Theatre Superstitions

[cdub260]

Originally Posted by waynehoskins

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".

[Pip]

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

[WillowEllery]

Originally Posted by NickJones

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. :P


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

[Pip]

Originally Posted by WillowEllery

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. :P


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

[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.

[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."

[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

[derekleffew]

Originally Posted by WillowEllery

...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?

[sk8rsdad]

Originally Posted by derekleffew

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.

[Pip]

Originally Posted by derekleffew

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