Frequently Asked Questions

If you've ever wondered what the origin of that odd theatrical term was, or what it means now, read on. If you don't find the answer on this page then e-mail me your question and I'll do my best to find an answer for you.

Jon Primrose from the University of Exeter Drama Department also maintains a very detailed Glossary of Theatrical Terms which is well worth a browse.

Current Questions:

The Scottish Play

In the same way as performers use the term break a leg to mean good luck, or have a good performance, so The Scottish Play is the name used within theatre circles to refer to Shakespeare's Macbeth.

The use of an alternative name to refer to the play arose from the belief that the play was so cursed with bad luck that to even mention its name would bring terrible disasters upon those discussing it, the current production or the buildings within which it was being discussed. Although probably never proven, stories abound within the profession of productions and venues which have supposedly been hit by the curse.

I have now watched one production and worked on the technical side of two other very different versions of 'The Scottish Play' and so far.......

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Limes

This is the nickname for the followspots, the bright lights used to follow performers around in cabaret and rock concerts. The name comes from the fact that the bright, white light was original generated by burning lime powder in a gas flame.

Floats

The floats were the forerunners of footlights; a line of lights, usually floodlights, along the front edge of the stage facing up into the performers' faces. These were used as fill-in lights to smooth out any downward shadows on the faces caused by the overhead lighting. Although low-angle fill light is still used in television, on stage these days the 'rising shadows' (shadows larger than the performer) which these lights can create are most often used for 'ghostly' effects. The name 'floats' comes from the fact that they were originally wax lights floating on a water bath.

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Birdies

Birdies is the popular nickname for the Par 16 miniature parcan lantern. These useful little lanterns run on 12V transformers using the 'M' series dichroic lamps. The term 'birdie', as you probably know, is the golfing term for completing a hole one stroke less than par. These little lanterns are one step down from a full parcan and thus the nickname 'birdies'.

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Whistling on stage or backstage bringing bad luck

The superstition about whistling on stage being bad luck probably has some basis in fact. In the 17th century, before the days of rope flying systems and electronic communications, whistles were used to co-ordinate scene changes. Thus, if the flyman happened to be on the fly gallery and heard your whistling he could, in theory at least, mistake it for a cue to drop a large piece of scenery on your head! A more plausible explanation for this superstition is that whistling tends to make a singer go flat.

(Thanks to Colin Winslow and ABTT 'Update' magazine for this information.)

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Gobos

A gobo is a disc with an image etched through it, or photographically deposited on to it, used to project scenic elements such as trees, clouds, stars, moon etc. It is usually made from stainless steel although for more complex images it can be glass. For very simple images it can even be cooking foil, a foil freezer dish or black-wrap. Whatever it is made from the disc, in a suitable holder, is placed in the gate of a profile spot and focused as if it were a photographic slide.

Now the question - why is it called a 'gobo'. The term probably derives from the early film sets where, if external light was getting on to the set, the Director of Photography would call 'go blackout', whereupon lots of people would run around blocking up any cracks and holes. In American TV and Film Production the term 'gobo' now means something to block out light. The name 'cookie' (short for Cucaloris - derived from the Greek Kukaloris: the breaking up of light) is their equivalent to the UK 'gobo'.

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Other Superstitions

The following list is taken from Colin Winslow's book The Oberon Book of Theatrical Terms (£4.95 - Oberon Books):

Things considered unlucky:-

  • The play Macbeth. (See The Scottish Play)
  • The pantomime Ali Baba.
  • The opera Rigoletto.
  • Whistling in the Dressing Room. (Antidote step outside and turn round three times)
  • A green set.
  • A green costume.
  • Real flowers used on stage.
  • A real Bible used on stage.
  • Speaking the final rhyming couplet of a pantomime before the First Night.
  • Rehearsing the Curtain Call before the Dress Rehearsal,
  • Leaving behind a bar of soap in the dressing room. (It means you will never play in that theatre again)
Things considered lucky:-
  • A bad Dress Rehearsal. (generally considered to indicate a good First Night)
  • Being pricked by a pin at a costume fitting. (Especially if some blood gets on to the costume)
  • Finding a length of thread adhering to a costume. (The means a new contract is about to be offered. The length of thread indicating the length of the contract)
  • Seeing 'The Man in Grey' - a ghost said to occupy seat E1 in the Upper Circle at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane.
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to be continued....