The Theatre Question Amnesty Thread

[cheesy116]

I'm pretty clued up on the swing/standby/alternate lingo but what exactly is a 'walking cover' ? The new Hairspray cast got announced today and there's 1 male and 1 female 'walking cover' who I predict by looking at them are for Tracy and the male for both of Tracy's parents. Is it just another word for standby ?

[kimbahorel]

Never heard the term before but it seems according to google search the same as a stand by.

[Deleted]

Jan 24, 2020 20:13:15 GMT cheesy116 said:

I'm pretty clued up on the swing/standby/alternate lingo but what exactly is a 'walking cover' ? The new Hairspray cast got announced today and there's 1 male and 1 female 'walking cover' who I predict by looking at them are for Tracy and the male for both of Tracy's parents. Is it just another word for standby ?

Presumably standby for multiple roles rather than just one?

[49thand8th]

Sometimes it means someone who's in the ensemble but can be taken out of it as needed and it won't affect any songs. They don't have individual lines. They can also be in the ensemble AND take over a more featured role in the same performance.

There's currently an onstage swing (the more common term here, I believe) in The Book of Mormon on Broadway who covers all the female Ugandan roles and a few of the male Ugandan roles. She is also in the show every night, but if she has to play someone else, it won't be a problem with re-allocating lines.

[Deleted]

Ok so slightly obscure question but someone may know......

I was looking on YouTube at broadway shows and stumbled upon a bootleg thread. I understand they can’t “advertise” what the shows are so why do so many of them call themselves “slime tutorials”?!

[theatremadness]

Apr 9, 2020 10:23:50 GMT betty said:

Ok so slightly obscure question but someone may know......

I was looking on YouTube at broadway shows and stumbled upon a bootleg thread. I understand they can’t “advertise” what the shows are so why do so many of them call themselves “slime tutorials”?!

It's probably not wise for me to be explaining it but it's a way of disguising the title video so it doesn't get picked up on and deleted, seeing as bootlegs aren't legal. Slime tutorials are/were genuinely a big thing for kids to make their own fake slime/goo to play with at home so it's just something the bootleg community latched on to.

If this is info that shouldn't be out there - please feel free to delete haha

[Deleted]

It's always seemed a bit weird to me because the people who do it appear to believe that although they all know the widely-known secret somehow nobody else will catch on. It reminds me of a fan community a few years ago where a couple of people were posting links to YouTube uploads of things ripped from iTunes, and they kept on wondering how it was that the content was taken down so quickly. Dude, you're posting a link right to the offending content on a well known fan forum. Did you think the link would be invisible to the copyright holder?

[FairyGodmother]

I have a question about shows where the cast play instruments — I'm specifically thinking of Music & Lyrics Fiddler on the Roof tour here, although I'm sure it will apply to others.

How does that work with covers? On top of everything else else (age, sex, vocal range, dance ability) did they have to have somebody who was e.g. a double reed specialist as well?

One of the daughters was a clarinettist and another a cellist — would they be covered by somebody playing the same instrument, a different instrument and a re-scoring (very unlikely I think?) or mime and have somebody else play it?

[alece10]

Is a "walking cover" just another name for an understudy or is it something special?
It's not a term I've heard before but in the Hairspray programme the understudies for Edna and Tracy Turnblad already listed as walking understudies.

[amuseical]

Jul 2, 2021 18:50:57 GMT alece10 said:

Is a "walking cover" just another name for an understudy or is it something special?
It's not a term I've heard before but in the Hairspray programme the understudies for Edna and Tracy Turnblad already listed as walking understudies.

Walking covers tend to be understudies who specifically aren’t members of the ensemble or in the show in any other capacity (as first and second covers may be), but rather wait backstage should they be needed to take over.

[alece10]

Jul 3, 2021 12:30:24 GMT amuseical said:

Jul 2, 2021 18:50:57 GMT alece10 said:

Is a "walking cover" just another name for an understudy or is it something special?
It's not a term I've heard before but in the Hairspray programme the understudies for Edna and Tracy Turnblad already listed as walking understudies.

Walking covers tend to be understudies who specifically aren’t members of the ensemble or in the show in any other capacity (as first and second covers may be), but rather wait backstage should they be needed to take over.

Thank you. That makes sense as there was a list of understudies listed in the programme but only "walking" for the 2 leads.

[ruby]

So is there a difference between a walking cover and a standby?

[sfsusan]

What are "slip seats"? I can infer that they're awkwardly placed (side-on, perhaps?), but I'm curious about the exact definition. A slightly different question... what's the terminology for those fold-down seats occasionally found at the end of rows? I've accidentally purchased them once or twice (I can't remember if it was in London but I know once was in Paris). Is there something I should look for on the seating chart or description?

Thanks in advance!

[Jon]

Aug 21, 2021 23:11:03 GMT sfsusan said:

What are "slip seats"? I can infer that they're awkwardly placed (side-on, perhaps?), but I'm curious about the exact definition. A slightly different question... what's the terminology for those fold-down seats occasionally found at the end of rows? I've accidentally purchased them once or twice (I can't remember if it was in London but I know once was in Paris). Is there something I should look for on the seating chart or description?

Thanks in advance!

The slip seats are seats that on the sides in the dress or upper circle which aren't boxes. Delfont Mackintosh theatres often have them. They can be decent value for money depending on the show.

The fold down seats are called Strapitan seats.

[TallPaul]

I believe the refurbished Drury Lane now has slips in the stalls.

They can't currently be booked for Frozen, but are indicated on the seating plan by 'SL'.

[sfsusan]

Aug 21, 2021 23:17:55 GMT Jon said:

The slip seats are seats that on the sides in the dress or upper circle which aren't boxes. Delfont Mackintosh theatres often have them. They can be decent value for money depending on the show.

