mezzo_soprano
|
TraditionsWhat are your theatre Traditions? Any type!
|
LadyOfTheLake
|
We all have to kiss a rubber duck on opening night.
|
Gwen
|
I kinda started a thread on this a while back...
but anyways, my theater traditions are ones I can't talk about. It's forbidden. (Though I'm leaving...but it's a thing of respect. It's been like that for ages.) A bit strange, I know...oh wait a minute...there is one I can mention...
We have a special song that the whole cast does at intermission. It's gone on for years. Every intermission, every show. Never missed.
|
Kiwi
|
We have plenty. Here's one that I don't think I've said before.
If we're feeling daring, we climb up to the catwalk about 200 feet above the stage, then cross the 80 foot long catwalk to the other side. We're not supposed to do it, so there's the extra adrenaline rush of not getting caught. It gives you a lot of energy because of all the adrenaline. Then we relax a little bit by walking around the auditorium clockwise with our left hand gliding across the wall as we walk. I've only done it once this year, but I'm planning on doing it with my friend tonight because she's never done it before. Yeah, it's probably really dumb and dangerous, but don't tell me you don't enjoy doing things that involve a little risk.
|
MusicalGal1194
|
We have pretty normal ones...you know, vocal exercises all together before the show and what not. But we also have...not so normal ones, too. Before every show, we have one of the male leads (usually a cutie) lead us in a prayer, and afterwhich we sing a rousing chorus of that song "Everytime We Touch" by Escada, led by that same male lead. It gets us hyped up and excited and thrilled. It's sort of like a mosh pit, with everybody jumping around and screaming.
And then there's one that I've only heard of and seen that handiwork of. Appearantly, one year, a daring senior girl kissed the boy's bathroom sign outside of the music room with all her stage makeup on (as a 'leaving with a bang' sort of thing. You know, not exactly vandalism and not that big of a deal, but just enough to give you an adrenaline rush), and then sprayed the kiss mark down with hairspray, so it stayed there permanently. Then she went and picked an heir. That heir kissed the boys bathroom sign and sprayed it this year, and then she will pick an heir. And then that heir will kiss and spray, etc etc. etc. I've seen the kisses on the wall, it's pretty cool.
Other than that, nope, no traditions.
|
Theaterfan101
|
cast squeeze
|
EponineMNFF
|
One of my favorite traditions that my school does is to run around and dance/sing to "Another Opening" once we're all in costume on the second night of a run. It's kind of random that it's on the second night--I think it was born when we forgot to do it on the actual opening night several shows in a row. Now we just always do it on the second night.
And the "Good show" chant before each performance is classic too.
|
theatre_grl
|
we say a prayer before every show, and do the hampster dance sometime during the run, lol.
There are other things we'd do before every show, but it changes btwn shows so they arent exactly traditions.
|
Beagle On Stage
|
At one of the community theatres in my area, there is a long stairwell spanning three stories that gives access to the tech booth, backstage, and the greenroom. Over the course of the run, each cast member kisses the wall in red lipstick and signs their name. You can look and see where it goes all the way to the thirties, when they bought the theatre. When a company has gone on long enough, it's inevitable that some people will become legends within it, and it's fun that we know the "greats" have left their mark...literally. I haven't done a show with them since the nineties, so I don't know if it's still done...it was starting to be discouraged then, and they were running out of wall space anyway, lol.
|
mezzo_soprano
|
There is always a loud rendition of Seasons of Love by the girls.
|
metaphor17
|
At my school:
After every single show, the entire cast (unless it's the spring musical, which always has +100 kids in it, in which case it's just leads and principals) packs into the boys' dressing room and we mosh to 'Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da' by The Beatles. Someone who no one likes is assigned to flip the lights on and off very rapidly. If one does not know ALL of the words by sophomore year, they are shunned. The smallest people always crowd-surf.
At my favorite professional theatre:
You MUST sign the backstage wall. Veterans such as myself have a "show list" where they sign their name and every time they do a show there, they add it to the list. I have also kept track of several relationships and friendships on that wall.
|
Tenalto
|
We always did a group prayer in the library hall for anyone who wanted to, then back to the greenroom where the whole cast obnoxiously sang the Spice Girls' "Wanna-Be." Oh! Everyone also got a show poster and the entire cast went around and signed them. Mine usually had "bitch" emblazoned on them multiple times because of the roles I had. *sigh*
|
Beagle On Stage
|
| metaphor17 wrote: | At my school:
After every single show, the entire cast (unless it's the spring musical, which always has +100 kids in it, in which case it's just leads and principals) packs into the boys' dressing room and we mosh to 'Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da' by The Beatles. Someone who no one likes is assigned to flip the lights on and off very rapidly. If one does not know ALL of the words by sophomore year, they are shunned. The smallest people always crowd-surf. |
I can't believe I forgot, this reminded me. We did something similar in my high school. At intermission, the girls would come to our dressing room and we would all mosh in our underwear singing "Turn Around Bright Eyes." The similarity is eerie.
|
shakalakababy
|
| Beagle On Stage wrote: | | Over the course of the run, each cast member kisses the wall in red lipstick and signs their name. You can look and see where it goes all the way to the thirties, when they bought the theatre. When a company has gone on long enough, it's inevitable that some people will become legends within it, and it's fun that we know the "greats" have left their mark...literally. I haven't done a show with them since the nineties, so I don't know if it's still done...it was starting to be discouraged then, and they were running out of wall space anyway, lol. |
The theater i did Urinetown with did the exact same thing. It's cool to know that a little part of me will always be in that theater.
At my school we do magic circle (standing in a circle holding hands with your right arm over your left, passing a squeeze around and different people take turns saying some encouraging words and things like that, no one can break the circle either) Then to break it we all say "all for one and one for all, give 'em hell." i been in a lot of theaters that say that though, not sure how it got started.
And a little tradition we started this year which i'm quite fond of.
We blast sandstorm over the speakers and our lights techies flash all the colored lights on and off and we have a little rave. We do that on opening night to relieve tension. 
|
Chevstriss
|
I expect large floral arrangements in my dressing room for opening night. At least 3 large bouquets. If the flowers are delivered in a box or wrapped in paper, my personal dresser arranges them in a vase. If my flowers aren't properly displayed I will give a very pouty performance, and no one wants that.
But tradition IS tradition.
|
Beagle On Stage
|
| Chevstriss wrote: | I expect large floral arrangements in my dressing room for opening night. At least 3 large bouquets. If the flowers are delivered in a box or wrapped in paper, my personal dresser arranges them in a vase. If my flowers aren't properly displayed I will give a very pouty performance, and no one wants that.
But tradition IS tradition. |
I expect top billing. About eight months ago, I sat down in my dressing room on an opening night, picked up the program that had been left for my perusal, and was shocked to find that I was second! I caused a scene, and by the second week of the run, programs with the correct billing were being distributed. I'm not ashamed. Don't eff with me.
|
