Intermissions in Theatre and Film
More Than Just a Break
A Guide to Intermissions in Theatre and Film
The Secret Life of the Intermission: 5 Things You Never Knew About Taking a Break
We’ve all been there: the lights come up, the curtain falls, and a polite murmur fills the theater as we stretch our legs. This brief pause, the intermission, feels like a simple, necessary part of any long performance. But what if this familiar break is more than just a chance for a drink or a trip to the restroom? What if it has a hidden history of performance, profit, and a surprising role in high-stakes governance?
The Intermission Was a Performance, Not a Pause.
Long before intermissions were about stretching your legs, they were opportunities to stage entirely separate performances. These interludes, known by the French term entr'acte or the Italian intermezzo, were not mere pauses but could be standalone comedies, ballets, or musical pieces, sometimes completely unrelated to the main event.
The most famous example is Giovanni Battista Pergolesi's intermezzo, La serva padrona. Originally written as a light, comic opera to be performed during the breaks of his much more serious opera, Il prigioner superbo, the interlude became an international sensation. In a stunning turn of events, the intermission show became far more famous and celebrated than the main performance it was designed to interrupt. In Spain, the equivalent form, the Sainete, allowed authors to create "nested plays" or "plays within plays," transforming the humble break into a stage for nested narratives and rival performances.
It’s Not About Your Bladder; It’s About Your Wallet.
While artistic and practical needs once shaped the intermission, one of the most powerful reasons it endures today is purely economic. Theaters and cinemas rely heavily on the intermission to drive revenue through the sale of food, drinks, and merchandise.
This financial dependency is so critical that some regional theaters charge producers a "no-interval financial penalty" if a show runs straight through without a break, as they cannot afford to lose the bar sales. This economic driver is also the primary reason intermissions remain standard practice in India, where cinemas often insert "forced intermissions" into Western films that were designed to be seen in one sitting. Historically, drive-in movies perfected the art of the commercial break with musical advertisements called "snipes," featuring perhaps the most iconic line in intermission history:
let's all go to the lobby to get ourselves a treat
In Academia, an 'Intermission' Can End Your Semester.
While "intermission" means a simple pause in a performance to most of us, the term carries formal, high-stakes meanings in other contexts. In the academic world, an "intermission" is a formal suspension of a student's status for medical, welfare, or academic reasons.
This world comes with its own surprising vocabulary. A student suspended for disciplinary reasons might be formally "rusticated," while one whose course is terminated by the institution is "sent down." This contrasts sharply with the U.S. government's use of a similar concept. A "Recess Appointment" is a temporary presidential appointment to a high-level position made without Senate approval while the Senate itself is in recess. The same root idea of a "pause" carries dramatically different weight depending on whether you are in a theater, a university, or the halls of government.
The First Intermissions Were for Candles, Not Comfort.
The earliest intermissions weren't designed for audience comfort but were required to overcome the practical and technological limitations of the stage and screen. These breaks were essential for the show to even go on.
• In early indoor theaters, including those of the Shakespearean period, breaks were necessary for stagehands to mend and snuff the candles that lit the stage.
• In the dawn of cinema, intermissions were required to give projectionists time to change the massive film reels.
• In the theater, breaks were—and still are—essential for stage crews to perform complex set and costume changes behind the curtain.
This last function is perfectly captured by the German term for music played during set changes, Verwandlungsmusik, which literally translates to "change music." The break was not dead time but a period when the world of the play continued to operate, a concept captured by the 18th-century writer Jean-François Marmontel:
The characters are deemed to continue acting during the interval from one act to another
The Power of the Pause
From a candle break to a standalone opera, from a profit center to a tool of governance, the intermission is far more complex than it appears. It is a space where art, technology, and commerce intersect in fascinating ways.
So, the next time the lights come up and you head for the lobby, will you see it as just a break, or as an unseen act all its own?
Introduction: What's in a Break?
Everyone understands the idea of taking a "break." It's a pause, a chance to rest, a moment to step away. But in the world of performances like plays and movies, a break is much more than a simple pause—it has special names, rules, and purposes that are woven into the very fabric of the experience. From a Broadway musical to a classic Hollywood epic, the break is a carefully planned event with its own story to tell. This guide will explore the different words for breaks and what they tell us about the performance itself.
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1. The Everyday Break: Common Words and Meanings
Let's start with the most familiar terms you'll hear when a show takes a pause. While they can sometimes be used interchangeably, each has a slightly different flavor.
Term
What It Usually Means & Where You'll Hear It
Intermission
This is a scheduled pause between the acts of a live performance like a play, opera, or concert. It's the standard term you'll hear at a Broadway show, where it typically lasts for a well-timed 15-20 minutes.
Interval
Essentially another word for intermission, you'll hear this term most often in British and Indian English. If you're seeing a show in London's West End, they'll call it the interval.
Break
This is a general, all-purpose word for a pause. It's often used more casually to describe what people do during the intermission, such as taking a "restroom break."
But sometimes, the break isn't empty—it's part of the show itself.
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2. The Artistic Pause: When the Break is a Performance
In some cases, the pause between acts has its own artistic function, filled with music or a performance designed to enhance the story.
