the most expensive, and wearing blue, onstage
or off, was a sign of prosperity. Theater
companies that were failing to attract a
large audience and earn enough money
began to dress their actors in blue,
trying to trick audiences into believ-
ing that the company was popular
and successful. Today, blue cloth isn’t
more expensive than other colors,
but in the theater world blue is still
considered to be an unlucky costume
color—unless it’s paired with silver, which
was a sure sign of a prosperous company.
If you’re having trouble learning your lines,
you might want to sleep with the script under your pillow. The idea behind
this superstition is that the lines will transfer from the page to your brain
overnight by a magical process of osmosis. If you’ve ever tried this with your
history book before a big test, you know it doesn’t work. Science completely
debunks this one. You’ll need to memorize your lines the old-fashioned way.
Andfinally, when your great-aunt Sally comes
towatch you perform on opening night, make sure
sheknows to give you that big bunch of flowers
after the performance, not before. Superstition
has it that receiving flowers before the show
can cause a boring performance. It’s also
a point of pride for actors. They want to
earn their applause and their bouquets by
putting on a great show.
Now you know what not to do in the
theater but sticking to these superstitions
won’t guarantee a flawless performance.
That requires practice, working together
with your thespian friends, and perhaps a few
morerehearsals.
Break a leg!
UH-OH, ZOOT! DID
YOU SAY MAC- SHHH!