Tag Archives: Theater

La Niña

DETAILS:

  • Nationality: American
  • Language: English
  • Age: 55
  • Residence: Berkeley, CA
  • Occupation: High School Teacher
  • Collected on: 11/28/2024

CONTEXT:

Informant is a high school theater teacher, and works in the theater alongside a tech theater teacher. The story takes place during a school day in the fall, when they were the only two people in the theater. 

DIRECT TRANSCRIPTION:

AS: “ I’m not sure exactly what day of the week it was, but it was a weekday, and I was in the theater, and so was our tech theater teacher, and we were doing what we do, which was, he was actually preparing for class, his tech theater class, and I was probably tidying up after one of my classes, and the theater was in, in the, it was sort of in the early fall. And we didn’t have a show, like, in full production at that point, but there was a set being built and, um, his class was gonna come in to do stuff. But the backstage area was pretty open and, you know, there was nothing out of the ordinary going on or nothing unusual. And, and also there was nobody in there. So my class left and I was back in the back of the theater, doing various, just like, odds and ends, like, you know, planning my next class, or like, getting things together. And our tech theater teacher was coming in and out doing stuff in the drama office. So not actually in the theater, but coming back and forth. And the key thing here is that the paint room was closed. And the door was closed and locked. And, so, at some point in the, later in the morning, we discovered water pooling out from the paint room. And we were like, holy crap, what’s going on in there? And so we went into the paint room. We opened the paint room right away, we were like, the floor, the theater floor is flooding. And so we opened the paint room, and the sink was overflowing. Like the water was on and the sink was overflowing. And the water was on and you could actually hear, like you could hear it. It wasn’t like drip, drip, drip. The water was on. And so we also called the maintenance guys and they came and we were trying to figure out like, was the water, like did somehow, did a valve burst? Did the pipe go on? But no. Was the pipe busted? Was the valve busted? So like, the water just suddenly turned on, because of some mechanical failure? And we all looked back, you know, we looked around, and the maintenance guy was like, no, the water just got turned on. And we were like, but nobody’s been in the paint room today. Nobody was in the paint room yesterday. Like, how would this, like, this, we, none, nobody went in, the door was locked, and I was in the theater, like, I would have seen somebody come in, somehow get in the locked door, and then go in and turn on the water, and our head of facilities was like, “mmm, La Niña,” and we were like, what do you mean? He was like, “La Niña,” and we were like, same word, he was like, “she’s here, she’s the ghost of the school, or the ghost of the theater, and the middle school building.” And we’re like, you know her? And he’s like, “oh yeah.” And um, and I said, so you think La Niña turned it on? And he’s like, “I’m sure.” So, we turned the water off. We cleaned up everything. And then I said, “Luis. Tell me more about La Niña.” He said, “oh, we have lots of stories of La Niña. La Niña is, La Niña is here often.” And I said, “she’s a girl?” And he said, “yeah, she’s a girl. She’s a little girl, very mischievous. She likes to play her tricks. She’s a very tricky one.” And I said, so she, She moves things around. She, she, I guess, I guess she turns on the water when nobody’s looking. Um, but he said, “yeah, that’s exactly the kind of thing she does.” And he said many of the maintenance staff have seen her. So that is the story of La Niña.”

INFORMANTS OPINION:

AS: “There’s no question that whatever happened in that paint room was not done by normal human hands. Something uncanny happened. And the thing that convinced me that it was supernatural and that it could have been La Niña was how sure the maintenance people were. They right away, they were the ones who were like “La Niña.” They didn’t really wanna get right into it, like they were a tiny bit embarrassed, but I mean they knew who it was. So that convinced me as much as anything.”

PERSONAL INTERPRETATION:

Ghosts have long been thought to haunt theaters. There’s a common superstition of keeping a light on in the theater at all times to fend off any ghosts, and because of this many theaters keep on a “ghost light.” In this story, I find it to be especially interesting that the school’s maintenance staff are so aware of La Niña, and have clearly witnessed her presence before. Not only that, but the fact that the paint room was locked and the informant was absolutely sure no one had been there all day supports the maintenance team’s story of La Niña as a ghost who plays mischievous pranks.

Theater Macbeth Superstition

Text

“Ok so I’ve been doing theater since I was a little kid. And I remember the first time I heard of this superstition, I was like, 7 I think. I was in my first musical and someone started talking about the M word. And I was like, “what’s the M word?” And they refused to tell me and I didn’t know why, and I thought they were like, talking about McDonalds or something. Cause we were backstage in the dressing room of the theater. So they tell me it’s a word we can’t say in the theater because it’s cursed and will make the play go bad, and that someone said it last year during the music and an actress fell of the stage and broke her leg. And when we get outside the theater when we leave, they tell me the word is Macbeth. And from then on I knew you weren’t supposed to say it. I was in a theater camp a few years later and I remember our teacher taught us about the curse. And one of the kids actually said Macbeth, and we all got so mad, and our teacher actually made him go outside to reverse it. He had to go outside the theater, spit over his left shoulder, and turn around three times. We all like followed him outside to watch him do it. Then I remember when I was in middle school I was in the musical, and someone said it. And we swear that’s why any mistake in the show happened. Like one of our lead actors was sick during the show, and we said it was because someone said the cursed word, we call it the Scottish Play while in the theater. So it’s a big superstition in theater, everyone knows about it. I feel like it became less important when I got older, but I still like actually believe in it. I’m not super superstitious or anything, but that’s the one that I’m really serious about. I don’t tell stories about it as much anymore, it’s not as sensational anymore, but I’m dead serious when people threaten to say it during a musical. I fully will not say it in a theater, even if it’s stupid. It’s kind of like a badge of being a real theater actor, like you’re really one of us because you won’t say it.” 

