CMU School of Drama


Wednesday, November 13, 2024

Don’t Say ‘Macbeth’ and Other Strange Rituals of the Theater World

The New York Times: You may not have realized it, but there’s little chance you’ve heard anyone whistle inside a theater. In the old days, sailors often worked the ropes backstage, bringing to show business codes like command whistles. So a whistle meant as a compliment, or to get a person’s attention, might have landed a piece of scenery on someone’s head.

9 comments:

Lydia J said...

All the weird quirks and rituals and traditions, no matter how big or small, are one of my favorite things about theatre. There are many that are created within a single show and don't last long, but there are so many more traditions that have lasted for centuries and are known and upheld all throughout the world. Don't say "Macbeth', is of course one of those things that everyone knows. You don't want to curse a whole show and have everyone be mad at you for it. Many people come up with their own little things along the way while in process, and once you do something once and it works, you don't want to break that. I had a friend that offered a dollar to a set piece every night and prayed to it in hopes that it would continue to work in the way it needed to. (It was pretty finicky but once he started that ritual, it was effective and he couldn't stop). I just think it's funny how pretty much everyone you encounter in a theatre respects the traditions and the rituals, and no one questions it.

Octavio Sutton said...

Whether I fully believe in the superstitions or not, I think there is power behind tradition and superstitions. One of my favorite ones that I have never broken is saying the Scottish play anywhere near a theatre. Either placebo or actual bad energy brought on by saying it, many shows have gone wrong because it has been said. This is enough evidence for me to even say it rarely outside a theatre. For my own belief, I don’t fully believe that these kinds of things are true but I think it’s good to believe in them because it creates community and it’s always better safe than sorry. Another tradition I love is the Legacy robe. We had one for my school district in high school that got passed around from school to school. This tradition created community between schools and something to sought after during rehearsal and performance. I really liked this tradition every year as well as the other ones we did as a company in my high school. I love that theatre is such a superstitious industry because it has been around for so so long.

Jasper Gitlitz said...

I love learning about all these hidden traditions of the theater. One thing I’ve learned through my transition into working in professional theater is that professional artists can often be even more extravagant in their hidden traditions than your classic high school drama club. Without the small traditions and jokes backstage, the things that keep the job fun, working in theater would become little more than a job. The reason theater is so meaningful to people is because the audience can feel the passion that the artists have for what they do. It’s so important that we keep that passion alive even when working in such high caliber shows. All of the traditions in this article help to do that and I as both an audience member and as someone who wants to work in theater love hearing about them. It feels like this article gives us a small glimpse of what it’s like to be a professional artist.

Jamnia said...

I find it funny how intensely superstitious the theatrical world is. I am not usually a superstitious person but when it comes to theatre, I’m very very superstitious. I follow almost every superstition I hear about to a T and other people around me are also super superstitious. I feel like how intense theatre people get about their superstitions and rituals is the same way athletes get about their superstitions and that is just a super funny crossover to me. I know that even though we can’t trace where these superstitions come from super clearly, I still want to figure out where they came from, especially the super big ones like McB and leaving a ghost light on came from. I think part of the reason we are so superstitious is because we make things that are make-believe come to life every time we put on a show and as artists we need to be in tune with things that aren’t as tied to reality as normal people because that’s how we succeed with our creativity as artists.

Felix Eisenberg said...

This article explains the quirky and often superstitious traditions that define our theater world. I learned that these rituals, like "break a leg" or using the word "Macbeth," are rooted in belief in the supernatural, which is something I honestly never knew before; I kind of just started following the tradition and never asked questions. For instance, I discovered that whistling backstage was once dangerous due to its association with sailors working ropes, and that the practice of leaving a "ghost light" on stage overnight serves both as a safety measure and to ward off spirits. Additionally, I found that personalized rituals that some might have, like giving scratch-off lottery tickets or sending opening-night cards, help further build relationships between cast and crew. One really fascinating tradition I saw was the Legacy Robe, which is this costume passed among Broadway dancers, marking the recipient’s contributions to the theater community. Overall, a very interesting article!

Sophia Rowles said...

Most of these old traditions are ones I’ve heard of however a couple of these are new to me. The fact that the ghost light is used to ward off the old theatre ghosts is honestly quite cute and it makes sense considering its name. It honestly should be more widely known considering the fact that it's in the name ghost light the same way break a leg doesn't mean an actual leg but a stage leg. I find touching the robe to be quite a sweet tradition as well considering how it's become this patchwork of Broadway history. I'm sure it would feel like quite an honor to be the one to sew on the next patch for your show. The little pig in the stairwell from Stereophonic is pretty funny as well. It's honestly nice to see that these little inside jokes and traditions that happen in more juvenile theater settings are still something that happened even in professional commercial theater.

FallFails said...

I didn’t know much about theater superstitions or there origins. I knew to say break a leg instead of good luck but not why we do that. I wonder at the origin of it and other phrases I hear while working backstage. It was very interesting to learn about the superstitions and rituals of other theater communities like London. I had never heard much about show culture and feel like most of it is to help commemorate the effort that everyone puts into a production signifying that each member of a production and the production of a whole is an important part of the community. My high school had a tradition wherein the younger members of the cast and crew would give personalized gifts often accompanied by kind words to each member of the graduating class. We also often had gifts given to each member of the production team by the scenic team, usually laser cut trophies with the shows logo handed out on opening night. Another small ritual we had was meeting in the hallway during intermission to have stroop waffles, started when a stagehand had brought in a sleeve of them during opening night a few years ago.

Jo Adereth said...

This article opened my eyes to the idea of tradition in theatre. I thought it was just a high school, cutesy thing but I’m very happy it’s in the professional industry too! I thought Lea Salonga’s quote was particularly interesting, especially when she says that these traditions are “necessarily grounding.” This entire article highlights the importance of communication within theatre. Good and healthy communication sets the entire atmosphere for every show, whether it’s a simple “break a leg” or even giving gifts and notes to colleagues. And the idea of superstition is high in theatre too, not just refusing to say the name of that Scottish play, but with each individual. Most actors have their own traditions and superstitions when they enter the building to prep for their show. I think it’s super important that this positive energy stays alive. It’s what radiates on stage and has people coming back for more.

Ari K said...

I was super excited to read this article because I wanted to see how many of these superstitions I had or knew of. I think it’s interesting how there’s these widespread superstitions but also ones that form personally. I can think of a ton that are just in my high school. We have rituals of chanting, games, etc. Some of it is done purely for tradition and/or some of it is because we know it helps. Stuff that keeps us happy and we can bond with each other. Especially things that involve both actors and techies, since we hardly get to be with each other until show week. It’s endearing to see that even Broadway actors who do theater very seriously and for a living, have all these rituals that are so similar to the silly ones we made up in high school.