Now, we continue to say that those in the limelight are the center of attention. Theatres first began using limelight in the 1830s as the first spotlight. Invented in the early 1800s, limelight was generated by heating calcium oxide with a blend of oxygen and hydrogen. In the limelight Limelight was the first gas lamp alternative for lighting theatres.
In the old days, chicken was considered a delicacy by saying “chookas” you are hoping the performance will go well and make money so that the performer can afford a gourmet meal. Australians say “chookas,” which is believed to be a permutation of “chook” or chicken. “In bocca al lupo” means “in the wolf’s mouth” and the correct response is “crepi il lupo,” which means “may the wolf die”-warding off a bad omen. “Toi, toi, toi” in Germany emanates from the German/Yiddish history of spitting to ward off evil spirits and bad luck. Toi, Toi, Toi … In Bocca al Lupo … Chookas Around the world, there are yet more phrases to substitute for well wishes. The more audience members the more carriages, the more horses, the more. The origin of this tradition traces back to 19th-century Paris when attendees of the Paris Opera Ballet would pull up to the famed Palais Garnier in horse-drawn carriages. Merde Theatre performers opt for “break a leg,” but dancers commonly wish each other “merde,” which directly translates to “shit” in French. Wishing someone “break a leg” is wishing for thunderous applause. The more they stomped, the more chance there was of breaking a leg this tradition reappeared in Elizabethan England when audiences would stomp their chairs and, again, more stomping would break the leg of the chair. In Ancient Greece, audiences didn’t clap at performances, they stomped. Why do we say “merde” to wish luck to dancers? Why is staging a show called “blocking”? The answers to these and more below:īreak a Leg “It’s bad luck to say good luck on opening night,” of course, but how did we land on “break a leg”? There are a few explanations. While the list is not intended to be comprehensive, it will give you a start as to the meaning and origins of theatre staples. Playbill put together this list of crucial terms to help you better navigate the world of the stage and theatre history. But you can’t rely on Merriam-Webster to define show business colloquialisms-or let you know where they came from. That, my friends, is the counter curse to the dreaded Scottish Play Curse.The theatre truly has its own vocabulary. Once you have discovered someone has said the dreaded cursed words, everyone's response should be to immediately turn around 3 times counterclockwise, run outside the first door and spit on the ground. In my experience, when those youngin's try to test the curse out in the College theatre a Hurricane, Tornado or Lighting has damaged the building or lighting cues. Voilla! There might be a few preformances of the Scottish Play that have not been affected but most Theatre and Opera Houses will not put the show on as people have died during the course of the preformance. The witch became so furious she cursed the play itself. Shakespeare himself had problems coming up with the Witches' lines so he actually found a few witches, partied a little with them and then stole the words from one of their spells. Someone also mentioned the Scottish Play and why they didn't know why it was a curse to say the name/title or quotes from the play. So to not spit in the Wolf's eye, is akin to being aware of problems that may arise and steer clear of them. In the Opera world, the devil.ie the wolf, is the forgetting of the words or the melody or the timing and flubbing the preformance. In Italian, the Devil is often compared to the Wolf. As old school Opera's are written in French, German and Italian. The toast to the Wolf for Opera is a tradition.
Maird for some reason came to be the word for Ballet as it is an insulting word of great offense in French. "For to be given Good Luck is a curse upon its self, so wish me bad luck or to break my leg again and I will be guaranteed the bounty of God to be better than possible on the stage's floor." He blamed the good lucker giver and from then on requested that no one wish him good luck ever again. Break a leg came about early in the 1800's when an actor was wished good luck before he went out on stage and then subsequently fell and broke his leg. It's all about a a superstitious lot of people. (I'm a stagehand and yes I did just say that. Musician's don't normally have a "good luck" idiom as they are musicians and in my experience a bunch of overpaid devas. A toast to the Wolf's Eye and NOT spitting in it is an Opera thing.
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