Context

B is an 18-year-old college student who lives in the Bay Area in California. She has been doing theater for almost all her life, and still considers it a big part of her identity. She relays the superstition with a bit of conflict, because while she sometimes thinks it’s a little silly and doesn’t really believe a single word can be cursed in a certain location, she still reveres the superstition and won’t actually say it. This is a theater superstition that has been around for a long time, and she’s heard it in theaters across many states in the US. 

Analysis

This is a magic superstition, where the belief is that if you do a particular thing, it will lead to bad luck. It is also combined with a conversion superstition, with the description of the actions that must be done to get rid of the bad luck. Superstitions like these are common in careers like theater, because live theater has so many elements that are out of people’s control. Once the show has begun, anything could go wrong and the actors have no way to control it. They could blank on a line, there could be a tech malfunction, there is a lot of anxiety surrounding life theater no matter how well they prepare. This means that there are a lot of superstitions, because it gives people an illusion of control that could act as a placebo effect. They can think “This show will go great, no one has said the Scottish Play yet!” It’s also an example of cognitive dissonance. When things go wrong in live theater and people don’t really know why, they like to have something to blame to give an explanation to the unexplainable. “Why did I forget the line I’ve had memorized and perfect for weeks? Oh, because someone said Macbeth!” This superstition is also a form of ritual that creates identity, like in Van Genup’s Rites of Passage. When she was in her first musical, she wasn’t really part of the group because she didn’t know the superstition about Macbeth. Now that she’s older and more experienced, she takes it as a sign of her identity. She underwent the rite of passage of learning about the Macbeth superstition, so now it creates her identity as a thespian. Her maintained belief in the superstition shows how even when things aren’t necessarily scientific, people can still believe them despite their rational mind telling them it doesn’t make sense. Belief works even against rationality. And just because it hasn’t been scientifically proven doesn’t mean the superstition isn’t true. Maybe there is a correlation between someone say Macbeth and a show going wrong.

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.

PAC ghost


Date: April 14, 2022 

Source and Relationship: Elaine, High School Theater Teacher

Type: Scary Story, Superstition

Folklore/Text: The PAC Ghost: “A long time ago, on a cold and windy night, a tech theater student was working late at night in the rafters of the Jesuit High School performing arts center. Suddenly, lightning struck the building and the student was flung from the rafters, 90 feet above ground, into the orchestra pit to their demise. Their body was never found, but we believe that they became a ghost to haunt Jesuit theater productions to come. Now, every time a door closes randomly or a gust of wind blows throughout the theater, we know that the PAC ghost is watching over us. This is why we always leave one light in the center of the stage at the end of the night, so our ghost friend can find his way around.”

Explanation/Context: While growing up I thought that my high school theater was the only school that attributed a ghost to the strange happenings around the performing arts center, as it turns out, theaters around the world experience this phenomenon as well. Theater buildings are often very historic and carry years of storytelling in its walls – the pieces that were put on linger just as hauntingly as an apparition might. There is an undeniable folklore with tragic mishaps in the theater, dating back to gladiatorial performances in ancient Europe; the most notable theater mishap, of course, being Abraham Lincoln’s assassination while he was watching a play. For centuries, the idea of leaving a “ghost light” in the center of the stage once everyone else has gone home has been customary in protecting the space from bad energy. In this case, though, the tale of the fallen student from the rafters has darker connotations that have warranted an even further superstition that any unexplainable noise or movement comes from that deceased students’ spirit. 

Pre-Show Warm Up Chant

Text

“Tarzan, swinging from a rubber band, crashed into a frying pan, ow that hurts. Now Tarzan has a tan, and I hope it doesn’t peel! (peel is said in a falsetto voice) like a banana (beat chest). Jane, flying in an aeroplane, swept up by a hurricane. Ow, that hurt. Now Jane has a pain, and Tarzan has a tan, and I hope it doesn’t peel! Like a banana!”

Context

According to my informant, this chant is a repeat-after-me type of chant that’s used as a pre-show warm-up in school theatres. My informant says that there will be one or two leaders who will start the chant, and after every line, the rest of the cast in the theatrical production will loudly repeat after them. According to her, it’s been done before nearly every single show she’s ever been in, and is used to bring everyone’s energy levels up before the show officially starts. Alongside different inflections in the voice when one performs this chant, there are also some bodily movements done as well, including beating ones chest like a gorilla during following the like “like a banana.”

My Analysis

Being involved in theatre myself, I immediately recognized this pre-show chant when my informant brought it up in our interview. Immediately, I could remember all of the vocal inflections done in the chant, and how it really did bring everyone’s energy levels up in order to create a great show for the audience. My informant and I grew up together, but now live in very different places, and I thought it was immensely neat that theatrical productions all across the United States are utilizing this pre-show chant as a means to hype everybody up.