Very superstitious

Actors are a superstitious bunch. Don't ever tell one "good luck" before a performance - that's actually bad luck. Instead, we have the great expression, "Break a leg!" (Dancers copy off of actors - they don't like good luck either. Instead, they cuss at each other in French. Dancers are weird.)

One of our cast members learned about another actors' superstition tonight when he said the word...you know...the Scottish play? By Shakespeare? Takes place in Denmark? Macb***? Legend has it that the play is cursed, and to say it in a theater means something terrible will happen, like an actor will get injured. Rumor has it that one cast member said it backstage during the Sumter Players production of Guys and Dolls...the same night another cast member fell over set piece and cut a gash in her arm that required 13 stitches. Do I believe in this superstition? Not really...but why tempt fate? So our castmate, after uttering the word, was forced to exit the theater, spin around three times, spit, and knock to be allowed back in. And all was well.

And then there's the legend of the Rylander ghost...but that's a story for another post.

Yet another superstition is the old actor adage, "Bad dress rehearsal, good opening night." Tonight wasn't all that bad a dress rehearsal, so I hope there's not a whole lot of truth to that one.

Well, it's time for good little actors to get some sleep...cuz tomorrow night is OPENING NIGHT!!!!