Term of the Day: Stro-Magic

Stro-Magic: the prop heavy, often fantastical choreography of Susan Stroman, the choreographer of "The Producers" and director-choreographer of "Bullets Over Broadway."

Term of the moment: "flop sweat"

flop sweat: when producers start to freak out during production or previews that they may have a flop on their hands, so the creatives are directed to make radical changes, adding or cutting songs and monkeying with the book. Sometimes the freak out is justified and the show is saved, and other times the cuts or addition damage the living organism. "The producer broke into a flop sweat that the show was going to bomb and demanded radical changes to the finale." (term from Patrick Healy, New York Times, April 17, 2014)

Term of the Day: to sandbag (someone)

to sandbag (someone): to set a stagehand up for a dressing down in front of other people. To ambush a person, then to verbally abuse them, usually in public.

Term of the Day: "the nut"

"the nut": operating costs for a show. the weekly running costs, including cast and crew salaries, administrative expenses, rentals (automation and lighting packages) and advertising. If a show's revenue goes below its nut, the show is losing money. For example, a show that costs $500,000 a week to run, it must make more than that to be in the black.

When a show goes below its nut, that is when the rumors start to swirl that the show is in trouble. For the producers, the nut is often a closely guarded secret. Backstage, there is often much speculation on how much the nut is, and concern on whether the show is in the red or the black.

Some theater owners on Broadway have clauses in their contract with productions that if the show goes below its nut for two weeks straight, the theater owners have the option of evicting the production.

Historical Conflict of the Day: Scenic Shop Builds v. Real Theater

Scenic Shop Builds v. Real Theater: Often scenery comes into the theater with pieces that don't fit, holes that don't line up and platforms with legs of differing heights. Very often, it is clear that the scenery was not assembled before it was loaded on the truck.

Here are some classic stagehand lines:
"It worked in the shop."...Common despairing line by the shop man sent down to the theater when the scenery doesn't fit or automation doesn't work.
"It's sawzall time!"...when it is clear that the set has to be rehashed. It is a gleeful line, because the carpenters on the rehash are on construction rate.
"Drill 'em out, boys."...the line by the house carpenter when the holes in flats need to be drilled out to line up or to accommodate 3/8" bolts.