Call boy (theatre)
Encyclopedia
Call boy is the job title of a stagehand
in the theatre
. They are hired by either the director, producer
or stage crew chief. They report directly to the crew chief, are usually paid by the hour, and will sometimes rotate between several groups from one performance
to the next.
The primary responsibility of the call boy or girl is to move from backstage to the dressing rooms and green room
s alerting actors and actresses of their entrances
in time for them to appear on stage on cue. For example, they might call out, "You're on in five minutes, Miss Bernhardt."
The call boy or girl also calls the "quarter hour" and "overture and beginners," the preparatory warning that signals for the orchestra
to start the introductory music and the beginners, those performers who appear on stage at the beginning of the first act, to get into their opening positions. The call boy or girl also assists with scene changes.
The term was already current at the end of the 18th century, when the Shakespearean scholar Malone
claimed that William Shakespeare
's first job in the theatre was that of "call-boy."
Usually actors themselves, they have historically taken roles and done crowd scenes as needed. The actor William J. Ferguson (June 8, 1845–May 3, 1930) was the call boy at Ford's Theatre
in Washington, D.C.
, when actor John Wilkes Booth
shot President Lincoln
and fled. Ferguson was described as the last surviving eye witness. He said he and actress Laura Keene
were standing off stage at the first entrance, opposite the President's box, when it occurred. He heard the shot, looked up and saw Lincoln's head slump, then Booth jumped to the stage and rushed between him and Keene.
The term pretty much became obsolete in larger theatres in the mid-20th century, when most call boys were replaced by loudspeaker
s placed in each dressing room and green room.
Stagehand
A stagehand is a person who works backstage or behind the scenes in theatres, film, television, or location performance. Their duties include setting up the scenery, lights, sound, props, rigging, and special effects for a production.-Types of stagehand:...
in the theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
. They are hired by either the director, producer
Theatrical producer
A theatrical producer is the person ultimately responsible for overseeing all aspects of mounting a theatre production. The independent producer will usually be the originator and finder of the script and starts the whole process...
or stage crew chief. They report directly to the crew chief, are usually paid by the hour, and will sometimes rotate between several groups from one performance
Performance
A performance, in performing arts, generally comprises an event in which a performer or group of performers behave in a particular way for another group of people, the audience. Choral music and ballet are examples. Usually the performers participate in rehearsals beforehand. Afterwards audience...
to the next.
The primary responsibility of the call boy or girl is to move from backstage to the dressing rooms and green room
Green room
In British English and American English show business lexicon, the green room is that space in a theatre, a studio, or a similar venue, which accommodates performers or speakers not yet required on stage...
s alerting actors and actresses of their entrances
Making an entrance
The theatrical term entrance is the appearance of a character on screen or stage. The term "making an entrance" commonly refers to entrances that are particularly prominent or attention-grabbing....
in time for them to appear on stage on cue. For example, they might call out, "You're on in five minutes, Miss Bernhardt."
The call boy or girl also calls the "quarter hour" and "overture and beginners," the preparatory warning that signals for the orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
to start the introductory music and the beginners, those performers who appear on stage at the beginning of the first act, to get into their opening positions. The call boy or girl also assists with scene changes.
The term was already current at the end of the 18th century, when the Shakespearean scholar Malone
Edmond Malone
Edmond Malone was an Irish Shakespearean scholar and editor of the works of William Shakespeare.Assured of an income after the death of his father in 1774, Malone was able to give up his law practice for at first political and then more congenial literary pursuits. He went to London, where he...
claimed that William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
's first job in the theatre was that of "call-boy."
Usually actors themselves, they have historically taken roles and done crowd scenes as needed. The actor William J. Ferguson (June 8, 1845–May 3, 1930) was the call boy at Ford's Theatre
Ford's Theatre
Ford's Theatre is a historic theater in Washington, D.C., used for various stage performances beginning in the 1860s. It is also the site of the assassination of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln on April 14, 1865...
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, when actor John Wilkes Booth
John Wilkes Booth
John Wilkes Booth was an American stage actor who assassinated President Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theatre, in Washington, D.C., on April 14, 1865. Booth was a member of the prominent 19th century Booth theatrical family from Maryland and, by the 1860s, was a well-known actor...
shot President Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
and fled. Ferguson was described as the last surviving eye witness. He said he and actress Laura Keene
Laura Keene
Laura Keene was a British-born American stage actress and manager. In her twenty-year career, she became known as the first powerful female manager in New York.-Early life:...
were standing off stage at the first entrance, opposite the President's box, when it occurred. He heard the shot, looked up and saw Lincoln's head slump, then Booth jumped to the stage and rushed between him and Keene.
The term pretty much became obsolete in larger theatres in the mid-20th century, when most call boys were replaced by loudspeaker
Loudspeaker
A loudspeaker is an electroacoustic transducer that produces sound in response to an electrical audio signal input. Non-electrical loudspeakers were developed as accessories to telephone systems, but electronic amplification by vacuum tube made loudspeakers more generally useful...
s placed in each dressing room and green room.
External links
- Destination Theatre Company
- William J. Ferguson at the Internet Broadway DatabaseInternet Broadway DatabaseThe Internet Broadway Database is an online database of Broadway theatre productions and their personnel. It is operated by the Research Department of The Broadway League, a trade association for the North American commercial theatre community....
- William J. Ferguson at the Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...