Writing the curtain speech

The curtain speech is the first thing the audience hears from you and the last thing standing between them and the show. Done well, it takes two minutes, tells people what they need to know, and hands the room to the actors in a better mood than it found it. Done badly, it’s what people discuss at intermission. This guide covers the speech before the show; the one after the final bow lives in closing night traditions.

Who gives it, and when

Three voices cover most nights.

• The artistic director or producer. The host for opening night, galas, and the first performance of a season.
• The house manager. The everyday choice. Nobody knows tonight’s understudy, hold, and exits better.
• A recorded announcement. Consistent, timed to the second, and run by the stage manager as a sound cue. Many houses pair a short live welcome with a recorded phones-and-exits message, so the required lines are never ad-libbed.

One live speaker is plenty. Two is the limit, even on opening night.

When is the stage manager’s call, because the speech is a cue in their script. A common sequence: the company is at places, the house manager tells the stage manager the house is ready (often called giving the house), the speaker goes on, and the show’s first cue follows the speaker’s exit. Speak before places and you risk a cheerful “enjoy the show” followed by four minutes of silence during a hold. Holds happen before the speech; door check-in that doesn’t jam the lobby covers how to agree on one.

A time budget in seconds

Galas budget speeches in minutes. The curtain speech gets seconds, because the actors are already waiting in the dark. As a rule of thumb, aim for about two minutes on a regular night and no more than three on opening night. A hypothetical opening night budget:

On a regular night, drop the opening night welcome: 150 − 20 = 130 seconds. Hand phones, recording, and exits to a recorded announcement, and the live speaker on opening night has 150 − 20 − 25 = 105 seconds.

Another rule of thumb: about two words a second is a pace a full house can follow, so 150 seconds is roughly 300 words. Then time it aloud; your speaker’s real pace beats any estimate. When it runs long, cut the welcome and the jokes, never the phones, the recording policy, or the exits.

The lines you can’t skip

Three things belong in every speech, worded the same way at every performance.

Phones. Silence them, and anything else that lights up or buzzes, and put them away. Watches count. Say it once, kindly.

Photography and recording. Say what’s allowed, not just what isn’t. The policy comes from your licensing agreement, union agreements, and venue; check all three before promising “photos at the bows are fine.”

Emergency exits. Some jurisdictions and venues require a pre-show exit announcement, sometimes with set wording; others don’t. Check local rules and your venue, and use any required wording exactly.

Then close the reading window: “Your program will be right where you left it at intermission,” the line the digital program is designed around. Say when intermission falls, too; guests plan restroom and bar trips around it, which is half the battle in intermission in fifteen minutes.

Sponsors and donors, briefly

A list read aloud is a list nobody hears. The audience drifts by the third name, and the fifth sponsor wonders what they paid for.

• If the sponsor agreement promises a thank-you from the stage, say the name exactly as the agreement spells it, once, pronounced correctly. If not, the program and lobby signage do that work.
• Thank everyone else as a group: “our subscribers, our donors, and our board.” Every name is in the program.
• Keep the promises in one place. The sponsor grid in galas and benefit performances works for a regular season too.
• Save the ask. One line about giving is the ceiling.

Land and place acknowledgments

If your organization uses a land or place acknowledgment, treat it as twenty of the most important seconds in the speech, not a formality to rush.

• Use the wording your organization has adopted, ideally developed with the nations or communities concerned. Don’t improvise it, trim it, or let a guest speaker substitute their own.
• Say it slowly, and practice every name with someone who knows the pronunciation.
• Don’t follow it with a joke. A breath before the next segment is enough.
• If your organization doesn’t use one, don’t invent one at the microphone. That’s a leadership decision, made in advance.

Practices differ by country and by community, so this guide offers no sample wording.

Understudy announcements

When an understudy, swing, or standby goes on, tell the audience before the lights go down. Check your agreements: some require a spoken announcement, a printed notice, or both, and sometimes specific wording.

At the half, the stage manager or company manager hands the speaker a card with the character and the performer’s name, spelled phonetically if needed. The line is simple: “At this performance, the role of [character] will be played by [name].” If the audience applauds, let them.

Never say “unfortunately,” and never give a reason for the absence. Match the spoken name to the slip in the program, the lobby board, and the digital program’s banner. A name said one way and printed another is the one the family notices.

Opening night extras

Opening night adds one segment, twenty seconds to welcome the company’s guests: families, agents, designers, and the friends who came to the first reading.

Everything else stays the same. Don’t mention reviews, critics, or “a very important night for us”; press night explains why the production keeps its distance. Thank the cast at the bows.

A sample script with cues

A hypothetical opening night script. Brackets are blanks; italics are the stage manager’s calls.

1. House manager gives the house. Stage manager: “Standby speaker, standby speech special.”
2. “Speech special, go. Speaker, go.”
3. “Good evening, and welcome. I’m [name], [role] of [company].”
4. “To the friends and families of this company: you’ve lived with this show for weeks. Tonight you get to see it.”
5. “Thank you to [sponsor], and to every subscriber, donor, and board member here tonight. Every name is in your program.”
6. [Your organization’s adopted acknowledgment, if it uses one.]
7. “At this performance, the role of [character] will be played by [name].”
8. “Your program will be right where you left it at intermission, about [length] from now.”
9. “Please silence your phones and anything that lights up or buzzes, and put them away. Photography and recording are not permitted during the performance.”
10. “Please find the exit nearest you.” [Or the venue’s required wording.]
11. “Enjoy the show.” The speaker walks off.
12. “Speech special, out. House to half, go.”

Field note: Give the stage manager a copy of the final script at the half, with the understudy line and sponsor name filled in. When their copy matches the speaker’s card, the light comes up and goes out on the right words.

Mic, light, and the walk off

Rehearse once on stage at the afternoon walk-through, with the stage manager watching.

• The mic. Ask your sound operator whether it’s handheld or a body mic, and test it at show level before the house opens. Never tap it or blow into it.
• The light. Find it with the stage manager: a special, or the house at half. Your mark is where your face is lit.
• Where to stand. Usually downstage center, in front of the curtain. Stay off the set; the props are preset.
• The card. Read from an index card, not a phone. A phone glows, and you just asked everyone to put theirs away.
• The walk off. Know your exit before you enter. Say the last line and leave at a steady pace, no waving. Your exit is the show’s cue.

What never to say

• “I’ll be brief.” Be brief instead.
• “Unfortunately,” or any reason for an absence.
• Anything about reviews, critics, or the press.
• Apologies, tech week stories, or “we almost didn’t make it.”
• Plot, spoilers, or the twist “you’ll never see coming.”
• Names of guests who haven’t agreed to be named.
• A photo policy that contradicts the lobby sign.

Write it, time it, give the stage manager a copy, and walk off on the cue. The best curtain speech is one the audience has forgotten by the first line of the play, because the play is what they came for.