Foley artists and stage lingo theater-goers should know about

In my last column, I used the term "Foley" and then got an e-mail asking me what it meant. This might be a good time to explain this movie term later picked up by radio and stage directors trying to recreate old movies and radio shows. "It's a Wonderful Life, the Radio Show" and "War of the Worlds," the play, are the most recent local examples, but there are others.

"Foley" is a term referring to sound effects and how they are achieved for movies, radio and television.

Jack Foley was a Universal studios technician when, in 1929, the studios went from silent to sound. Film directors soon learned they could not create background sounds while filming the actors. For one thing, the sound effects conflicted with the dialogue and you could not count on natural thunder occurring in the same places over many rehearsals and "takes." Directors wanted to be able to create realistic sound effects at will.

The initials "SFX" appear in working scripts to indicate where the effects are to be inserted. A brief description is included, indicating exactly what effect should be placed there: footsteps (man's shoes, high heels, rubber boots), door opening or closing, gunshot, body hitting the floor, etc.

And they have to sound realistic. The creative Jack Foley was able to devise controllable, reproducible sound FX at will. The studios were so grateful, they named the process after him: "Foley." Watch the closing credits and you will see a technician listed as a "Foley master," "Foley artist," "Foley Walker" or simply as "Foley."

Foley artists are little noticed by the public, but much esteemed by people in the business. Two movies have been made about a Foley, both starring Brian Brown. They were "FX" (1986) and a sequel, "FX/2" (1991).

This reader's query brings up something else that has troubled me over the time I've been attending local plays. It is disappointing how uninformed many in the audience and the cast are about the vast vocabulary that has grown up in the theater world. Perhaps we can fill in this unfortunate absence.

The dictionary of stage terms is much too large to include all of them in a single column, but I can offer a few of the most common terms in each column in the hope of eventually acquainting readers with some of them. I'll be drawing the terms and definitions from many sources. Here are a few.

The term that has reached legendary status, but appears to be completely absent from Yuba-Sutter theater (so far as I can tell), is "break a leg." Actors say break a leg to other cast members before they go on stage. "Break a leg" means "good luck" in a kind of reverse logic way based on the theory that saying "good luck" will jinx the other actor. So wishing each other bad luck will have the opposite effect. Or so actors believe.

There is a certain ritual that accompanies it. Just before the opening curtain goes up, the actors are positioned just off stage on the side from which they will make their first entrance. In that magical moment between when the houselights go down and the stage lights go up, one actor turns to whichever actor is standing closest. They lock little fingers together and tell each other to "break a leg."

It doesn't matter if the star of the play happens to be standing by a bit player with only one line. They do it. After all, they are all in the same play together and want the show to be a success.

Performers back East and on Broadway seem to honor this tradition religiously, while I've never seen it observed here in Yuba-Sutter. The first play I did here, "Gypsy," I stuck out my curled little fingers and said, "Break a leg." All I got was a quizzical look from the other actor. If someone is doing it here, I hope they will let me know.

A few other terms and sayings that add to the history and romance of the theater world include:

Ghost light: This has two meanings. It refers to a single light — usually a lone bulb protected by a glass cover and generally placed high up — that is left on night and day whether the stage is in use, or not. It is supposedly left on for safety reasons, but the actors hold the superstitious belief that the single ghost light is left on for the run of the play

Downstage/upstage: Downstage is the area of the stage closest to the audience. Upstage is the area furthest away. Stages in the Shakespearian period such as the Globe were slanted back to front so the audience (which originally had no seats but stood all on the same level) could see all the players. The term "upstage" also means for a non-speaking actor to cheat, forcing the speaking actor to turn his or her back to the audience thus hiding his or her face. It's a cheap trick that has been known to result in fist fights and hair-pulling later on.

Backstage: the area behind the set where the actors dress, change costumes, put on makeup and wait.

Wings, or parascenium: the off stage area on the sides of the stage. Oddly enough, the terms "stage right "and "stage left" are meant for the actors to know which way to move when so directed. From the audience's point of night, stage right is the left side of the stage and stage left is on the right side.'

Proscenium or proscenium arch: the boundary between the stage and the audience in a conventional theatre. It generally (but not always) forms an arch that is opened or closed by a curtain. The best local example is at the Marysville Charter Academy for the Arts. An archless arch with no curtain to open or close can be seen at The Acting Company in Yuba City. Directors and actors work well in both environments. Audiences seldom notice the difference.

Curtain call (or "walk down"): that's when at the end of the play the cast comes out to take their bows. The less important actors come out first. The last to come out for the most applause are the leading man and woman.

So much for today's vocabulary-building. I'll explain other stage terms in future columns.

Meanwhile, two plays worth seeing opened this weekend.

"Who Killed Santa Claus" opened Friday at The Acting Company, 815 B St., Yuba City and runs through Dec. 20.

This off-beat Christmas play was written by Terence Freely and directed by Yuba City's Gail Carter.

The mystery is whether someone is trying to kill Barbara Love, host of a TV children's show. Love thinks so, and she brings all her suspects together for her annual Christmas Eve dinner party to find out which one it is.

Some of the language and subject matter in this play makes it unsuitable for anyone under 13, Carter advises.

Performances are at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, with matinees at 2 p.m. Sundays. Tickets are $15.

Elsewhere, LeGacy Production's stage version of the movie "Miracle on 34th Street" has opened at the Nevada Theatre, 401 Broad St., Nevada City. It will continue through Dec. 27.

Shows are at 7 p.m. Thursdays and 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. There are 2 p.m. matinees on Sundays.

There will be a special 2 p.m. Christmas Eve show Dec. 24, but there will be no show that evening, or on Christmas Day.

Tickets are $18 in advance and $20 at the door.