Five, six, seven, eight! Picture this: you are taking your first steps into the glitz and glamor of the musical theater world. But, wait! What’s that you hear? People are throwing around expressions like “slime tutorials” and “11 o’clock number”. You hear chatter of something called the “Macbeth myth”. For some reason people crowd around a “stage door” and a “ghost light” needs to be kept on at all times.
The theater world is full of particular expressions that can throw newcomers for a loop. Willkommen, bienvenue, welcome! And get to know a few of the most curious ways theater folk talk.
Cue the overture!
TAPING SHOWS: PROSHOTS, BOOTLEGS AND SLIME TUTORIALS
All these terms relate to some pretty big controversy in the musical theater world, but we’ll get to that in a minute. First things first, what does “slime tutorials”, “bootlegs” and “proshots” mean?
“Proshot” is the professional, official recording of a play or show. Usually, theater companies will hire film crews to come over to the theater and tape the performance. The cast can either perform in front of an audience or by themselves either in a single or in multiple takes. After the whole show is recorded, it gets edited and then released.
In the ye old days of DVD supremacy, proshots would be sold as merchandise in theaters. Nowadays, however, it isn’t rare to see them in streaming services. Think: Hamilton released in 2020 on Disney+ – that is a proshot.
“Bootlegs”, on the other hand, relate to recording a performance, let’s phrase it like this: extra-officially. The term “bootleg” is reminiscent of the prohibition era, when selling alcohol was banned from the US. So, you get the connection, right? The show is illegally taped and then it circulates all around the internet.
In order to avoid copyright infringement detectors on platforms such as YouTube, the videos can be uploaded with titles that resemble a slime tutorial. And they can get very creative, I’ve seen examples like “Tree Boy Slime Tutorial” referring to Dear Evan Hansen.
But I said it all relates to a heated debate in the musical theater world, didn’t I? Well, this big discussion revolves around the question of whether or not bootlegs should be as frowned upon as they are. The main argument being they allow more people from all around the world to experience at least a small part of the magical world of musical theater, since tickets for big productions are, more often than not, very expensive. On the other hand, some say that publishing whole tapings of shows hurt box office gains and ultimately harms the musical theater economy. But that is a discussion for another day.
LET’S TALK CAST: ENSAMBLE, UNDERSTUDY, SWING AND ALTERNATE
You don’t need to dive that deep into the musical theater world in order to come in contact with terms like “ensemble”, “understudy”, “swing” and “alternate”. They all come from the universe of casting, but with slightly different meanings.
The broader, more general one of them is “ensamble”, which is used to refer to all the people who are up on stage performing, except for the main characters. If you consider absolutely everyone who’s part of the show, then you are talking about the cast.
Now, the “understudy” is an actor who covers for a main role when the original actor isn’t performing. Since the shows are performed live multiple times per week, you can see how it is a good precaution to have more than one actor ready to go on for each role. Understudies can have a regular role, apart from the one they cover for, and here’s where the “swing” comes into action.
Say that one of the understudies has to go on for the main role, you can’t have one less character in the ensemble, can you? When that happens swings are called into action, since they rehearse to play multiple parts and, usually, at a shocking short notice. Generally, performers that are cast as swings are some of the most versatile and skilled ones you can get.
That brings us to the “alternates”, actors that regularly take over main roles. So, unlike understudies, alternates follow a schedule for when they are supposed to play each character. This can be especially useful in vocally demanding shows, allowing them to have enough time to rest between performances and ensuring they are always on top of their game.
THE PHANTOM OF THE THEATER? THE CURSE OF MACBETH AND GHOST LIGHT
The rule is simple, my friends: if you are not performing or rehearsing the play, do not say the word “Macbeth” in a theater, just don’t. This is one of the oldest superstitions in the theater world, and there is a good reason for it.
It is said that, when writing Macbeth, Shakespeare made in-depth research about magic to create the three witches. So much so that the chants and ingredients they use in the play are said to be part of real spells. The tale goes that, in response, a coven of witches placed a curse on Shakespere’s work.
