Jenny Boyd, after whom the new 20,000-square-foot Carousel Theatre will be named, extinguishes the ghost light at the old theater building.

A “ghost light” in the theater world is a single incandescent light that remains lit when the theater is unoccupied and would otherwise be completely dark. It is usually placed center stage on a portable stand.

The practical use of a ghost light is for safety. It enables one to navigate the theater to find the lighting control console and to avoid accidents such as falling into the orchestra pit or tripping over cords or pieces of the set that might remain on the stage.

On Tuesday, in a touching ceremony, theater-lovers witnessed the switching off of the ghost light in the University of Tennessee’s 73-year-old Carousel Theatre for the last time. The building is about to be disassembled and taken away to make room for a brand new theater building — one that will have state of the art sound and lighting technology, space to hold receptions, and, perhaps most important of all, restrooms! Until now, patrons have had to go next door to the Clarence Brown Theatre to avail themselves of toilets.

Carol Mayo Jenkins, a veteran TV, stage and film actress who retired last year after 22 years as an artist in residence in UT’s Theatre Department, spoke at the ceremony about the significance of ghost lights to theater people.

“We theater people are a fanciful lot,” she said. “We attribute spiritual meaning to our ghost lights.” Jenkins said some think the lights ward off mischievous spirits, while others believe they light the way for the ghosts, who are believed to inhabit every theater. Some even say the lights provide opportunities for the ghosts to perform onstage when no one is watching, thus appeasing them and preventing them from cursing the theater. Continue reading →