‘We will return’

At the center of a theatre’s stage, a ghost light keeps away the shadows lurking from the darkness whenever it is empty. So, what does the UTRGV Theatre Department have to say about this superstition?

The UTRGV College of Fine Arts shared on its Facebook and Instagram pages, a picture of a ghost light in the Albert L. Jeffers Theatre, along with an anonymous reflection. 

“Though the theatre is empty, WE WILL RETURN,” the March 23 post states.

The photograph was taken by Thomas Grabowski, facilities manager for the Performing Arts Center at The State University of New York at Potsdam and former UTRGV faculty member from 1981 to 2016.

The ghost light was built by Grabowski in 1985.

“First off, it was a safety thing,” he said. “There are seven doors into the space. Only three of them have light switches next to them. So, the tradition is, ‘you always leave light in the theater for safety.’”

Grabowski added one thing theatre is about are traditions. 

Peter (Trey) Mikolasky, interim chair for the theatre department and a theatre associate professor, explained the tradition.

“The ‘ghost light’ is an interesting term that is used in theatre,” Mikolasky said.

He said the term itself sounds scary, but there is an actual truth and many superstitions behind it.

Most of the lights used in the theatre are in a lighting board in the booth. To prevent audience members from turning one on during a play, there is no light switch near the front door. The solution is to have the ghost light illuminate the stage and the surrounding areas.

Asked about the reflection posted on social media, Mikolasky replied he had not heard that side of the superstition before

“We are already planning our fall season,” he said.  “The shows that were canceled, unfortunately, due to the virus, … was my production, actually.” 

Mikolasky’s postponed production was titled, “The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged),” a 90-minute comedy compiling all of Shakespeare’s plays.

“It will be the first show in the fall,” he said.

Hilda Bautista, a theatre performance senior, said the light serves as a hopeful symbol.

 “For me, personally, it’s more like a beacon of hope,” Bautista said. “Kind of like that lighthouse, like, it always ends up guiding us back to what we love.”

She said even after her classes, students make sure the ghost light is on whenever exiting the theater.

Bautista said she learned about this tradition when she was a technician in her high school theater class.

“We tend to put it at the center of the stage,” she said. “As actors, we’ve always learned that the strongest point of the stage is always the center.”

Bautista played the roles of Ginger, a girl and Angelette in the musical, “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.” The show only had three showings for one weekend, as the second weekend of performances were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

After the first weekend’s performances were over, the cast stroked the set, put away their costumes and had a “see you later” gathering.  Bautista said everyone was excited for the second weekend, but it did not happen.

Jesenia Riojas, a theatre design senior, said she was disappointed about the show’s cancellation.

“I feel very frustrated … especially for the musical,” Riojas said. “We had a lot of talent that was gonna have their first time on stage. And, it kind of just made me sad that we didn’t get to have that second run-through. … A lot of the actors didn’t get to have, you know, I guess, a formal goodbye to their characters.”

The musical was the last show she was going to attend.

Asked about the ghost light tradition, Riojas replied, “It’s supposed to ward off people’s spirits by pulling them to thinking that the building is occupied. And, then, you know, there’s the thing about the theater ghosts: That all theaters are, for some reason, haunted and you need to have a ghost light on to keep the ghosts away.”

She said her favorite superstition is that it’s bad luck for a theater to be dark without a show going on. 

“The light is on to let everybody know that we are there,” Bautista said. “Even though there’s no shows going on… there is an intention to go back.”

Even with all the different versions of the superstition, one message is clear. The theatre department will return as long as the ghost light is on.