Don't Say the M-word! Why Theater Fanatics are so Superstitious

Sadly reader, I am currently in the middle of a post-show depression. If you did not see the Miracle Worker this week, you truly missed a great performance from the cast and crew of Dunlap High School. But our last performance was nothing short of a miracle to pull off; with two tornado warnings in the span of an hour and a half, it was incredible that we were able to finish our show before 10 pm. I don't think I will ever forget this experience, and in a positive turn of events, it gave me inspiration for this week's blog.

We all know sports fans are all about tradition and routine. Whether it's never changing their socks (eww) or a special pre-game playlist during warmups, I didn't realize the full extent of their craziness until I started working at a sports stadium. I swear, every time we scored, I would have to do everything the same the next night or else I would "jeopardize the rest of the team." You may think that's crazy (I'm with you there), but theater kids are just as insane in my opinion. I'll be sharing with you some of the rituals that every show nerd, from local community newbies to top Broadway legends, will take a part of to prepare for the stage.

1. Vocal Warmups and Body Shake-downs

When you are in a play (more importantly a musical), diction is everything. How are you going to get your story across if the audience can't understand a word you are saying? So if you see an actor mumbling weird nonsense underneath their breath, do not worry. Most likely, they are practicing certain vowels and/or consonants that most of us don't think about when talking that may come off differently while singing. If you want to sound like a true professional, here are some of my favorite sentences to practice:

Mommy made me mash my M&Ms.

Chester Cheetah chewed a chunk of cheap, cheddar cheese.

or my personal favorite,

Many mumbling mice are making midnight music in the moonlight, mighty nice.

(Tip: the faster you go, the more insane and hilarious you will sound, so try to do them as quickly as possible.)

Now that you have warmed up on the inside, it's time to shake off all of your nerves on the outside. You may have seen it done on Dance Moms, but shaking out all of your limbs truly makes a difference for me before getting into character. Start with your left hand and shake it out, then your right hand, left leg, and then right leg. Go all the way down starting at 8 until you reach 1. You can vary it however you want, I personally kiss all of my limbs after shaking them and then do a bend and snap to be extra sassy, but as long as it gives you confidence you can be as crazy as you want. 2. The Energy Circle One of my favorite parts of doing a show is the bond you create with everyone on and off the stage. An energy circle is one of those moments where everyone feels connected in only a way you can get when doing a theater production. For most, it is another way to get out of their own persona and dive down deep into their character, but it also gives you a clear and focused mindset to further calm the butterflies in your stomach. Depending on where you are performing, these pre-show circles can be either super serious or a dance party. The overall point is to further ready yourself to not talk except on stage for two hours, so you might as well get most of your energy out now.

3. The Color Blue, Breaking a Leg, and Macbeth

Ahh, yes, the classic theater superstitions. These are some classic tall tales shared from theater to theater, and actors follow them religiously as you don't want to jeopardize your own show. You can find more detailed descriptions of these myths here, but here's a brief overview of the most commonly told superstitions.

a.) Blue clothing, an extremely expensive dye back in the day, is considered unlucky unless counteracted by silver jewelry. It was a color associated with failures since usually a director wouldn't be able to cover the cost of this beautiful dye with the income they made from the show. And of course, no one wants their show to go under!

b.) Do not say "Good Luck" to an actor before a show! This is a big no-no, for it's the same as a slap to the face for an actor. Instead, say "Break a Leg". In Ancient Greece, audience members would stomp their feet instead of clapping, and if someone liked a show enough they could potentially break ther own leg. Hopefully, they wouldn't, but you get the idea.

c.) The critically acclaimed Shakespeare play, Macbeth, is what we call the "M-word" to a production. This Scottish play is known for its mysterious deaths that happen on its stage, and it is the ultimate cuss word for theater fanatics. To further its superstition behind it, someone from my high school crew said this word before our extremely long show on Friday, and now I will never joke about the power of these superstitions again.

So the next time you go out to see a show, keep in mind the time and effort each cast and crew member put into it, and don't jinx it for everyone else by committing one of these theater sins above! Watching these shows with these rituals in mind can further deepen one's love for the stage, so go out there and enjoy a new theater experience this month. Until next time, reader!