Dave O’Neill

National Folk Festival Program Director
I'll have a look when I get a chance, and re your inquiry about superstitions, when I toured with Ralph McTell he freaked out that I'd put some shoes on the dressing table, which is apparently very bad luck. He was uncomfortable for the whole show, worrying about what was going to happen.

Judith Seeff

 Rob Brookman passed your request to me in STC Archives (which preserves the significant records created by or for Sydney Theatre Company) to co-ordinate the search for material suitable to your area of interest.

 I will endeavor to locate anything documented in our records about superstitions in the theatre, (other than reference to 'The Scottish Play', or wishing actors Chookas! or break a leg! instead of Good Luck!) and asking members of the company to provide anecdotes and observations from their experience.

 I anticipate questions about the form your project will take and about confidentiality.  Is it for performance, broadcast or publication? I look forward to hearing from you soon, so that the search can commence.
 Sincerely,
 Judith Seeff,
Archivist

Best wishes from Ros Billingsely

Recently a very opinionated member of the cast I was directing told me 'It is bad luck for a director to visit the cast in the dressing room

before the show'. I want to know: Is this true?  I went to the dressing room I suppose as stage manager bringing a rose for a leading lady to pin it to her dress for the performance. Before the same performance I also committed the great crime of talking to 'Cecily' actor, behind the curtain before the show.  It was a stage we had never worked on before, a narrow stage at a festival, and a hat our Cecily was to wear had to be placed outside the curtain on a table.  I wanted her to start her dialogue outside the curtain and take the hat.  This did not bring her bad luck as she won an award!

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Below is the first response from one of the senior Techs at STC.  Is this the kind of thing you mean?
        Cheers,
        Judy. Sydney theatre Company

Bad luck:

        Don¹t wear green. (Dunno why) except in the green room.
        No whistling on stage. (Cues used to be called by whistling)
        Don¹t quote from the Scottish play.

General:

• Green Room; is so called because in Olde England, theatre was often played in one room church halls, the actors used to hang out on the village green.
• Ghost light; a single bulb is left on on stage overnight so ghosts can see where they¹re going.
• In France they say ³Merde² (shit) to each other before going on rather than ³chookas² (Aus) or ³break-a-leg² (UK). Cards, Chocolates and trinkets relevant to the show are often presented amongst cast and crew on opening night.
• St George is the patron saint of stage managers. Traditionally they get prezzies on 23rd March.
• The Œslab¹ system is peculiar to Australian theatres. A crew member has to buy a slab(carton) of beer for the crew if; He or she is unintentionally seen on stage by the audience, misses a cue, if their mobile phone rings during a show or drops anything from above. Head mech will declare ³You¹re slabbed!² I don¹t know what happens if the offender fails to supply, I don¹t think anyone¹s ever been game to try it!
• They say that an usher once fell to his death from the circle balcony at the State Theatre in Market St. He now wanders the theatre late at night.

I¹ll let you know if I think of any more.
Cheers, STC Mechanic
Marcus

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Pic of t-shirt with stage sayings attached. They were all the rage in late '80s/ early '90s. A couple of techs at Her Majesty's (Sydney) made them. - J