STORYTIME TAPESTRY

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Deepak Morris??™s Weekly Column

? East Meets West

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Sept 1, 2005

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To continue with my vision of a world tapestry of love and understanding of cultural values throughout the world, every Thursday we will be graced by the artistic vision of Mr. Deepak Morris, a wonderful playwright and friend from Prune, India.? 

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His plays have been preformed in front of audiences in Toronto, Canada

East Meets West

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Break a Leg ??“ and other theatrical superstitions

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Deepak Morris

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Think of the number thirteen and one immediately remembers the superstition associated with it, reminding me of the various superstitions that abound in the theatrical world. Theatre is replete with superstitions that, to the average person, border on the insane. For example, don??™t wish an actor ???Best of Luck??? before a production. If an actor is wished the best of luck, it is supposed to bring ruin upon the actor and the production. Why? Well, that??™s what I set out to find out and, in the process, discovered a mind-boggling array of intense, widespread, often illogical and sometimes outright goofy superstitions connected with the stage. Here are 13 of them. Why thirteen? Just for luck!

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#1? ? ? ? ? ? ?  Three Candles on stage are a no-no

Actors dislike having three candles on stage or in the dressing room. The origin of this is probably the fact that open flames are very likely to set fire to costumes and props.

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#2? ? ? ? ? ? ?  Cats in the theatre bring good luck

Actors are often thrilled to see a cat in the theatre. On the first night of Henry Irving's appearance in New York in "Faust," a black cat strayed right up onto the stage while the play was in progress and stayed onstage till the end. When asked if the cat had disturbed him, Irving smiled and said: "Not at all. It was a well behaved spectator, and perhaps other spectators may have thought it contributed to the success of the night."

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#3? ? ? ? ? ? ?  The Scottish Play

This is perhaps the best-known superstition ??“ at least in theatrical circles. Shakespeare??™s ???Macbeth??? is thought to be an accursed play, and theatre persons never, ever mention the play by name. It is always called ???The Scottish Play??? and is never performed or even read in a theatre. Not even a line from the play must be quoted inside a theatre. I had the opportunity to see the curse in action when I was part of the Dubai Drama Group. A young actor, defying the older, wiser director, said the name of the play aloud inside the auditorium. At the next rehearsal, a member of the cast fell off the set and broke her leg ??“ a ???double zinger???!

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#4? ? ? ? ? ? ?  No Real Mirrors

It is considered extremely unlucky to use real mirrors on stage. This probably originated from the fact that reflective surfaces on stage play havoc with the lighting plot, throwing rectangles of light onto areas that must remain dark, or worse still, blinding the audience.

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#5? ? ? ? ? ? ?  Work, don??™t Whistle

No one from the cast or crew should whistle anywhere in the auditorium, especially in dressing rooms. Whistling angers the gods of theatre and they retaliate by making someone from cast or crew lose their job. There is an interesting theory about the origin of this superstition. Stagehands were usually out of work sailors (the best kind of people to do all that climbing and rigging necessary to set the stage) who communicated with whistles. Therefore, an actor who whistled might send the wrong signal to a stagehand, thus gumming up the setting of the stage.

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#6? ? ? ? ? ? ?  The Graveyard Shift

It is traditional in some theatres for the cast and crew to give the director and / or leading lady flowers stolen from a graveyard after the last performance. This superstition is easy to explain. Stage actors are notoriously poor and perhaps the only source of fresh flowers open to them is a freshly covered grave!

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#7? ? ? ? ? ? ?  A Stage is never left in darkness

A small, lighted lamp or bulb must be kept on stage even after all other lights are doused. This is a sentimental thing for actors, for a darkened stage signifies that no play is being performed. There is nothing sadder for a drama artist than an empty house and a playless stage

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#8? ? ? ? ? ? ?  Good Rehearsal, Bad Performance

It is considered bad luck if a rehearsal, especially the Dress Rehearsal, goes well. This is probably because good rehearsals lead to complacent actors, who are then totally unprepared for the last-minute glitches that always occur on stage.

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#9? ? ? ? ? ? ?  Don??™t Play ???Three Blind Mice???

For some strange reason, the tune ???Three Blind Mice??? is considered inauspicious on a theatrical soundtrack. However, Agatha Christie??™s ???The Mousetrap??? defied this superstition and went on to become the longest running play in history!

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#10? ? ? ? ?  Don??™t Wear Blue

Not only should an actor not wear blue on stage, there should not be any blue tapestry on stage either. The origin of this is very interesting. In the early days of theatre, blue dye was so costly to produce that only royalty wore blue. A theatre company that was foolish enough to spend money on blue costumes and tapestry was sure to go belly up!

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#11? ? ? ? ?  Never say the last line during rehearsals

The last line of a play is never said during rehearsals. This is because the last line signifies the end of the play and a play is never ???ended??? without an audience.

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#12? ? ? ? ?  Don??™t Knit!

Knitting is not allowed anywhere on stage or at the sides of the stage. Well, we all know the havoc knitting needles can cause when an actor, intent on his entry or exit, stumbles onto a knitting needle!

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#13? ? ? ? ?  And Finally, Break a Leg

Contrary to what it one might think, ???Break a Leg??? originated as an equivalent to ???Best of Luck???. It is a military term used to signify a bended knee, or someone taking a bow. Therefore, to wish that an actor would ???Break a Leg??? signified that he / she would be taking a bow before an appreciative audience ??“ meaning he / she had delivered a very good performance!

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Deepak Morris

rhapword@yahoo.com

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Founder of Rhapsody Theatre, author, playwright,
actor and director Deepak Morris has been
associated with Theatre and Communication all
his life. A Master of Commerce from Pune
University, Master's Diploma holder in
Management from The Institute of Management
Development and Research (IMDR), Pune, and
Diploma holder in Computer Studies from the
National Computing Centre, UK, Deepak
combines a passion for theatre with professional management techniques
to deliver consistently well staged theatrical
performances. An accomplished actor himself,
Deepak has won numerous awards for acting and
debating, including the "Best Actor" award at
the International Year of the Youth Drama
Festival in Pune and the "Best Male Newcomer
Award" in 1997 in Dubai, U.A.E. Having acted
in numerous productions in India and Dubai,
Deepak began writing and directing his own
plays on a regular basis in March 2001. To
date, he has written several one-act plays
and skits and his group, Rhapsody Theatre,
has staged no less than 13 plays in three
years, a record of sorts.

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