It is considered bad luck to whistle while backstage...
The Reason - Back when theatre moved indoors, and scenery started to be flown by rigging, the people that had the most experience with systems like that were sailors. Well they certianlly did not have nice fancy communication systems like we have now... So apparently, they stuck to what they were used to, which was whistleing to signal different changes in the rigging... If you walked on stage, whistleing happily to yourself, you just might get creamed by some scenery moving in on you because you called the right signal at the wrong time...
Now, there are some people that are so supersticious, that they might just pummel you for whistleing... My, how far we've come...
Be carefull out there...
Posted by Backstage at September 26, 2003 07:24 PM