be both a direction on the stage and a verb that means to take the attention from another actor (or group of actors). When upstage is a direction, it means the area at the back of the stage, near the backdrop. This area is known as upstage because of when stages were raked (tilted) so that the part furthest from the audience was the highest part of the stage and the part nearest the audience was the lowest part of the stage.

When upstage is a verb, the reason for this can have two different reasons for being used in this way. In this example, I'll name the actors Alex and Charles. Charles might move upstage of Alex and then in order for Alex to see him, Alex must look upstage, thus he is looking away from the audience. It seems like this was the first usage, but it is uncertain.

In the second example, Charles might move downstage of Alex. Charles now has more focus of the audience, especially if he decides to stand in front of Alex. Thus, Alex has been upstaged because he has had to move upstage. In both ways, Charles has the attention and Alex does not. Alex is either looking upstage and away from the audience or he is forced to stage upstage of Charles and not be as close to the audience.

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Other Managers, Crews, and General Occupations - Jobs in the Theatre - Part 21

It seems that I have pretty much exhausted what I can write about in fair certainty about jobs in the theatre. There are always some differences in different theatres with the jobs. However, what is now left seem to be general descriptions of other managers, assistant managers, run crews, build crews, and other general positions.

Some of the positions are things like musicians which can be anybody who may play in a band or orchestra or may be a singer in a choir. Dancers are the people who dance. They are under the conductor and choreographer who are under the director when it comes to theatre hierarchy.

I found that there was a deck manager, but it seems that this can be many things in the theatre. Some people say that the deck manager is also the assistant stage manager (ASM). Some poeple give the deck manager a different jobs. When also the ASM, it seems the deck manager is responsible for making sure there is order backstage. He or she is also in charge of making sure backstage is clean before a performance and also taking out the trash from both backstage and the lobby (and other places if trash is located there) after the show.

Other theatres seem to give the deck manager duties such as making sure staff for certain areas is present and being in charge of the audio equipment. Some give the deck manager the duties of helping load set pieces if the production is on tour or being staged at a different venue from where rehearsals were held.

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Head Usher - Jobs in the Theatre - Part 20

The Head Usher is the person that is ultimately responsible for making sure that the front of house is clean and making sure that patrons to the theatre feel welcome and safe. While the hierarchy changes in theatres, it is likely that the head usher will report to the Front of House Manager. It is also likely that the head usher will be responsible for other ushers. These ushers may be hired or they may be volunteers.

A head usher will be certain to provide the highest level of customer service to theatre patrons. When patrons enter the theatre, it should be clean and welcoming. The head usher will make sure that the area, including the bathrooms, is clean. This duty may be delegated to other ushers and the head usher might supervise or the head usher may do the work himself or herself. The head usher will also distribute programs to patrons for the show that they are coming to see.

The head ushers will be aware of any issues concerning seating for patrons. He or she will make sure that patrons that have any disabilities will have appropriate seating. He or she will also assist patrons with late arrival seating in order to keep disruptions of the show to a minimum.

After the performance, the head usher is responsible for collecting any feedback from the audience. He or she is then responsible for reporting this feedback to the appropriate manager. He or she will also make sure that the front of house and lobby are clean after each performance. Also, when necessary, he or she will assist the appropriate manager with setting up lobby displays and in the development of theatrical or lobby spaces.

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