Term of the Day: proptumes

proptumes--costumes used only for set dressing, not worn by actors.

Term of the Day: "I don't know. I'm not paid to know."

"I don't know. I'm not paid to know"-- the ultimate Indian response...I'm just doing what I'm told to do, I don't have any answers.

Money Term of the Day: in confusion, there is money

in confusion, there is money--when the tech does not have his or her shit together, there is always unforeseen overtime and extra hires, making stagehands extra money.

Term of the Day: shit-stirring with a big spoon

shit-stirring with a big spoon--professional gossip mongering on an epic level.

Term of the Night: sandbar

sandbar--incident or snag that stops a load-in or part of a load-in cold in its tracks. "PRG sent us a broken controller, so we weren't to operate motors to lower the empty road boxes into the trap. It was the sandbar that stopped everything."

Term of the Night: isle of sloth

isle of sloth--theater or TV department where the stagehands have no interest in working, often stocked with badly trained children of stagehands. "The Outside Prop Room was a real isle of sloth, where the young stagehand wouldn't stop watching TV as the interns raided the prop bins."

Term of the night: rice bowl issue

rice bowl issue--jurisdictional dispute over who gets the work. Can be between departments in a theater, different locals or different unions. "It was a rice bowl issue over who sets the tech tables, the carpenter or the prop man."

Term of Loyalty: "You the boss, I'm the hoss."

"You the boss, I'm the hoss"-- You are in charge, I'm just the worker, ready to do hard work. Overheard from a head who was working as a day laborer for the day.

Term of the Day: "moving deck chairs on the Titanic"

"moving deck chairs on the Titanic"--making small changes too late to fix a doomed show. "They made changes to the first act, but it was like moving deck chairs on the Titanic."

Term of the Day: to poach

to poach--to steal a good stagehand from another boss, to take without permission. "During the loadout season, the head of one theater poached several good carpenters from another head."

Term of the Moment: Screw me once, shame on you. Screw me twice, shame on me.

Screw me once, shame on you. Screw me twice, shame on me-- when dealing with dishonest people (tech, certain bosses), it is important not to get screwed twice. The second time is your own fault.

Term of the Night: robbing Peter to pay Paul

robbing Peter to pay Paul-- when desperate for hardware, you have to cannibalize or steal from other parts of the theater. "To finish the seat call, I had to rob Peter to pay Paul, taking seat parts from other parts of the orchestra to make my repairs."