spin around three times, spit, and recite a Shakespearean insult, such as you
“poisonous bunch-backed toad,” or “thou cream-faced loon!” or “thou art a
boil, a plague sore!”
Referring to the above-mentioned play as “the Scottish play” is not the
only superstition that pervades the theater. Performers are, as a group, a
surprisingly superstitious bunch, perhaps because they have a talent for the
dramatic. If you try out for a school play or a community theater production,
you should be aware of the following superstitions to avoid possible calamity
and vexing your castmates.
If your fellow actors tell you to “break a leg” on
openingnight, they aren’t wishing you harm, they’re
wishing you a good performance. Saying “good
luck” to an actor is considered bad luck! There
are several theories about the origins of this
superstition. One of the most fanciful is
that some actors believe there are mischie-
vous theater ghosts and fairies who cause
trouble by doing the opposite of what you
say. Saying “break a leg” is meant to confuse
them into allowing a good performance.
When the stage manager leaves a light
bulb lit on the stage at the end of rehearsal,
he’snot wasting electricity. He’s setting the “ghost
light.”The single burn-
ing light is meant to scare
away the ghost of Thespis, the first actor
in ancient Greece. Before Thespis came
along, Greek drama was performed by a
group of people speaking lines together,
a chorus. Thespis was the first person
to appear onstage, not as himself, but
as an actor playing a character, who
would engage in dialogue with the cho-
rus. He wrote individual parts for actors
and cast himself to act these parts in his
own plays. Superstition has it that ThespisHEY, THESPIS,
DON’T
FORGET TO
TURN OUT
THE LIGHTS.