Informant: “So in high school theater, we had a lot of traditions before a show. We would always start with some kind of focus activity, which was really nice. Then we’d go around and do a compliment circle, where everyone would give a compliment to someone else.

After that, we’d pass around a “squeeze,” and then the last thing we’d do was this kind of chant-and-movement game. One person would stand in the center and start shouting, “We are riding on a pony, we are riding on a pony, we are riding on a pony…”

Then you’d find a partner, and together you’d do the moves: front, front, front, front—pony; side, side, side, side—pony; back, back, back, back—pony; on a big fat pony.

As it went on, more and more people would join in, and you’d keep repeating it until eventually everyone was doing it together in the final round.”

Context: Informant attended high school in Connecticut and was taught and participated in this theater tradition before their shows. Tradition was passed down from past upperclassmen within the high school program. 

Analysis: This tradition happens right before the performance, which allows actors to mark the threshold between their “normal” life and their staged life. The exaggerated movements and chanting suspend normal behavior, allowing participants to enter a different mindset that is more expressive and less self-conscious.

Additionally, traditions like this are usually passed down from older members of the group to newer ones. This gives older students to pass down to younger ones to continue the ritual as kids age out of the program, but ensures something is left behind by them. 

This also marks who is “in” the folk group of this theater department or ot. Generally, theater communities are known for having their own rituals, superstitions, and games. Participating in these traditions signals membership; if you know the chant and movements, you’re “in” the group.