Term of the Night--"Anyone Can Tour"

"Anyone Can Tour"--a reference to the ACT card that is an IA card given out when a production company offers you a job and sends a letter to the International. The real meaning of the acronym is "Associated Crafts and Technicians." Some stagehands keep their ACT cards for decades, others join locals to hide their ACT roots.

Overheard Stagehand Line # 67: "You better get ready to fire him"

"When your extra man tells numerous humorous stories about fighting his bosses and getting thrown out of different venues, you better get ready to fire him."

Expression of the Day: the preservative quality of alcohol

the preservative quality of alcohol--when a rummy lives into  old age, pickled by alcohol. "Double-A, a famous Local #1 fall-down drunk with a violent streak, lived to 81. I guess you could say that is the preservative quality of alcohol."

Expression of the Night: there are lots of ears

there are lots of ears--the walls have ears...Be careful what you say in the theater, people are listening. "There are a lot of ears around here. Let's go into the alley to talk."

Term of the Day: diva whisperer

diva whisperer-- famous wardrobe woman named Suzi Gomez-Pizzo up at the Metropolitan Opera, responsible for dressing and keeping up the emotional morale of sopranos like Julia Bullock, Anna Netrebko and Deborah Voight. Term used in a New York Times profile of Gomez-Pizzo on June 13, 2025, on her retirement from the Met after 18 years.

Term of the Day: "Let me think about this for a few minutes"

"Let me think about this for a few minutes" -- code for "I'm going to the alley to call the business agent." When presented with an unsavory ask by the tech, say this to buy the time to go out to the alley to call the business agent.

Term of the Day: showmance

showmance (n.)--when two company members, be they cast, crew or musicians, become romantically and/or physically involved. Often happens on long-running shows. Sometimes it's the stars, like Liam Neeson and Natasha Richardson on "Anna Christie." Neeson and Richardson left their spouses and married. They were together until she was fatally injured in a skiing accident. Often the affair ends when the show ends.