Informant: Yeah, actually—when I got to college, there were a lot fewer theater traditions. But one thing we usually still do before shows is kind of tied to theater superstitions, especially around Macbeth. You’re not supposed to say “Macbeth” in a theater, and if you do, there’s this whole ritual you’re supposed to follow to undo the bad luck.

I think what we do comes from that idea. Before a show, we all chant together:
“Shit, damn, motherfucker, motherfucker, damn, this dumb bitch just stole my man, gotta find another fucker better than the other fucker—shit, damn, motherfucking motherfucker, damn.”
And then we repeat it a couple more times, getting louder each time.

It’s kind of our way of shaking off nerves and maybe warding off bad luck.

Context: Informant has participated in main stage theater productions in university and has experienced these superstitions themself. Informant did not learn about this conversion superstition until they came to university. Informant attends school in southern california. 

Analysis: The knowledge about the superstition around saying “Macbeth” during the production of a show is fairly widespread. However, the conversion superstition performed in this entry is not as common. It represents how niche folk groups can make their own beliefs. This performance of a conversion superstition is not something the informant was familiar with when they participated in theater in high school across the country, so it could possibly be evidence of more regionally folk belief as well. This conversion superstition is performed to comfort the actors in a show and help them fight back against any fear they might have at their production being harmed by an individual saying the words “Macbeth.”