Us theatre folk are a superstitious people.
It goes back as far as any of us can remember (I know, it’s very overdramatic, but again, we’re theatre folk). That’s really just my way of saying that I really have no idea where a lot of this started. I can pretty safely say a lot of it is based in history, though. With pretty much every bit of superstition we’re taught, we find out why it’s a thing. Honestly, I think that’s a really amazing part of theatre superstition. This is stuff that’s been rooted in history for so long that theatres all over the world are telling people the same thing for generations and generations.
There are some theatre superstitions that people know about. For instance, you’ll often hear people wishing theatre folk to “break a leg”, instead of saying “good luck” before a show. Okay, so this is one of those interesting ones where there are about ten million theories as to why people say this. Google it. Seriously. But even if no one is really sure where it started, it’s probably one of the most pervasive superstitions out there. It’s definitely a good place to start.
I think the first superstition I really remember learning about was about the Shakespeare play Macbeth. It was a lot more relevant to a six or seven year old learning Shakespeare in a theatre class. This one might be pretty well known…I’m pretty sure any school class that teaches this play teaches about the “curse”. Macbeth is known for being cursed. There are stories that trail all the way back on this one. Mishaps and accidents during productions of it, people getting hurt, general danger. You never, ever say Macbeth in a theatre. It’s bad news. Of course, you have to say it during a show, but tread lightly. Instead, try “The Scottish Play” or “The Bard’s Play”.
Some stuff I didn’t learn until I was in my first professional shows, even though I was only seven. As a child in a show with older actors, a lot of them really took me under their wing and taught me about these things. They taught all the child actors. It’s the only way to keep these things going. In a way, I think that’s a part of the whole thing. Like I said before, these traditions and superstitions have been handed down from generation to generation. That’s how you end up with people like me who are extremely superstitious (and I’m totally not ashamed to admit that).
So what are some other superstitions that you might hear a lot? I think whistling is a big one that I was taught pretty early. This one has a very concrete history. In early theatre, backgrounds and scenery were all operated by hand. Stage hands would whistle cues for other stage hands to pull ropes and get things in place. If someone were to whistle at the wrong time or in the wrong place, there was a chance that someone could accidentally let a piece of the stage or sandbags go and crush the poor whistler.
There are also some superstitions that are sort of up for grabs. For instance, the placement of a ghost light. A ghost light is a simple bare bulb surrounded by a cage stand light. It’s always placed on the stage at the end of the night, when everyone is leaving. This is definitely an interesting one to me, as I had always been taught it’s meant to keep ghosts and mischievous spirits at bay. But people also say it’s to appease spirits. And some people say it’s not for ghosts at all, but rather to safely light the edge of the stage for anyone (living) in the theatre in the dark.
Some of these superstitions have immediate consequences, but some of them, like “The Scottish Play”, have a curse that’s attached to them. So how do you counteract a curse from a theatre superstition like this? This is one of those things that’s going to change from theatre to theatre. But there are some common threads. In my experience, a lot of the time, it involves doing things in threes. Three laps around the building, knocking on the door three times, spitting three times (that one was fun when we were kids). There are definitely ways to keep yourself safe, just make sure you know what your theatre has in mind.
I think theatre superstition is different from the normal ones you hear about, like crossing paths with a black cat or breaking a mirror. Those things never really bothered me as much as the other, theatre based ones did. I’m still a very superstitious person, but in all those theatre based ways. Hell, I still hate saying “Macbeth” outside of a theatre (and that one is really only supposed to be in a theatre). It’s the sort of thing that just sticks with you, I guess. Also, having to do three laps around a building as a child? You learn pretty quickly.
These things are history. That’s why we pass them down to theatre kids. It’s a part of theatre culture, it’s things that change our lives. And if I’m a little more cautious about whistling anywhere around a theatre? Being crushed by a sandbag is not how I want to go out.
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