When Macbeth made its first performance around 1606, tragedy was all around: the actor playing Lady Macbeth died unexpectedly and there are rumors that the prop daggers were replaced with real daggers for King Duncan’s murder scene, which led to the actor’s death.
Two centuries later, in 1849, the curse kept wreaking havoc, this time in New York. Two rival actors were in different stagings of Macbeth at the same time and this rivalry sparked a massive turmoil between fans of both actors. The result? 20 deaths and over 100 injuries. And there are many other instances of cast and crew members of Macbeth productions getting hurt in spooky ways over the years.
So, if you do say the forbidden name, what can you do to break the curse? Leave the theater, spin around three times, spit over your left shoulder, swear, quote another Shakespere play and knock again on the door. Then, and only then, you are allowed to go back into the theater. This curse is so feared that people have found many ways to avoid saying Macbeth, like calling it “The Scottish Play” or “The Bard’s Play”.
Adding to the eeriness, is the “ghost light” that must be kept on at all times when the theater is dark. Some say it is there to ward off evil spirits that might try to haunt the theater, while others believe that it shows the way for the ghosts that already live there.
Nowadays, however, ghost lights are kept on mostly for safety reasons. When all the other lights are turned off, it keeps people from falling off the stage into the orchestra pit. But, no one said it doesn’t actually serve a more paranormal purpose…
CURTAIN UP: SHOWSTOPPER AND 11 O’CLOCK NUMBER
If there is one thing musical theater is known for are its enormous musical numbers, just full of amazing costumes, incredible dancers and extremely talented performers. And, sometimes, the audience just can’t stop clapping after they end, to the point where it kind of brings the whole show to a momentary halt. Well, in the business, these musical numbers are called “showstoppers”.
Some of the most famous songs to come out of musicals are showstoppers: “What I Did For Love” from A Chorus Line,“I Dreamed a Dream” from Les Misérables, “I’d Give My Life For You” from Miss Saigon and so many others. “I Could Have Danced All Night” from My Fair Lady, however, is by far one of my favorite things (if you know, you know).
For a song to be considered an “11 o’clock number” it needs to fit certain characteristics, but that’s not to say that the rules can’t be bent from time to time. In this article, Playbill points out that 11 o’clock numbers usually have at least three of these five characteristics:
- A show-stopping showcase for the star.
- The second-to-last sequence in the show.
- A moment of great dramatic realization or revelation.
- The energetic summit of the evening to which the entire show had been leading.
- A song that could, with minor adjustments, be performed out of context by recording and cabaret artists.
The main difference between a showstopper and an 11 o’clock number is their placement in the show. While showstoppers can happen at any point, 11 o’clock numbers only take place in the second act, as a nice way to add the finishing details to the plot and tie up any loose ends.
In simpler terms, you could consider an 11 o’clock number a showstopper that ends the play. Playbill has put together his amazing playlist with some of the greatest 11 o’clock numbers out there.
“But why?”, you may wonder, “are they named that after all?”. It traces all the way back to when shows would start at around 8:45 pm and end somewhere between 11:15 and 11:30 pm. So, this big, impactful number would take place at, you guessed it: 11 o’clock.
ONE LAST STOP: STAGE DOOR
The stage door is the actual door cast and crew members use to make their way in and out of the theater everyday. But, at the end of performances, actors will greet fans, take pictures and give out autographs by that door.
Now, it’s important to make it crystal clear that actors aren’t forced to attend to the stage door. So, if you do go stage-dooring – yes, that is a thing- after your show and the performer you were hoping to see doesn’t show up, just know it is part of the game. Broadway.com has a great list of tips for this experience, all the way from how to spot a stage door to some good practices you can adopt.
CURTAIN CALL
I hate to go and stop talking about musical theater, honestly, I could do this all day – wrong reference, sorry. I mean, it’s pretty fun thinking of different musical theater puns. But, all curtains must come down and all lights must be turned off eventually. Except for the ghost light, of course
So, here’s where I take my final bow and bid you so long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, goodbye!
The article above was edited by Ana Carolina Micheletti.
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