In show business, the green room is the space in a theatre, or a similar venue, that functions as a waiting room and lounge for performers before, during, and after a performance or show when they are not engaged on stage. The room behind the stage had been used to cut deals and became known as the 'agreeing room,' the phrase being corrupted over the years. It's most accepted origin hearkens back to Shakespearean times when actors prepared for their performances in a room or an open space filled with green plants and shrubs.
For those who've sat in green rooms, one thing is clear: they're never green. So, what does this mean? What is the history? Find out here. Legend has it that the green room, also styled greenroom or green-room, goes back to the Elizabethan era, when the actors lolled away the time between entrances on the lawn behind the theater, or "on the green." Alas, like so much else in show biz, this appears to be a crock.
The room was indeed painted green, though history does not tell us why, and dates back to at least 1599. The eye explanation, while interesting, is a particularly unlikely origin story because when the term "Green Room" first came about in a theatrical context in the 17th century (in Thomas Shadwell's play A True Widow), stage lights were candles. See: the Scottish play, ghost lights, whistling, etc Anyway, all that being said, the one tradition I was told about at school was that it was bad luck to wear green on stage, so the green room was the place to do a last check for any green clothing before going on.
I don't remember if we were ever told why it was bad luck to wear green. Perhaps it is named for the female actor's dressing room in Whitehall Palace. Or maybe to another such room so decorated.
The early non-theatrical uses of the term seem to indicate that green room may have had an early sense meaning a woman's dressing room or boudoir, and over time that extended in theatrical use to include male actors. Unraveling the Mystery of the "Green Room" Join us as we dive into the fascinating origins and meanings behind the term "green room." Discover its Shakespearean roots, its modern. Modern green rooms need not necessarily adhere to a specifically green color scheme, though the theatrical tradition of the name remains.
Some English theatres contained several green rooms, each ranked according to the status, fame, and salary of the actor: one could be fined for using a green room above one's station.
