Intermission
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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"The advertisements during intermissions are the truest reflection of an intermission from life."" --On the Passage of a Few Persons Through a Rather Brief Unity of Time (1959) by Guy Debord |
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An intermission (American English) or interval (British English) is a recess between parts of a performance or production, such as for a theatrical play, opera, concert, or film screening.
Originally intended with breaks for the actors or speakers in mind, intermissions have become an opportunity for the audience to socialize, purchase and consume refreshments, or use the restrooms. They are also often an opportunity for the audience to buy merchandise related to the show such as CDs, programs, art/photography prints and other paraphernalia. As a result, intermissions can have an important financial function for some venues. Some halls allow patrons to return to their seats with purchased refreshments.
Intermissions usually last between fifteen to thirty minutes, and there are different methods to signal to the audience to return to their seats. The traditional method at an opera or symphonic concert is to flash the house lights several times, or to have a person with a handheld glockenspiel walk about the crowd, playing a four note chime. In more modern theatres, a brief chime through the public address system is used.
An intermission is also often billed as an entr'acte (French: "between acts").
The intermission during several team sports games such American football is called halftime. During regular games, the cheerleaders of the different teams usually perform for their side of the stadium. During the Super Bowl, elaborate halftime shows are also performed. Intermissions in ice hockey are breaks between the three periods of play. Both intermissions in hockey and halftimes in other sports allow spectators to get up and walk around without missing any game action while broadcasts of such games like Hockey Night in Canada present supplementary content such as the Coach's Corner segment.
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