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How
much do you know about the oh-so-special superstitions that theater people
have? Here at Smooch, we wondered how good we'd be at *not* upsetting our
fellow actors if we got to be in a Broadway show, like Claire in "Unscripted."
Test your theater-terror knowledge—you'll thank us when you're getting
a standing ovie!
(a) "Good luck!"
(b) "Break a leg!"
(c) "Who’s
your daddy?"
2. There’s something all theaters leave on, even when there’s no show. What is it?
(a) A fax machine, so that any new takeout menus can be sent over asap.
(b) A "ghost light," so that the ghosts who inhabit all theaters won’t take over the stage.
(c) A dripping
faucet, because the flow of water is like the flow of words from the actors’
mouths.
3. What musical habit is strictly forbidden in a theater?
(a) Opera singing, because actors and opera performers have a long-standing grudge against each other due to a shortage of theaters in 19th-century Vienna, and a law from then states that if an opera is performed in a theater once, it would become an opera house.
(b) Whistling, because stagehands used to be off-duty sailors who communicated with a whistle code, and might drop scenery on your head if you accidentally used the wrong combination of notes.
(c) Humming,
because the writer Frank Rich, who was a well-known, very tough critic at
The New York Times in the 1970’s, was known to hum a tune to himself
when a performance bored him — and the review would be particularly
scathing.
4. When is it good luck to get flowers?
(a) Before a performance
(b) After a performance
(c) During
a performance
5. Which hobby must never be done onstage, even if the character’s supposed to be doing it?
(a) Dressmaking! It’s said that an actress got sewn to the upholstery and tripped tragically.
(b) Knitting! It’s said that the knots will ensnare the production.
(c) Papier-mâché!
It’s too complicated to pronounce.
6. What animal product is off-limits in theaters?
(a) Leopard print — too tacky!
(b) Peacock feathers — the evil eye!
(c) Leather
— too expensive!
7. What part of a play should you leave out during rehearsal?
(a) Any line that contains the word "fate" — that’s one thing you don’t want to tempt.
(b) The last line — a play is never truly complete until it’s in front of an audience.
(c) The
bows
8. What night are all theaters traditionally dark (meaning they have no show)?
(a) Sunday
(b) Monday
(c) Friday
9. What color mustn’t you wear onstage, and why?
(a) Black, because you’ll look like a floating head against the black back curtain.
(b) Green, because in Shakespeare’s time, prostitutes wore green.
(c) Mauve,
because it is unflattering to everyone.
10. What’s the ultimate bad-luck play — so bad that actors refuse to even say its name?
(a) Ibsen’s A Doll House
(b) Shakespeare’s Macbeth
(c) Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Starlight Express
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