Minor Genre: Proverb

Nationality: Russian
Age: 18
Occupation: Student
Residence: USC
Performance Date: 2/22/2023
Primary Language: Russian
Language: English

“Не пуха, ни пера, к черту” – translate to “no feathers, to the devil”

Context: Before a competition, interview, exam or something that you needed to do well on, your coach, family members, or friends would say this to you. In a personal context, this was said before her ballet competition in Russia every time she was about to compete in order to have good luck. This proverb is used rhetorically as a fixed phrase and was mainly said by elders to a younger audience. This was a very common phrase she heard growing up in Russia and was something she used as encouragement and confidence to succeed in whatever she was doing. She first heard it from her dad when she went to school for an exam and from then on it became a very common phrase used by the people around her, and eventually her ballet coach. Whether she was at school, in a tournament, or about to do something exhilarating, this was the phrase heard every time.

Analysis: This phrase is very similar to one we have in American culture, “break a leg,” which has the meaning of good luck and is said before an important event that you want to succeed in. As a fixed phrase used to give a blessing, the metaphorical meaning behind it is similar to the American version of this proverb. Nobody wants you to actually break your leg, but instead it’s a backwards metaphor saying good luck to you. This was apart of Russian “paremiology” where essentially everyone knows this basic proverb. Similar to the United States, everyone knows the phrase “break a leg” and the real meaning behind it.

Minor Genre: Folk-Speech

Nationality: Puerto Rican/Dominican
Age: 18
Occupation: Student
Residence: USC
Performance Date: 2/20/23
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish

“Culito de rana si no sana hoy sana mañana”

Translation: “Heal heal frogs butt, if it doesn’t heal today, it’ll heal tomorrow.”

Context: The context of this saying is typically used to provide comfort to someone who is feeling discouraged or disappointed about something that didn’t work out as planned. Additionally if a kid gets physically hurt, they would use the lullaby phrase to make them feel better. It suggests that sometimes things don’t work out right away, but with patience and time, they will eventually improve or heal. It’s important to note that this saying is often used in a light-hearted or playful way, especially when it’s being said to children. However, it can also be used in more serious situations to encourage perseverance and hope. The informant first heard this saying when they were four years old and fell on the playground. After coming home from school that day, their mother recited the lullaby to them and gave them comfort.

Analysis: As a child, this sounds as though it would be very nice to hear when you get a scratch on the playground. Although the phrase is most commonly used for children, I interpreted it having a playful and lighthearted tone, which may help to alleviate stress or anxiety in difficult situations or setbacks. It’s a reminder that sometimes it’s okay to take a step back, relax, and trust that things will eventually work out in their own time.

Minor Genre: Folk-Gesture

Nationality: Puerto Rican/Dominican
Age: 18
Occupation: Student
Residence: USC
Performance Date: 2/20/23
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish

*Cheek to cheek gesture*

Younger person to elder – “¡Bendición!”

Elder response – “Dios te bien diga”

Translation: – “good blessing or good health”

Context: This is a saying used to greet family, typically when you are greeting an elder in your family such as your grandparents. While saying these phrases you do a cheek to cheek greeting almost as if you are kissing each other on the cheek. The informant learned this growing up around their family and used it out of respect for their elders when greeting them. It has a connection to Christianity in the sense that you are giving them a blessing and it used very commonly in Latin households. The informant said this is a more formal way of greeting family however when you greet your friends, you just do the cheek to cheek gesture.

Analysis: Interestingly, this folk-gesture is similar to many European gestures for greeting but is different because you kiss both cheeks in Europe but only one cheek in this gesture displaying the difference in meaning/significance in the different cultures and groups of people. It is not a very common thing in American culture because there is not much of a cheek to cheek gesture, however, my grandparents tend to say things such as, “God bless you,” when saying goodbye, connecting back to Christianity shaping these gestures and greetings.

Theater Saying

Nationality: American
Age: 47
Occupation: Production Manager Supervisor
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: 2023-02-23
Primary Language: English

Context:

HB is an American woman who has had 30 years of experience working in the theater industry, specifically in tech, props and production management.

Folklore:

When an actor in a stage play is “really overacting and they’re playing to the back of the house”, one would say that they’re “chewing the scenery”. This could be a good thing or a bad thing. If the role calls for that amount of energy, then it’d be a positive thing, but “generally it’s kind of negative”.

Some examples/variants:

“That scene was exhausting to watch, it was a scenery-chewing performance.”

“He’ll be picking scenery out of his teeth for days”

Analysis:

The actual meaning of this saying is a criticism of actors that don’t take realism into account during their performances and just focus on expressing as much emotion as possible. Especially in theater performances, it’s common for actors to need more energy in their acting since they have to portray to audience members that are seated far away from them, but this saying seems to acknowledge some threshold for the accepted amount of exaggeration in acting. This showcases the need and appreciation for realism, or at least a balance between realism and emoting within a performance.

The imagery of the saying also suggests a dynamic between actors and stage hands. If a performer’s acting “chews up the scenery” or, in other words, destroys the stage, and is seen as a negative thing, then it’s possible that there is a need for respect between actors and those who work backstage. If an actor’s performance is overwhelming in action, it’s possible that the audience would overlook the hard work of the stage hands in making the image on stage come to life, which would make the stage hands upset.

Don’t Whistle in the Theater

Nationality: American
Age: 47
Occupation: Production Manager Supervisor
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: 2023-02-23
Primary Language: English

Context:

HB is an American woman who has had 30 years of experience working in the theater industry, specifically in tech, props and production management.

Folklore:

HB goes on to describe why whistling in the theater is taboo:

“The first stage hands were sailors because theater requires a lot of rigging, there’s pulleys and ropes and things that have to go up and down. And the way sailors would communicate on old sailing ships was by whistling, they had some kind of code…. So in the theater when they would call cues, they would do so by whistling. So it’s bad luck to whistle in the theater because you might accidentally tell someone to drop a sandbag on your head!”

Even though stage hands now have headsets and other forms of communication and other ways to rig a stage, it is still considered to be taboo and bad luck to whistle in a theater

Analysis:

The fact that this is still practiced in modern times showcases thespians’ devotion to history, traditions and the past. The nature of theatrical shows is normally in tribute to past events, whether it be the writing of shows that are set in the past or the reproduction of plays that were written in the past. It makes sense that a common theme in the theatrical environment is to preserve old ways and traditions since it is a behavior that aligns with their goal to relive the past. 

Another taboo action in theater, that HB compared whistling too, is saying the name of a certain play inside of a theater, which is now nicknamed the Scottish Play. The real name of the play was the last name of some characters that killed many for power and were haunted by their actions. Saying this would result in someone dying in the theater. Some would joke around with this and take it more light-heartedly while some were very serious and even perform a curse reversing ritual of sorts if the name of the play was said.

Both of these taboo actions are centered around the power of the past and death or bodily harm. These actions were probably made taboo to emphasize the lesson of respecting old ways and the power of the past.