Historical Term of the Moment: special won-ton soup to go

special won-ton soup to go--whiskey in a take-out soup container. China Peace was a Chinese restaurant that ran for decades in Hell's Kitchen. It was at three different locations over time. Legendary stagehands and legendary drinkers would go there on matinee days. The owner was agreeable to fixing special "to-go" cups for his regular customers.

Term without Mercy: vultures start circling

vultures start circling--when a stagehand or musician is on the cusp of being fired, people will start coming by, looking to take their jobs. "The vultures started circling when the word was on the street that the concertmaster at 'Lion King' was going to be fired." "The weak show wasn't even out of previews when the producers of a show looking for a theater started asking about the theater. The vultures  had started circling while the show was still alive."

Term of the Night: the usual suspects

the usual suspects--stagehands you'd expect to see at a load in, working for a particular head. "At the load in, who did you see working in Electrics? Oh, the usual suspects." Taken from the 1995 Kevin Spacey movie. "Who is running for office this time around?" "Oh, the usual suspects."

Self-preservation Term of the Night: "Be careful, my back is my moneymaker"

"Be careful, my back is my moneymaker"--you can say this when someone asks you to lift a rediculously heavy thing without enough help. A healthy, strong back is a stagehand's cash cow.

Term of the Night--liquid dinner

liquid dinner--when someone drinks their dinner as opposed to eating it.

Term of the Day: no good deed goes unpunished

no good deed goes unpunished--sometimes a generous action bites you on the ass. It is also the title of the best song in "Wicked." "I hired a man who needed a job and proceeded to stab me in the back. No good deed goes unpunished."

Term of the Day: the gift that keeps on giving

"the gift that keeps on giving"--when a defective system is installed during a load in, the mechanical errors, be they automation or lighting, are ongoing and constant, and thus a gift that keeps on giving. "The badly designed center stage elevator dry faulted again. It is the gift that keeps on giving." Or it can refer to a stagehand, who makes the same mistakes over and over. "Ted missed his Act I finale cue again. He's the gift that keeps on giving."