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Post by skateboy on Dec 30, 2006 4:38:55 GMT
practical jokes back stage happen at almost EVERY theater and on every tour. You've heard about them from stage hands, or maybe from actors themselves... one party person in the cast/crew has a SICK sense of humor...
In Starlight express the most famous one is John Partrage's accidental roller skate problem when He "tripped" over his own eyelashes... (rather the techie he just insulted moved the bridge on him)
IN recent events the poor wardrobe attendant who picked up a boot with a set mousetrap in it found them self with really badly battered fingers!
In CATS the Jokes are as plentiful as clover in Ireland! Whole shows where cats members switched female and male costumes/characters out, changed wigs between acts, broke equipment on stage to see how a character would react to it... They have done things to make other Cats miss lines, and even Techies have jumped on the train...
So I am asking....
What pranks do you know of? Rumors are welcome.... Have you ever seen a practical joke back stage? do you think they are funny/welcome, or unprofessional?
:?: :?: :?: :?:
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Post by Memphis on Dec 30, 2006 6:32:49 GMT
It really depends on what the joke is. If there is nothing more than a bruised ego then bring them on, if there is real harm done then no, they are wrong.
The most famous StEx one is actually one of the cast being given make up remover instead of water after one of the races, that one was in the papers for weeks. That one was wrong and could have been fatal, falling over the eyelashes only caused a bruised ego.
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Post by Wrench on Dec 30, 2006 13:15:22 GMT
Dry ice in the toilets is funny, poisoning people is not. I think practical jokes fall under the only concrete bit of Wicca there is - an it harm none, do as ye will. If it's a practical joke like not setting a prop, or replacing that prop with something else and you know that the performer who's meant to use it can improvise to cover, it's funny. If you know it'll make them panic and corpse, it's not.
I think techie revenge falls into a different category... it's not really meant as a joke, it's more of a warning or punishment. Don't piss me off if you want your mic turned on.
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Post by jade on Dec 30, 2006 17:47:54 GMT
I agree with Memphis and Wrench in that it depends on what the joke is. If it's something that puts a smile on everyone's face and doesn't cause any harm, then that's fine. (It's also fun reading about them on the internet  ) If they're dangerous, then it's definitely not cool. I also think jokes that affect onstage performance are not funny: I pay £30+ a ticket to see the best performance possible, not a performance with mistakes that could've been avoided. |
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Post by Wrench on Dec 30, 2006 18:18:21 GMT
Though I'd say muckup matinees are a bit of a grey area re: affecting the performance.
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Post by Belle Pullman on Dec 30, 2006 19:32:18 GMT
During my time watching StEx in London, we saw only the mildest muck-ups - at the final matinee, for UNCOUPLED, Ashley and Buffy swapped over! The rebellious, dangerous creatures....  Tricks attempting to make a cast member corpse (break out of character, usually laughing) can be hilarious and are usually harmless. Bringing a huge ego down a peg or two by embarrassing them can make tensions backstage an awful lot easier! And planning a practical joke can bring a team much closer, laughing together is good. But if it's risking actual harm or danger to someone, it is not acceptable! |
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Post by goldfishmiracle on Dec 31, 2006 6:39:22 GMT
When I was in high school, I was part of the drama company, there. Practical jokes and even a few dangerous stunts ran rampant, during rehearsals of the final production I was involved with. I never, however, thought someone would improvise one during a videotaped performance. When one of your fellow company members is momentarily playing a judge who is avoiding an injured man, shouting "Awww, Judge Judy!" in response to this is rather comedic, yes... But when even the man who is supposedly near death can be seen cracking up, on the video tape, you may have gone a touch too far. |
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Post by jade on Dec 31, 2006 15:36:45 GMT
Though I'd say muckup matinees are a bit of a grey area re: affecting the performance. Aah, well, muckup matinees are a completely different story. And, I'm sad to say, I've never actually seen one  |
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Post by Memphis on Dec 31, 2006 18:41:02 GMT
Aah, well, muckup matinees are a completely different story. And, I'm sad to say, I've never actually seen one Actually, no, they aren't. Muck up matinees are regular performances but with the cast messing around. If the jokes are only noticable to people who know the show, understand the in jokes or can be assumed to be accidents then fine, if they change the show in anyway then the muck ups are no more acceptable than in any other performance. People who are seeing the show for the first time or who are fans of the show but don't read message boards/ talk to other fans/ whatever for whatever reason are going to be disappointed that they didn't get to see the show they paid their money for just like you would be if someone played a joke in any other performance. Ashley and Buffy swapping sides in U.N.C.O.U.P.L.E.D. makes no real difference to the show, no one would know if they didn't know the show very well there is no change in performance standard. Bombalurina changing the words to her verse in Macavity certainly was noticed by the school group who were studying T.S. Elliot at the time and had come to see Cats as part of their course work it also almost caused Demeter to miss her next cue as she was laughing so hard. Somehow I don't think the teacher would have accepted it if the theatre manager had told her that she shouldn't complain about the word changes as it's a muckup matinee so it doesn't matter. |
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Post by russ on Jan 1, 2007 0:45:10 GMT
I'm with Memphis. I've seen a few muck-up matinees where the cast took it a little far.
In CHICAGO, they flipped "Lipschitz" in "Cell Block Tango" to "Sh*t Lips", and in LES MIZ Javert arrived on the barricade singing "They intend to starve us out before they'll see what they can find / Concentrate their force, take us from behind". In both cases, much laughing onstage and much confusion in the audience.
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Tricks attempting to make a cast member corpse (break out of character, usually laughing) can be hilarious and are usually harmless. Bringing a huge ego down a peg or two by embarrassing them can make tensions backstage an awful lot easier! And planning a practical joke can bring a team much closer, laughing together is good. But if it's risking actual harm or danger to someone, it is not acceptable! 
