Community Theater Green Room Discussion Board: History of Name Green Room

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s_cools
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Topic: History of Name Green Room
Posted: 1/20/05 at 11:35am

How did the Green Room in a theater get that name?????

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DanLB
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Posted: 1/20/05 at 12:39pm

The actual origins of the term are pretty much a mystery. Here is a web site that gives some ideas as to it's origin:

http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-gre2.htm

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Gaafa
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Location: Australia
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Posted: 1/24/05 at 9:52pm

Nearly all villages, hamlets & towns traditionally had a area of land set aside as public open space, a Green Sward known as the Green or Common. Where all forms of entertainment & Fairs would take place.
All this was long before Old Will Shakey & his merry Troupe of Players took to the road, to perform plays he purloined from Marlow, Green & others!
The Troupe would arrive at the village green, set up a stage from the back of the horse & cart. In the same of what you may know, as Medicine Man type Shows.
They wood partition an area off, using cloth or canvas, as a common place for the players. to relax between performances, out of view of the public. The floor of this area of course was just the green grass, Hence it became known as the Green Room or Room on the Green. This was as important a facility for the performers, as is a dressing room of today!
Not until theatre structures grew out of various venues, such as the Bear, Bull or Cock fight Pits. Did purpose built performing venues became theatres. Indigo Jones was one of the first Architects, to be commissioned to design a purpose built theatre, on the burnt out ruins of the a Cockpit venue in London.
This became the Phoenix theatre which he incorporated a proscenium arched stage & other facility rooms, one of which was a common room, that the players came to regard as the green room they were used to!
This a more historically plausible explanation, than green baize livery wear or being for the actors to rest their eyes from candle light. Or a room to divest green clothing, before going on stage, because green flags were used as a cue signal system. There are heaps of others just as laughable, like the one it came out of the cockney rhyming slang of 'Green Gage'[apples] meaning 'stage'.
I'll stick to the village green sward, which I remember as a wee kid!

Joe
Western Gondawandaland
turn right @ Perth.
Hear the light & see the sound.
Toi Toi Toi Chookas {{"chook [chicken] it is"}
May you always play
to a full house}

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Gaafa
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Joined: 3/21/04
Location: Australia
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Posts: 1181

Posted: 1/30/05 at 10:34pm

I heard another twist today, about the meaning of greenroom?

Apparently in days of gaslighting, the flame colour was hash on the eyes, so that is how the green room came about!

Another load of drivel!

Joe
Western Gondawandaland
turn right @ Perth.
Hear the light & see the sound.
Toi Toi Toi Chookas {{"chook [chicken] it is"}
May you always play
to a full house}

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tjolley
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Joined: 2/03/05
Location: United States
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Posted: 2/03/05 at 4:24pm

I was looking into this subject recently and that's how I found this forum. Okay, here is the one I heard about 20 years ago when taking some theater classes at a Community College. Theater's supposedly at one time used a stage lighting instrument producing illumination by means of an oxyhydrogen flame directed on a cylinder of lime and usually equipped with a lens to concentrate the light in a beam. Thus the expressions "being in the Lime Light". I was told that the Dressing Rooms were lit by candle and that's where Make-Up was applied. Since the stage lighting was so different from Candle Light, they made a room with the same lighting as the stage, in doing so the room glowed green. Since this is where all the actors went before going on stage to check their make up, they usually waited around and visited with one another. Thus the Green Room was born, so the story I was told during my Community College days. I sometimes wonder out of the 10 other versions I have heard in the past 20 years if anyone actually knows which is the myth/legend and which is the truth. So I will continue to search the web in hopes of seeing the many other versions of the History of "the Green Room". Thanks

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Gaafa
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Joined: 3/21/04
Location: Australia
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Posts: 1181

Posted: 2/04/05 at 10:08am

Your right about ?Limelight?

Also known as the ?Drummond Light?, ?Follow Spotlight? or ?Domelight?! Because of it?s location in the auditorium of most theatres.

The ?Lime? light, which was arguably discovered/invented in 1808 by a POHMY [English] Chemist Sir Humphrey Davy. Who discovered that if a ball of Lime (Calcium Oxide) is heated to a high temperature by a stream of 2 burning mixed gases [[Oxygen & Hydrogen (Coal Gas)] an intense white light was produced.

From this in 1816 Thomas Drummond developed/invented a lens Lamp that could be moved & focused to highlight the main performers on the stage, used in Theatre?s in 1837, hence the name the ?Drummond spotlight?.

I have operated one of these [Yes I?m that Old!] when I was about 11 or so!

It is HOT to use & the fumes from the vent caused skin irritation & a inching, which took a heap of water & soap & time to irradiate. Also for the operator it would have caused long term eye problems from glimpsing the light at close range! Maybe that?s why I?m almost blind in my left eye? That would work out as I?m right handed, the lamp was operated on my left side!

So it wasn?t too much Caffeine & Nicotine had anything to do with my 5 strokes!

Sorry! Back to the Green Room!

Looking at the light it self from the stage, it was just intense & white, because it was reflected through a lens, it had no green or lime tint, that I can remember & was named for the lime used, rather than any colour!

Most lighting of that period was from candle, gas or oil.

Anyway it?s a good wrinkle to add to the meaning list!

G?donya Tjolley!

Keep hunting!

Joe
Western Gondawandaland
turn right @ Perth.
Hear the light & see the sound.
Toi Toi Toi Chookas {{"chook [chicken] it is"}
May you always play
to a full house}

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Author	Message
s_cools Walk-On Joined: 1/20/05 Online Status: Offline Posts: 0	Topic: History of Name Green Room Posted: 1/20/05 at 11:35am
	How did the Green Room in a theater get that name?????

