Term of the Day: hump day

hump day--heavy-lifting day, moving a lot of things, wardrobe out of the basement, loading trucks at a load out.

Term of the Day: I pick stuff up, I put stuff down

I pick stuff up, I put stuff down-- the stagehand life of humping stuff.

Term of the Night: "I'm new to this picnic"

"I'm new to this picnic"--I haven't worked on this project yet, clue me in on what I have to do.

Term of the Day: schmata

schmata--drape, cover (Yiddish)..."Throw the schmata over the table."

Term of the Day: Phantom lift

Phantom lift: When a stagehand is pretending too vigorously to lift a heavy piece of scenery and is letting others do the real work. See also: soft hands

Term of the Day: plain dealer

plain dealer--frank, honest person, straight shooter.

Term of the Day: phantom production

phantom production--a fake Broadway show. A theater agent named Roland Scahill was convicted in August 2016 of defrauding investors of $165,000 for a fake play on the life of the opera diva Kathleen Battle, which was to play at the Booth Theatre. Scahill claimed the actress Nupita Nyong'o was going to play Battle and that the show was going to be filmed for Netflix. Neither the play nor the Netflix connection existed. Manhattan DA Cyrus Vance referred to the Kathleen Battle play as a "phantom production."