[Michael H]

Anyone care to share any theatrical knowledge they have gleaned this year?

I have learnt what the following technical terms mean:

a Kabuki drop (known as a kamakazi drop by people who are afraid of technical things, whereby a curtain is dropped to reveal a scene behind)

a gobo (a metal frame that goes over a light to cast a specific shadow - professional versions can be bought for hundreds of pounds. You can make your own using old coke cans)

an intel (a light that automatically points two feet below where you want it to).


I have learnt that you can get a chaise longue in a Fiesta.

I have learnt that about 40% of the public think that Little Shop Of Horrors features the song The Timewarp, just because it has the word "horror" in its title.

I have learnt that you need more than a day and a half to get all the technical parts of Little Shop Of Horrors right.

I have learnt that teamwork is good, but teamwork with strong and decisive leadership is even better!

Happy Christmas WOSers, one and all.

[lovestheatre]

I also learnt what a gobo was...

I learnt that theatre can be scary - Woman in Black

I learnt what happens on tour with a production

I learnt what happens at the Prince Edward Theatre

I learnt that I love theatre even more!

Merry Christmas!

[VelmaMaureen]

I learnt that I love theatre a lot!

I learnt what a gauze is, and what cloths are.

I learnt how precocious some children are (whilst helping at a theatre summer school).

I learnt that the Tony is called Best Featured Actor/Actress in a Play/Musical, not Supporting Actor/Actress.

And lots more, but I can't be bothered to type it all out.

Merry Christmas!

[Michael H]

I realise that I'd been compiling a list of things I've learnt in 2010, but not posted yet. It may be late, but Happy New Year one and all.

Agatha Christie sells. And so does Disney. But it's expensive to put on.

Falling down stairs onstage is dangerous.

Plays with French windows are cool again.

Incidental music written for shows is never the right length. A massive scene change is covered by half a bar, which wouldn't cover a fruit fly's orgasm, while the time assumed it takes a character to run into another's arms is invariably written for arthritic octogenarians hobbling across the width of the Palladium.

Doing scene changes with a whitlow is painful.

Anything wheeled onstage (Surrey with fringe on top, Chip's trolley) is designed to be one inch wider than the gap between the proscenium arch and the downstage leg.

It's not a good idea to have the press night on your very first performance. And don't invite reviewers the day after their Christmas party.

The most dangerous question to answer backstage is "Do I have enough time to go to the toilet?"

[CaityGlinda]

Michael H, on 21 January 2011 - 06:11 PM, said:

The most dangerous question to answer backstage is "Do I have enough time to go to the toilet?"

This is my least favourite moment when about to go on stage, especially if it's a long scene, the instant feeling when you're waiting in the wings "I really need a wee, I'm not sure if I've got time to go!" and then you realise after waiting 7 minutes for your que because you got to the wings too early that in fact, yes I could have gone