Nationality: American
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: Mason, OH, USA
Date: 4/29/2025
Language: English
Description
This is a a theater ritual that the people at USC do. And there are different variations of this at other schools, but there’s one very specifically that USC does which I really, really like. It’s [done] before a theater performance. Everyone gets together in a circle. Every actor gets in a circle. And you start really low and very quiet. And you say: “shit damn motherfucker motherfucker, damn! This dumb bitch just stole my man. Gotta find another fucker better than the other fucker, shit damn motherfucker motherfucker damn!” You do it four times, and you get louder and you get higher off the ground until you’re like jumping and screaming. And after that, it’s, like, okay, let’s go. And everyone goes back to their dressing rooms, gets focused, and begin the show. That’s the ritual.
Subject’s Opinion:
Interviewer: Do you know where that came from?
Subject: I don’t know at all where it came from, but I know at other schools, there are variations of this. So I assume that it came from some sort of like, bigger, more professional thing, and then people sort of took from that, like took their own versions from that. From that original typical folklore.
Interviewer: Why do you you think it’s such a significant thing that’s done here?
Subject: Well, I think there’s multiple things. I think one people just love saying swear words. And, and also before a performance, you have to get very, like, energized. You have to be very active, even if you’re playing a very inactive and unenergized character. You, as the person who’s playing that character, need to be sort of heightened. Um. And there’s something about the consonants as well…shit damn motherfucker motherfucker, damn. Like the consonants of that are very activating. Um, and also just the community bonding aspect. We’re all like having fun. We’re all like… it’s silly. It’s ridiculous. You can’t take it seriously at all. Like, you cannot take that exercise seriously and getting yourself into that sort of like heightened, heart-beating state, and then having to take it down to like a performance, and having to have all that energy inside of you while you’re like…rocking it with whatever you’re doing.
Analysis
As an active participant of the theatre community, I’ve seen the ritual performed many times, and can attest to the strong impression it leaves on anyone seeing it done for the first time. Witnessing or taking part in it being performed is a rite of passage for all theatre-makers at USC, as it means you’ve completed a show ready for performance, marking an important moment not only for the actors, but the people behind the scenes. And as one’s theatre career unfolds at USC, they will see this ritual done again and again, each time more meaningful than the previous, as it is symbolic of the camaraderie and pains and joys of telling a meaningful story together.