	IP Logged

DanLB Lead Joined: 5/18/04 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 36	Posted: 1/20/05 at 12:39pm
	The actual origins of the term are pretty much a mystery. Here is a web site that gives some ideas as to it's origin: http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-gre2.htm
	IP Logged

Gaafa Celebrity Joined: 3/21/04 Location: Australia Online Status: Offline Posts: 1181	Posted: 1/24/05 at 9:52pm
	Nearly all villages, hamlets & towns traditionally had a area of land set aside as public open space, a Green Sward known as the Green or Common. Where all forms of entertainment & Fairs would take place. All this was long before Old Will Shakey & his merry Troupe of Players took to the road, to perform plays he purloined from Marlow, Green & others! The Troupe would arrive at the village green, set up a stage from the back of the horse & cart. In the same of what you may know, as Medicine Man type Shows. They wood partition an area off, using cloth or canvas, as a common place for the players. to relax between performances, out of view of the public. The floor of this area of course was just the green grass, Hence it became known as the Green Room or Room on the Green. This was as important a facility for the performers, as is a dressing room of today! Not until theatre structures grew out of various venues, such as the Bear, Bull or Cock fight Pits. Did purpose built performing venues became theatres. Indigo Jones was one of the first Architects, to be commissioned to design a purpose built theatre, on the burnt out ruins of the a Cockpit venue in London. This became the Phoenix theatre which he incorporated a proscenium arched stage & other facility rooms, one of which was a common room, that the players came to regard as the green room they were used to! This a more historically plausible explanation, than green baize livery wear or being for the actors to rest their eyes from candle light. Or a room to divest green clothing, before going on stage, because green flags were used as a cue signal system. There are heaps of others just as laughable, like the one it came out of the cockney rhyming slang of 'Green Gage'[apples] meaning 'stage'. I'll stick to the village green sward, which I remember as a wee kid!
	Joe Western Gondawandaland turn right @ Perth. Hear the light & see the sound. Toi Toi Toi Chookas {{"chook [chicken] it is"} May you always play to a full house}
	IP Logged

Gaafa Celebrity Joined: 3/21/04 Location: Australia Online Status: Offline Posts: 1181	Posted: 1/30/05 at 10:34pm
	I heard another twist today, about the meaning of greenroom? Apparently in days of gaslighting, the flame colour was hash on the eyes, so that is how the green room came about! Another load of drivel!
	Joe Western Gondawandaland turn right @ Perth. Hear the light & see the sound. Toi Toi Toi Chookas {{"chook [chicken] it is"} May you always play to a full house}
	IP Logged

tjolley Walk-On Joined: 2/03/05 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 0	Posted: 2/03/05 at 4:24pm
	I was looking into this subject recently and that's how I found this forum. Okay, here is the one I heard about 20 years ago when taking some theater classes at a Community College. Theater's supposedly at one time used a stage lighting instrument producing illumination by means of an oxyhydrogen flame directed on a cylinder of lime and usually equipped with a lens to concentrate the light in a beam. Thus the expressions "being in the Lime Light". I was told that the Dressing Rooms were lit by candle and that's where Make-Up was applied. Since the stage lighting was so different from Candle Light, they made a room with the same lighting as the stage, in doing so the room glowed green. Since this is where all the actors went before going on stage to check their make up, they usually waited around and visited with one another. Thus the Green Room was born, so the story I was told during my Community College days. I sometimes wonder out of the 10 other versions I have heard in the past 20 years if anyone actually knows which is the myth/legend and which is the truth. So I will continue to search the web in hopes of seeing the many other versions of the History of "the Green Room". Thanks
	IP Logged

Gaafa Celebrity Joined: 3/21/04 Location: Australia Online Status: Offline Posts: 1181	Posted: 2/04/05 at 10:08am
	Your right about ?Limelight? Also known as the ?Drummond Light?, ?Follow Spotlight? or ?Domelight?! Because of it?s location in the auditorium of most theatres. The ?Lime? light, which was arguably discovered/invented in 1808 by a POHMY [English] Chemist Sir Humphrey Davy. Who discovered that if a ball of Lime (Calcium Oxide) is heated to a high temperature by a stream of 2 burning mixed gases [[Oxygen & Hydrogen (Coal Gas)] an intense white light was produced. From this in 1816 Thomas Drummond developed/invented a lens Lamp that could be moved & focused to highlight the main performers on the stage, used in Theatre?s in 1837, hence the name the ?Drummond spotlight?. I have operated one of these [Yes I?m that Old!] when I was about 11 or so! It is HOT to use & the fumes from the vent caused skin irritation & a inching, which took a heap of water & soap & time to irradiate. Also for the operator it would have caused long term eye problems from glimpsing the light at close range! Maybe that?s why I?m almost blind in my left eye? That would work out as I?m right handed, the lamp was operated on my left side! So it wasn?t too much Caffeine & Nicotine had anything to do with my 5 strokes! Sorry! Back to the Green Room! Looking at the light it self from the stage, it was just intense & white, because it was reflected through a lens, it had no green or lime tint, that I can remember & was named for the lime used, rather than any colour! Most lighting of that period was from candle, gas or oil. Anyway it?s a good wrinkle to add to the meaning list! G?donya Tjolley! Keep hunting!
	Joe Western Gondawandaland turn right @ Perth. Hear the light & see the sound. Toi Toi Toi Chookas {{"chook [chicken] it is"} May you always play to a full house}
	IP Logged

Topic: History of Name Green Room( Topic Closed)