Do you know what a ghostlight is? Why do we encourage performers to ‘break a leg’?
Are you afraid of mentioning Macbeth in a performing arts space?
Theatre superstitions have been around for as long as people have been telling tales to each others, and have bleed over from religious beliefs. Though, most superstitions are actually born out of practicality on a stage, there are a handful of superstitions that have very little grounding.
Superstition: The ghostlight, sometimes known as ‘equity lights’
Practice: Leaving a single lit bulb at center stage.
Origin: Every theatre, or performing space, has at least one ghost. Having this light on for them gives them the opportunity to take the stage and perform. This way they stay appeased and will not curse the show.
Practical Explanation: The light is so that the stage hand who opens the theater can see where the stage is, and not kill themselves trying to get to the work lights, or a window, or something else that will cast a greater amount of light on the space. Also, their use is currently mandated by the Actors' Equity Association
Superstition: The Scottish Play, or The Bard’s Play
Practice: you can’t say or refer to ‘Macbeth’ by its title or it will cause a disaster within your show, or space
Origin: The superstition is said to have gone back to the characters of the witches in the show. It is rumored that a local coven saw the show and did not appreciate the way that they were portrayed, and then cursed the show.
Practice: Leaving a single lit bulb at center stage.
Origin: Every theatre, or performing space, has at least one ghost. Having this light on for them gives them the opportunity to take the stage and perform. This way they stay appeased and will not curse the show.
Practical Explanation: The light is so that the stage hand who opens the theater can see where the stage is, and not kill themselves trying to get to the work lights, or a window, or something else that will cast a greater amount of light on the space. Also, their use is currently mandated by the Actors' Equity Association
Superstition: The Scottish Play, or The Bard’s Play
Practice: you can’t say or refer to ‘Macbeth’ by its title or it will cause a disaster within your show, or space
Origin: The superstition is said to have gone back to the characters of the witches in the show. It is rumored that a local coven saw the show and did not appreciate the way that they were portrayed, and then cursed the show.
Cleansing Ritual: Tradition requires the person who spoke it to leave, perform traditional cleansing ritual of turning three times, spitting over one's left shoulder, and be invited back in.
Practical Explanation: There is a lot of violence and sword fighting in the show, more than most of the other Shakespearean shows of the time, and when a theater was putting this show on, it was seen as a last-ditch effort to get audiences through the door. Inevitably, the theaters that resorted to such a spectacle of a show would board up shortly after the production, and Macbeth became a scapegoat to blame financial woes. Also, when actors weren’t trained properly for fight scenes, they would tend to get seriously injured, and it was easier to blame the curse, than stupidity.
Superstition: Real Mirrors on Stage
Practice: Never put an obviously reflective surface on a stage
Origin: A Spirit may disturb a prop or set piece and cause an accident in seeking out a glimpse of their reflection that would speak to the vanity of the spirit
Practical Explanation: Having a mirror on stage has the risk of reflecting the audience or the backstage area and breaking the fourth wall for theatre goers, and also with lighting changes, may reflect a stage light into the audience which would be uncomfortable.
Superstition: Break a Leg
Practice: In most English-speaking countries, the expression "break a leg" replaces the phrase "good luck". It is generally acknowledged that wishing a person "good luck" is considered bad luck
Origin: Wishing an actor or performer ‘Break a Leg’ before a performance. It’s general bad luck to the show and to the cast to say ‘Good Luck’. Some beliefs vary in severity from ruining an entire run of a show financially, to stage injuries, to poor audience reactions.
Practice: In most English-speaking countries, the expression "break a leg" replaces the phrase "good luck". It is generally acknowledged that wishing a person "good luck" is considered bad luck
Origin: Wishing an actor or performer ‘Break a Leg’ before a performance. It’s general bad luck to the show and to the cast to say ‘Good Luck’. Some beliefs vary in severity from ruining an entire run of a show financially, to stage injuries, to poor audience reactions.
Practical Explanation: There are several different explanations that no one can truly pinpoint. Most of them relay that the phrase itself is a general wish of good fortune to you and your show.
Fun Theories on Origins: To "break the leg" or "break a leg" is archaic slang for bowing or curtsying. Some would say that the term originated during Elizabethan times when, instead of applause the audience would bang their chairs on the ground—and if they liked it enough, the leg of the chair would break. Another popular theory concerns the physical "legs," or side curtains, of the stage proposes that the company of actors would rush onstage through the curtains to take a considerable amount of bows, thus "breaking a leg (side curtain)" in the process.
Superstition: Fresh Flowers on Stage
Practice: always use fake flowers in stage productions
Origin: A Spirit may disturb a prop or set piece and cause an accident in seeking out the flowers that would speak to the vanity of the spirit
Practical Explanation: Real flowers would wilt under hot stage lights
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| from 'Citizen Kane' |
Superstition: Don't Whistle in a Theater
Practice: Whistling in a theater is generally looked down upon, and even forbidden in some spaces
Origin/Practical Explanation: All the explanations I have ever heard or read about were of the practical nature. "Back in the Day" a lot of stage hands would be sailors on leave or out of work because a lot of the work was similar with ropes and such. Ship hands would use whistling to communicate with each other on decks of ships as well as on deck of the theater. The fear was your whistling might cue the wrong thing and you might end up with a sandbag in the face.
There are other minor superstitions ranging from sleeping with your script under your pillow, the rule of Threes, and when its most appropriate to receive gifts, but I wanted to hit the ones that I had been exposed to the most as a theatre person for the last 12 years.
Sources (some are just fun): Backstage.com StageDoorMemphis Playbill Ghosts of Broadway Superstitions and Saints 8 Rules from Playbill
