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I'm interested to see what you guys (and gals) do before shows. Personally, It depends on the show. When I was doing footloose, I would get Jamba Juice before every show. When I'm getting my make-up on and getting ready, I always like to listen to random show music on my iPhone to sort of get me in that musical high. 

So, What are your pre-show rituals?

I usually just have something light to eat, listen to some of the tunes from the show and work on getting in character and relaxing.

at my acting school before a show we all gather around iin a circle an sing a little songy thing called inzimoo kinta kinta its really fun and it brings us all together before the show you should try it sometime

I love hearing about these things!

We have some crazy rituals at my school :)  I personally wear different boxers as pants everyday haha.  Then once we get to the school, we blast our green room with showtunes and all sing while we put our makeup on, etc.  Then we do a cast prayer, the seniors make speeches, and we have a moment of silence.  Finallly, we play Little Sally Walker then give everyone in the cast a hug and tell them to break a leg :)  They're some fun ways of bringing everyone together so we're really a family.  I definitly recommend them! 

Its fun to listen to music to relax. At my school before a show, we all stand in a circle and keep reciting this line, starting soft and end up screaming, jumping into the middle of the circle. it just brings out energy and I do it before all of my shows. i'm not going to post the line because its basically cursing the whole time.

Listening to soundtracks like Tarzan and Legally Blonde are always a must! I also have lucky socks that I have never done a performance without. The routine warm-ups and prayer are custom. Also, driving to where my community theater group performs, there is a zoo. I MUST drive through the zoo on my way there! It's not a big zoo or anything, but it is enough to make me happy and excited, and realize that I have a performance that day! Everyone should have a pre-show ritual. It definitely adds to the excitement of a performance!

i also go to the same performing arts school as anna howard and i really enjoy enzimu kenta kenta. or at least i think thats how you spell it :) i think it really brings us together as a group and we become even more connected. one thing that i like to do on my own is go to my room, listen to the soundtrack one final time, drink a cup of cappacino and get my voice ready for the stage.

ooo and personly i go outside and try tot remind my self what acting is and try to get into character i also try to wash my face so i feel good and refreshed during the show

My school does this brilliant extravagent tradition we call haja. (ha-shja) it's a truly beautiful thing. We do it to all of he drama newbies. We go up to the props room with weapons of any kind; previous to this we give the ritual a very violent facade mention to frighten the noobs. With weapons in hand wesurround the boobies who're positioned inside the circle on their knees. The lights shut off and every one screams blood-curdling screams and bang loudly on the closest unbreakable object. Then after that we do 4 things. We recite a funny quote someone's said during the show, we do a funny gesture done during the productions, we do our haja dance three ti
es, "haja haja haja" then we say a prayer to the Lord asking tha we can get the message across tonight. Then we hug all of he seniors on the way downstairs. It's a wonderful thing.

Before every show we all gather around on stage in a circle and everyone brings one hand in the middle of it. All the hands together go up and down while we shout "s**t!" out loud many times. We always end up screaming and hughing around and the audience starts clapping. People have learned by now that's the sign the show will start in a few minutes .

At my comunity theater we usually stretch and warm up in a circle. Then we all hold hands, "circle up", and pray together for our audience and our show. Then we all go backstage and quietly hang out (when we are suposed to be focusing) until the show starts. We sometimes sit back there from 30 min to an hour. But about 3 min before it starts we all get quiet and focus.

It's a secret.... ;)

I usually play some hanon exercises to warm up, then I'll work on some trouble spots from the night before. Usually then I'll eat a very light snack like a granola bar and water. 10-20 minutes before the show starts I listen to my jazz music. Great ritual to do, and it removes any nervousness.

Nothing makes me more excited than listening to our director's speech before opening night... I also love when the whole cast holds hands and prays together! Last summer, I had the honor of playing Millie in our production of Thoroughly Modern Millie and it was a really neat feeling to take my place onstage and listen to the overture, back facing the audience, then do the dramatic turn and take my place on our New York City street!

I usually get pumped by doing crazy vocal warm ups. I also, pray and I get as many people as I can who is in the cast and pinky promise with them, to have the time of our lives while performing. One of my favorite parts though is listening to the overture!

depends on the mood. lots of times someone will have an acoustic, and while everyone's walking around doing make-up and costumes, someone will play and people will sit around a sing. We have warm ups we do to work with diction and tone. "To sit in solen silence, on a deep dark dock, in a pestilential prison, with a life long lock..." it goes further, but i can't remember it all. our directer will say one part, and everyone will repeat it. boom-chika-boom, is one. choir songs being sung in the make-up room, haha, just anything and everything.