Term of the Day: working for the equity minimum

working for the equity minimum, working for the minimum--when a major Hollywood star decides to do a prestige Broadway project for Lincoln Center or the Roundabout, they may do it for the equity minimum, which may be as low as $1600 a week.

Term of the Day: amateur hour

amateur hour--when a stagehand, a production person or producer is not up to the task at hand, and does not have the experience to get the job done properly. "Ooh, I get the feeling this load-in is going to be one extended amateur hour."

Term from Another Union: conducting by hand or by stick

conducting by hand or by stick--if a conductor uses their hand to conduct, that means they are playing a piano or a keyboard at the same time. If the conductor uses a baton, they are usually at a conductor's podium and are not playing an instrument. "On the tour, is the conductor going to be conducting by hand or by stick?"

Term of the Day: cabal of amateurs

cabal of amateurs--when the whole production team does not have Broadway experience, and approaches their Broadway debut with a stew of arrogance, insecurities and sometimes grave incompetence, as well as a gross ignorance of Broadway work rules. "When the production team from from the Public Theatre came to do their Broadway transfer, they were soon labeled as a cabal of amateurs." see also: amateur hour

Term of the Day: "conversations with myself"

"conversations with myself"--when someone is caught having a loud conversation with no one else present. "I found the older actor upstage, having a profanity-laced dialogue by himself... Oh, I guess it is a case of 'conversations with myself.'"

Term of the Night: "Did I stutter?"

"Did I stutter?"--fighting words, during a confrontation. When an insult is lobbed, then the target says, "What did you say?" You can continue the insult, saying, "Did I stutter?", meaning you didn't get it?

Term of the Day: "looking good and feeling sexy"

"looking good and feeling sexy"--when hooking up a unit to fly, the stagehand will ask how the carabiners look, if they all hooked up properly, referring to yourself, you can say, "Looking good and feeling sexy."

Term of the Night: a golf clap

a golf clap--deliberately quiet applause, sometimes considered an insult.

Term of the Night: gravedigger's smile

gravedigger's smile--a smile that says "keep doing the bad shit you're doing...I'll be at your funeral soon."

Term of the Day: hoity toity

hoity toity--high end, but has pejorative meaning, implying the material may be overpriced or pretentious. "The star's dressing room had hoity toity furniture." "The contract man took me to a hoity toity restaurant, with real linen tablecloths."

Term of the Day: cray-cray

cray-cray--crazy. to go crazy. "Last I heard, he went cray-cray and moved to Crazytown."

Term of the Night: "Revenge is a dish best served cold"

"Revenge is a dish best served cold"--old Sicilian saying.

Term of the Day: rogues' gallery

rogues' gallery--collection of misfits, from the 19th century police mugshots of criminals and dangerous people. Can be affectionate. "I went by the load in and the propwoman had a rogues' gallery of stagehands working for her."

Line of the Day: "Train tickets to Crazytown are only one way"

"Train tickets to Crazytown are only one way"--when you go nuts, there is no coming back from Crazytown.

Term of the Day: brouhaha

brouhaha--a fight, an over-the-top reaction to an event, social agitation over a small incident (from the French, possibly Hebrew). "The stagehand made a big brouhaha over his chair being moved in the basement."

Overheard Stagehand Conversation #28: "You must have me mixed up..."

Famously Unbalanced Head During a Load-In: "So, you finally decided to show up on time for once."
Falsely Accused Extra Man: "You must have me mixed up with some other Irishman."

Term of the day: lawsuit waiting to happen

lawsuit waiting to happen--offensive old carpenter, famous for his lascivious comments and propositions to much younger dancers and dressers. "He's a lawsuit waiting to happen. That carpenter still thinks it's 1950."

Hostile Term of the Day: give fucks

give fucks--to not care, to stop giving fucks. "I don't give fucks anymore over that stagehand's tantrums."

Term of the Day: the cursed prop

the cursed prop--the prop that always breaks and requires daily or weekly repairs, a prop that antagonizes a difficult actor and possibly makes the SM report. There is always one cursed prop.

Term of the Day: rank and file

rank and file--ordinary members of the union, not officers or heads, Indians.

Term of the Night: "I know a guy..."

"I know a guy..."--when you can get something easily that might be hard for others to find, or saying you have a connect that others might not have. "I know a guy, I can get us a hammer drill for tomorrow morning."