1. Define the Entr'acte: Entr'acte is a French term that literally means "between the acts." While in French it can simply mean a standard intermission, its key distinction in English is that it usually refers to a piece of music or a performance that happens during the break, not just the empty pause itself. Historically, an entr'acte could even be a completely separate performance—like a short comedy or dance piece—designed to break the mood before the main story continued.
2. Explain its Main Job: An entr'acte has two primary artistic jobs:
◦ Setting the Mood: It serves as a musical transition between acts. In a musical, the entr'acte often acts as the overture to the second act, preparing the audience for the tone and themes to come.
◦ Telling More of the Story: It can be used to fill in "missing links" in the plot. The story is often "deemed to continue off-stage" during the break, and the entr'acte can help bridge that gap for the audience.
3. Mention its Italian Cousin: Intermezzo is the Italian equivalent of the entr'acte. It also developed historically from short performances staged during the breaks of longer, more elaborate theatre pieces.
Now, let's see how these different types of breaks play out in different performance settings, from a Broadway stage to a Japanese Noh theatre.
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3. A World Tour of Performance Breaks
The name, length, and purpose of a break can change dramatically depending on where you are and what you're watching.
On a Broadway Stage
In the world of Broadway musicals and plays, the break is a standard Intermission. It's a highly structured part of the evening that serves several crucial functions for a complex live show.
• For the Crew: The intermission is a critical window for the stage crew to perform complex and quick set changes, transforming the world of the play for the next act.
• For the Actors: It gives performers a chance to rest, change into new costumes, and mentally prepare for the demands of the second half.
• For the Audience: The 15-20 minute pause is perfectly timed to allow audience members to use the restroom, stretch their legs, and buy concessions from the lobby.
In Old Hollywood "Roadshow" Films
Today, we expect to watch a movie from start to finish, but very long, special-event movies from the 1950s to the 1970s often came with a built-in intermission.
1. The Practical Reason: In the early days of cinema, intermissions were a technical necessity. Projectionists needed time to physically change the massive film reels. This was especially true during the 3D film trend of the early 1950s, which required two projectors running at the same time—making an intermission essential to change the reels on both machines at once.
2. The Artistic Use: These "roadshow" films didn't just stop. They often included a musical Entr'acte on the soundtrack that played in the theater during the break, acting as a grand overture to the second half of the movie.
3. Key Examples: Famous films that included a built-in intermission and entr'acte include epic productions like Lawrence of Arabia (1962), Ben-Hur (1959), 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), Doctor Zhivago (1965), and How the West Was Won (1962).
In Japanese Noh Theatre
This traditional Japanese art form has a unique and fascinating approach to the break between the two halves of a performance.
1. Define the Nakairi: The Nakairi is the Japanese term for the interlude or intermission in a Noh performance.
2. Explain the Aikyōgen: During the Nakairi, a special performance called the Aikyōgen takes place. In this performance, actors will summarize the plot of the first half or add new details to the story. This serves a brilliant dual function: it gives the audience a helpful recap while allowing the main actor time to rest and complete an often-elaborate costume change.
While the names and styles change, the fundamental reasons for having a break are surprisingly universal.
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4. The "Why" Behind the Pause: Four Key Reasons for Breaks
Whether it's a 15-minute intermission or a musical entr'acte, nearly every break in a performance exists for one of these four reasons.
• Practical & Logistical Reasons Breaks are often necessary for the machinery of a performance to work smoothly. This includes giving stagehands time to change massive sets, allowing actors to rest and change costumes, or, in the past, giving projectionists time to change film reels. Historically, breaks were even needed in early indoor theaters to mend the candles used for light!
• Economic & Money-Making Reasons Intermissions are a huge part of a venue's business plan. Theaters and cinemas make a significant portion of their profit not from tickets, but from selling food, drinks, and merchandise. This is so critical to their bottom line that some regional theaters will actually charge producers a "no-interval financial penalty" if a show runs straight through, because the venue depends on the money made from bar and concession sales.
• Artistic & Storytelling Reasons A break can be a powerful tool to make the story more effective. Playwrights and directors often place an intermission right after a major cliffhanger. This builds suspense and anticipation, making the audience members eager to discuss what just happened and speculate on what will happen next.
• Social & Psychological Reasons Finally, breaks are for the audience's comfort and enjoyment. Long performances can be tiring, and an intermission gives people a much-needed chance to stretch their legs, use the restroom, and recharge. It also provides a moment to socialize and discuss the performance with friends, making it a more communal experience.
Finally, the idea of a 'break' or 'intermission' is so useful that it appears in contexts far beyond the stage or screen.
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5. Bonus Facts: When a "Break" Isn't for a Show
The same words we use for performance breaks pop up in other formal settings to describe a planned pause in activity.
• In School: In a university context, an Intermission is a formal pause in a student's studies. This is not a short break, but a longer period away from school, usually taken for medical or serious personal reasons.
• In Government: In the U.S. government, a Recess is a break in proceedings for Congress. When Congress is in recess, it is not in session, much like a theater is "dark" between shows.
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Conclusion: It's All About Context
While we might casually call any pause a "break," the specific word used—whether it's an Intermission on Broadway, a musical Entr'acte in an old film, or a storytelling Nakairi in Japan—tells a rich story. It reveals the break's history, its practical purpose, and its artistic role in the overall experience. Understanding these terms shows us that even the pause in the middle of a story is, in its own way, part of the performance.