The fold down seats are called Strapitan seats.

Thank you, Jon!

(The fold down seats should be called "strap-it-in" seats... they felt very narrow and precarious and I'd really like to avoid them in future!)

[Stephen]

I went to see the tour of Waitress last night in Wimbledon. It was great however there were a few sound issues with the mics. I noticed that all of the cast including the leads only had one mic on the side of their face coming to their mouth. Isn’t it common practice (at least for lead roles) to have two less visible mics from their forehead?

I was wondering if on tour the theatre supplies the mics. It wouldn’t matter other than the mics were cutting out at times and are also more visible when attached to the side of a face! Maybe a budget thing with the less visible mics costing much more?

[Deleted]

Sept 7, 2021 8:43:02 GMT Stephen said:

I went to see the tour of Waitress last night in Wimbledon. It was great however there were a few sound issues with the mics. I noticed that all of the cast including the leads only had one mic on the side of their face coming to their mouth. Isn’t it common practice (at least for lead roles) to have two less visible mics from their forehead?

I was wondering if on tour the theatre supplies the mics. It wouldn’t matter other than the mics were cutting out at times and are also more visible when attached to the side of a face! Maybe a budget thing with the less visible mics costing much more?

Not necessarily - for example, if you watch the film version of Hamilton Lin-Manuel Miranda's mic is on his forehead while Leslie Odom Jr has his at the side of his face.

So seems to me it has everything to do with the quality of the mic itself and not where it is positioned!

[alece10]

Really dumb question and I should know the answer but why does the safety curtain at a theatre only come down during the interval? Why not before the show starts?

[firefingers]

Sept 7, 2021 9:29:06 GMT alece10 said:

Really dumb question and I should know the answer but why does the safety curtain at a theatre only come down during the interval? Why not before the show starts?

You wouldn't want it preshow, as it would ruin the aesthetic of those who happened to be walking in. Instead of the show's front cloth or opening set, stuff that is carefully created to set an impression of the show (and these days, look good on social media), you'd have a safety curtain.  

Most theatres legally have to "show the iron" to the audience at every show to prove it is working, and this can be done at any point from house open to house clear. The interval makes sense as everyone knows what the show is about by then, and preshow and postshow pics seems far more common than interval ones. Also having it in in the interval can make it safer for those working on stage to set for Act 2, so they or the scenery and props can't escape into the stalls or orchestra pit. 

Fun safety curtain fact, many of them still have asbestos as their insulator. 

[Someone in a tree]

Thanks the info, I didn't know about the asbestos. Yikes.

My vote for the best 'iron' is the barbican. Wins by a mile.

[alece10]

Sept 7, 2021 11:17:01 GMT Someone in a tree said:

Thanks the info, I didn't know about the asbestos. Yikes.

My vote for the best 'iron' is the barbican. Wins by a mile.

Yes that is rather impressive although sitting at the front it does feel a bit odd when it starts to close

[marob]

It’s probably already been addressed in the previous 40+ pages but, having been to the Theatre Royal Drury Lane last week to see Frozen, why is it not the Theatre Royal Catherine Street? I know it’s been rebuilt, presumably the original entrance was on Drury Lane, so why change it?

[sph]

Sept 7, 2021 9:41:00 GMT firefingers said:

Sept 7, 2021 9:29:06 GMT alece10 said:

Really dumb question and I should know the answer but why does the safety curtain at a theatre only come down during the interval? Why not before the show starts?

You wouldn't want it preshow, as it would ruin the aesthetic of those who happened to be walking in. Instead of the show's front cloth or opening set, stuff that is carefully created to set an impression of the show (and these days, look good on social media), you'd have a safety curtain.  

Most theatres legally have to "show the iron" to the audience at every show to prove it is working, and this can be done at any point from house open to house clear. The interval makes sense as everyone knows what the show is about by then, and preshow and postshow pics seems far more common than interval ones. Also having it in in the interval can make it safer for those working on stage to set for Act 2, so they or the scenery and props can't escape into the stalls or orchestra pit. 

Fun safety curtain fact, many of them still have asbestos as their insulator. 

Many shows DO "show the iron" before the performance. They've always done it at Book of Mormon and a few others around the West End. Usually the stage crew will wait until a minimum number of people have entered the auditorium as soon as the house opens (I can't remember the exact number) and will lower the safety curtain then. That way they have covered themselves legally but aren't lowering the curtain to a full audience which some producers don't like and can make resetting during the interval more difficult on some shows.

[sph]

Sept 7, 2021 9:01:15 GMT @posterj said:

Sept 7, 2021 8:43:02 GMT Stephen said:

I went to see the tour of Waitress last night in Wimbledon. It was great however there were a few sound issues with the mics. I noticed that all of the cast including the leads only had one mic on the side of their face coming to their mouth. Isn’t it common practice (at least for lead roles) to have two less visible mics from their forehead?

I was wondering if on tour the theatre supplies the mics. It wouldn’t matter other than the mics were cutting out at times and are also more visible when attached to the side of a face! Maybe a budget thing with the less visible mics costing much more?

Not necessarily - for example, if you watch the film version of Hamilton Lin-Manuel Miranda's mic is on his forehead while Leslie Odom Jr has his at the side of his face.

So seems to me it has everything to do with the quality of the mic itself and not where it is positioned!

Yes, it's also usual for bald men or men with higher hairlines to wear them on the side, as they can't hide the wiring in their hair. But it does depend on the production. Forehead mics tend to be more discreet and don't remind the audience that they're watching an actor. Mics on the side give a bit of a "pop concert" look which might not fit the show.