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    Theatrical Superstitions

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    riazurrehman
    The document summarizes various theatrical superstitions and traditions. Some of the key points include: 1) It is considered bad luck in theaters to say "good luck" and instead people say "break a leg." 2) Shakespeare's play Macbeth is thought to be cursed and people avoid saying its full name in theaters. 3) Many Broadway theaters are believed to be haunted, including the New Amsterdam Theatre where the ghost of Ziegfeld girl Olive Thomas is said to appear. 4) It is bad luck for an actor to whistle on stage due to the history of stage crews using whistles to communicate.

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    Theatrical Superstitions

    Uploaded by

    riazurrehman
    315 views4 pages
    The document summarizes various theatrical superstitions and traditions. Some of the key points include: 1) It is considered bad luck in theaters to say "good luck" and instead people say "break a leg." 2) Shakespeare's play Macbeth is thought to be cursed and people avoid saying its full name in theaters. 3) Many Broadway theaters are believed to be haunted, including the New Amsterdam Theatre where the ghost of Ziegfeld girl Olive Thomas is said to appear. 4) It is bad luck for an actor to whistle on stage due to the history of stage crews using whistles to communicate.

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    The document summarizes various theatrical superstitions and traditions. Some of the key points include: 1) It is considered bad luck in theaters to say "good luck" and instead people say "break a leg." 2) Shakespeare's play Macbeth is thought to be cursed and people avoid saying its full name in theaters. 3) Many Broadway theaters are believed to be haunted, including the New Amsterdam Theatre where the ghost of Ziegfeld girl Olive Thomas is said to appear. 4) It is bad luck for an actor to whistle on stage due to the history of stage crews using whistles to communicate.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    315 views4 pages

    Theatrical Superstitions

    Uploaded by

    riazurrehman
    The document summarizes various theatrical superstitions and traditions. Some of the key points include: 1) It is considered bad luck in theaters to say "good luck" and instead people say "break a leg." 2) Shakespeare's play Macbeth is thought to be cursed and people avoid saying its full name in theaters. 3) Many Broadway theaters are believed to be haunted, including the New Amsterdam Theatre where the ghost of Ziegfeld girl Olive Thomas is said to appear. 4) It is bad luck for an actor to whistle on stage due to the history of stage crews using whistles to communicate.

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    The document discusses various theatrical superstitions such as not saying 'Macbeth' in a theater and not wishing others 'good luck'. It also mentions ghosts that are believed to haunt certain Broadway theaters.

    Some common theatrical superstitions discussed are not saying the name of the play 'Macbeth', not wishing others 'good luck', and always leaving a light on in an empty theater.

    Some examples of haunted Broadway theaters mentioned are the New Amsterdam Theatre haunted by Olive Thomas, the Lyric Theatre haunted by Clyde Fitch, and the Al Hirschfeld Theatre where strange occurrences happened after its name change.

    Theatrical superstitions

    Theatrical superstitions are superstitions particular to


    actors or the theatre.

    one who enters a completely darkened space is liable to


    be injured while hunting for a light switch ( which has
    happened to many before).[5]

    The Scottish Play

    2.2 Ghosts in Broadway Theatres

    Main article: The Scottish Play

    In 2005, Playbill ran an article about Broadway theatres


    that were believed haunted.[6] The following is a list of
    hauntings from that article:

    Shakespeare's play Macbeth is said to be cursed, so


    actors avoid saying its name when in the theatre (the
    euphemism The Scottish Play is used instead). Actors also avoid even quoting the lines from Macbeth before performances, particularly the Witches incantations.
    Outside a theatre and after a performance, the play can be
    spoken of openly. If an actor speaks the name Macbeth
    in a theatre prior to one of the performances, he or she is
    required to leave the theatre building, spin around three
    times, spit, curse, and then knock to be allowed back in.[1]

    Radio City Music Hall: The Halls builder, Samuel


    Roxy Rothafel, is said to appear on opening nights
    accompanied by a glamorous woman spirit.
    New Amsterdam Theatre: Silent lm star and former Ziegfeld Follies girl Olive Thomas is said to
    have appeared several times since her tragic death
    in 1920. Thomas may be the most sighted ghost on
    Broadway, although to date she has only appeared to
    men. The Disney Corporation, which restored the
    theatre in the 1990s, actively promotes the idea that
    Thomas haunts the theatre and makes accommodations for her presence. A large photograph of her
    hangs in the lobby of the New Amsterdam next to
    equally large photos of more famous Follies stars.[7]

    One version of this legend claims that it was the actor who
    played Lady Macbeth who died during the plays rst production run and that Shakespeare himself had to assume
    the role. There is no evidence that this legend is factual.[2]

    Not wishing good luck

    Belasco Theatre: The top oor of the theatre is said


    to be haunted by its namesake David Belasco, who
    lived in an apartment located there.

