http://www.controlbooth.com/forums/...ty-operations/9320-theatre-superstitions.html
Why do we not whistle on stage?
Riggers/flymen used to be sailors and would whistle commands to each other.
People have debunked the idea that you would do this during a performance, but it seems to me that during a load in it would be a useful method of communication with all the noise that goes on. I feel like if you can't rule out that some theater in a port town employed sailors or retired sailors to load in shows.Wasn't that debunked recently? Or was it just that theater rigging developed independently of maritime rigging?
It is called the green room because that is the room the actors wait in after the show to get thier pay.
Ken Pogin
Production / Tour Manager
Minnesota Ballet
Yes... But only if they broke a leg.Thats where the actors got paid. They got their green.
Theater Rigging developed from mechanical systems in Europe, not from maritime rigging. Over time the terminology mingled and there certainly were old sailors who worked on Broadway. However, the old idea that out of work sailors brought rigging to the theater is a myth. This is a great book on the history of rigging.Wasn't that debunked recently? Or was it just that theater rigging developed independently of maritime rigging?
Thought I heard somewhere it was because one of the early TV studios (NBC or whatever) had a green dressing room and the name sort of stuck. I like the theory that that's where you got paid though. I would've guessed it had something to with signaling the talent with like an "On Air" light or something.... as in "wait here for the green light" but that's just a guess.
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