    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 Englishspeaking countries, the expression "break a leg" 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.[3]

    Palace Theatre: The former premiere vaudeville


    theatre is said to be haunted by more than 100
    ghosts. According to the article, actress Andrea
    McArdle saw the ghost of a pit cellist during her
    1999-2000 run as Belle in Beauty and the Beast.
    Lyric Theatre: On December 21, 1909, the ghost of
    playwright Clyde Fitch allegedly appeared onstage
    during the nal curtain call on opening night for his
    last play, The City. He strode to center stage, took
    a bow, then vanished before the eyes of the startled
    cast and audience. (Fitch had died on September
    4 of that year.) The Lyric was one of two theatres
    demolished in 1996 to make way for what is now
    called the Foxwoods Theatre.

    In Australian theatrical circles saying good luck is also


    avoided, but the replacement is often chookas!".[4]

    2.1

    Ghost light

    Main article: Ghost light (theatre)

    Al Hirschfeld Theatre: Formerly the Martin Beck


    Theatre, its believed that Becks ghost is annoyed
    with the 2003 name change. During that years
    revival of Wonderful Town, there were several reports of props and other items that were mysteriously moved or went missing.

    One should always leave a light burning in an empty theatre.


    Though its a superstition, it does have practical value: the
    backstage area of a theatre tends to be cluttered, so some1

    2.3

    Ghosts in Minor Theatres

    Dover Bay Secondary School's Bay Theatrix is believed by the large of alumni and community to be
    haunted in the ways of doors locking, cupboards
    opening, and gures up on the catwalks (despite
    the technicians booth being twenty meters from reported locations and in full view).
    Canal Winchester Oley Speaks Auditorium Oley
    Speaks Auditorium it is local superstition to
    community members, alumni, and students to be
    haunted. The origin of the superstition is unknown,
    there is however, a room in the basement below the
    backstage classroom called The Dungeon, which
    is painted above the door. Formerly used as a
    wrestling room, it is now part of storage for the Performing Arts Department and is considered to be the
    epicenter of the haunting. When the hallway is followed past The Dungeon a large grey room without any windows or lights, bears a Satanic Sigil.

    Whistling

    Related to a similar rule for sailing ships, it is considered


    bad luck for an actor to whistle on or o stage. As original stage crews were hired from ships in port (theatrical
    rigging has its origins in sailing rigging), sailors, and by
    extension theatrical riggers, used coded whistles to communicate scene changes. Actors who whistled would confuse them into changing the set or scenery and could result in injury or death. In todays theatres, the stage crew
    normally uses an intercom or cue light system.

    Miscellaneous
    Some words and phrases are used during pre-stage
    warm-up sessions by actors. One of these is
    the Western Shoshone term poo-wa-bah (possibly
    meaning doctor-water). This term is used notably
    by director Francis Ford Coppola (who talked about
    it in Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmakers Apocalypse, a documentary on the making of Apocalypse
    Now) and his daughter Soa Coppola (who is seen
    performing this ritual, along with her cast, in Lost
    on Location, a making-of documentary included as
    a special feature on the Lost in Translation DVD).
    It is thought that he began this pre-show ritual at
    his undergraduate alma-mater Hofstra University
    where the tradition continues in the Hofstra Drama
    Department to this day.
    Specic theatres
    Some Broadway producers have also complained about the Foxwoods Theatre (formerly

    REFERENCES

    known as the Hilton Theatre and Ford Center for the Performing Arts). Completed in
    1998, the main complaint is that the 1829 seat
    theatres cavernous auditorium has poor sight
    lines and acoustics, making it dicult for audience members in distant seats to see or hear the
    actors. Mel Brooks (whose Young Frankenstein ran for 14 months there) made a dierent
    complaint about the theatres acoustics, stating
    that its size also makes it dicult for performers to hear the laughter of the audience. The
    theatre opened with the two-year, 834 performance run of the original production of the
    musical Ragtime. This was followed in 2001
    by the four-year, 1524 performance run of the
    revival of the musical 42nd Street. Normally,
    this would have given the theatre a good reputation, but its poor reputation grew exponentially in 2010-11 with the seemingly endless
    production problems of Spider-Man: Turn O
    the Dark,[8] which had already set the record
    for most preview performances ve months
    before it ocially opened on 14 June 2011.[9]
    See also the Lyric Theatre under Ghosts of
    Broadway Theatres above.
    Before My Fair Lady began its six-year, 2717
    performance run at the Mark Hellinger Theatre in 1956, that theatre was thought to be
    cursed.,[8] It had been switched back and forth
    several times between being a motion picture
    theatre and a live stage theatre. From its opening in 1930 until the opening of My Fair Lady,
    the 1949 musical Texas, Li'l Darlin' had the
    longest run at the Hellingernine months and
    293 performances.[10]

    5 See also
    Sailors superstitions

    6 References
    [1] Garber, Marjorie B. (1997). Shakespeares Ghost Writers: Literature as Uncanny Causality. Methuen. pp. 88.
    ISBN 0-416-09432-5.
    [2] Kerr, Euan. Mystery surrounds roots of the Macbeth
    curse, MPR News, Minnesota Public Radio website, published 2010-02-05, retrieved 2012-06-14.
    [3] Theatre Superstitions. Backstage Magazine. Retrieved
    2007-12-06.
    [4] Chookas!", By Colin Peasley, manager, Education Programme for The Australian Ballet
    [5] Theatrical Superstitions and Saints. Retrieved 2007-1206.

    [6] Viagas, Robert. The Ghosts of Broadway, Playbill website, published 2005-06-10, retrieved 2012-06-14.
    [7] Khan, Shazia. Ziegfeld Girls Ghost Said To Haunt
    Broadway Theater, NY1 website, published 2009-10-26,
    retrieved 2012-06-15.
    [8] Gamerman, Ellen. A Web of Superstition: As 'SpiderMan' suspends construction, some wonder if a theater is
    cursed, Wall Street Journal website, published 2009-0828, retrieved 2012-05-30.
    [9] Hetrick, Adam. Troubled Spider-Man Turn O the
    Dark Delays Broadway Opening Again. Playbill website,
    2011-01-13, retrieved 2012-05-30.
    [10] Internet Broadway Database page for the Times Square
    Church

    External links
    Theatrical Superstitions and Saints

    8 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

    Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

    8.1

    Text

    Theatrical superstitions Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theatrical_superstitions?oldid=712180762 Contributors: David spector,


    Booyabazooka, Scott, Furrykef, BLuP1, Chris 73, Snobot, Smjg, Neilc, Sam Hocevar, Kmweber, Fuzlyssa, Kate, Eyrian, Discospinster,
    Avriette, Pearle, Grutness, Wiki-uk, Ricky81682, Czolgolz, Adam Field, Clarkefreak, Mandarax, Graham87, Pmj, Josh Parris, InFairness,
    Kerowyn, WhyBeNormal, Mordicai, Voodoom, YurikBot, Kafziel, Pigman, Mgpalmer, Dbmag9, Inhighspeed, CPColin, PhilipO, SmackBot, Cubs Fan, Eskimbot, HeartofaDog, Yamaguchi , Valley2city, Chris the speller, Gonzalo84, Persian Poet Gal, Snori, Quincetessence,
    Badger151, Can't sleep, clown will eat me, Penarestel, Dreadstar, Robosh, CharlesMartel, KeepOnTruckin, Civil Engineer III, ChrisCork,
    Z4ns4tsu, Dgillett, BassBone, Sopoforic, DumbBOT, Marek69, Mixsynth, DWolf2k2, The Transhumanist, Albany NY, Airbreather,
    DFS, Catgut, Bryson430, Mkdw, Cfrydj, Jon seah, Dloewy, Go leafs go 3000, SJP, Jevansen, Dave Andrew, Joe5150, Hpfreak26,
    Lradrama, BoolaBoola2, Bentley4, Bearian, RynniganCatwalker, Lconnor, Likeabird, Fustigate314159, Newbyguesses, Flyer22 Reborn,
    Radon210, Lohengrin1991, ImageRemovalBot, Sfan00 IMG, Deanlaw, Helenabella, TychaBrahe, Drmies, Auntof6, Dthomsen8, Chasingcordy213, Addbot, Some jerk on the Internet, Nutfortuna, Gobbleswoggler, AnomieBOT, Jezhotwells, SassoBot, Aaron Kauppi, FrescoBot,
    Reaper Eternal, Acather96, Bruttus1331, Wikipelli, Malcolm77, ClueBot NG, Helpful Pixie Bot, DramaJoe, CitationCleanerBot, Spuig,
    123957a, Pratyya Ghosh, Poopcan123, Mogism, Frosty, Thealexacurse, MichaylaGussler, GeneralizationsAreBad, Dodekalinguaphoniker
    and Anonymous: 131

    8.2

    Images

    File:Ambox_important.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b4/Ambox_important.svg License: Public domain Contributors: Own work, based o of Image:Ambox scales.svg Original artist: Dsmurat (talk contribs)
    File:Question_book-new.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/99/Question_book-new.svg License: Cc-by-sa-3.0
    Contributors:
    Created from scratch in Adobe Illustrator. Based on Image:Question book.png created by User:Equazcion Original artist:
    Tkgd2007

    8.3

    Content license

    Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0

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