# Is it "End scene!" or "And......... Scene!"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 3, 2012, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-end-scene-or-and-scene/642851 "2012-12-03T15:03:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2012, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-end-scene-or-and-scene/642851/21 "2012-12-03T20:30:51Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > I’ve never heard a director say it. I’m confused about when you think it’s used, then if not during rehearsals. I mis-typed that, I meant to say that it is used primarily during rehearsals. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2012, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-end-scene-or-and-scene/642851/22 "2012-12-03T20:31:09Z")
Aren’t they two different expression? END SCENE in a script, and “And…scene!” in the context the OP is thinking of? Maybe? ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2012, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-end-scene-or-and-scene/642851/23 "2012-12-03T20:34:52Z")
> [@Gangster\_Octopus](#): > > I mis-typed that, I meant to say that it is used primarily during rehearsals. Maybe it is somewhere, but it’s never been something I heard and I have a hard time imagining a situation where it would be the preferred method of ending a scene. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2012, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-end-scene-or-and-scene/642851/24 "2012-12-03T20:36:36Z")
There’s no reason to type “End scene” in a script. That’d be like typing “End chapter” in a book. I’m not sure if it’d ever be necessary to say “and scene” in a rehearsal. If the actors are trying to find the right beat to end a scene on, they’ll experiment until they get it and then the scene will end. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2012, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-end-scene-or-and-scene/642851/25 "2012-12-03T20:37:26Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > Acting 101 students in college love to do it and after they’ve finished, they wrap a scarf around their black turtleneck, put on a beret and go sit in the cafe with an organic soy chai and talk about which acting texts they’re pretending to read. I wish I were joking. These would be the ones who sit next to the Undiscovered Author, who takes up a whole table with his 3-inch-thick manuscript, which he ostentatiously “edits” page by page but covers up with an elbow when anyone walks by? I wish _I_ were joking… ---
**Author:** ![74westy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/74westy/32/3950_2.png) [@74westy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/74westy)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2012, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-end-scene-or-and-scene/642851/26 "2012-12-03T23:06:25Z")
> [@EmilyG](#): > > I’ve seen that expression used in quite a few live improv shows, and always thought it was “and scene”. This. In team improv competitions, scenes have time limits. When the limit is looming someone gets off a pretty good punch line and the whole team shouts “AAAAANNNND SCENE!” in unison and gesticulates like a rock band timing the last chord of a song. Not so much a pause between words as a long drawn out “and”. ---
**Author:** ![Cayuga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@Cayuga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cayuga)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2012, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-end-scene-or-and-scene/642851/27 "2012-12-04T00:33:15Z")
I only ever heard it in acting classes. The students who were performing would reach the end of the dialogue and continue to sit/stand/whatever there in character until the teacher called out “Scene.” The “Aaaaaaand …” part is only added when you’re doing it to be funny. It’s possible that improv performers call “Scene” today to indicate the end of an improv. But I studied and performed improv back in the 20th century and never heard anyone do that. ---
**Author:** ![Pine\_Fresh\_Scent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/43a26b/32.png) [@Pine\_Fresh\_Scent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pine_Fresh_Scent)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2012, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-end-scene-or-and-scene/642851/28 "2012-12-04T06:34:56Z")
David Cross included “and scene” in a Mr. Show sketch, “The Audition”, and later in Arrested Development during his audition for a commercial. “OH MY GOD! WE’RE HAVING A FIRE sale.” ---
**Author:** ![gracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8e7dd6/32.png) [@gracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gracer)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2012, 8:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-end-scene-or-and-scene/642851/29 "2012-12-04T08:44:18Z")
I have only ever heard it used for comedy, as **Inner Stickler** says. Why would a director say that? I get the improv situation, but that’s still probably somewhat tongue-in-cheek and/or in amateur improv fun. If a director would have some sort of reason to end a scene (I dunno why that would be, but you never know) he could also just use regular human words, such as “OK”. Or something like “OK, then as you’re saying that last line you skidaddle…uhm… stage left, you’ll get a lighting cue.” In film you’d say cut, but in rehearsals for a play you often need more information for the ending of a scene, like where to go, who comes on next, what the lighting will be doing. “Aaaand…scene” would only be said in rehearsal if everyone were being silly and improvising, turning Chekov into a musical or something, and the director wants a fun way to get back down to business. Maybe. If someone said that in an audition I would probably wet myself laughing. And then tell them to pick a different career. If I had to guess it probably comes from pop culture representations of auditions and rehearsals, rather than from actual auditions and rehearsals. **Inner** , I think in the name of ignorance fighting we are going to have to have a picture of these beret-wearing, soy-chai-latte-drinking theatre 101 students! ---
**Author:** ![vix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/a88e4f/32.png) [@vix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vix)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2012, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-end-scene-or-and-scene/642851/30 "2012-12-04T13:13:05Z")
I recently saw a group of high school students perform improv at a street festival. Their director marked the end of each sketch by saying “And… scene!” ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2012, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-end-scene-or-and-scene/642851/31 "2012-12-05T01:45:41Z")
> [@Pine\_Fresh\_Scent](#): > > David Cross included “and scene” in a Mr. Show sketch, “The Audition”, and later in Arrested Development during his audition for a commercial. > > “OH MY GOD! WE’RE HAVING A FIRE sale.” I was going to mention this - they use “and scene” a lot in “Arrested Development”. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2012, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-end-scene-or-and-scene/642851/32 "2012-12-05T16:31:17Z")
Roger the grey alien in _American Dad_ will sometimes say “Aaaand… scene!” when he’s feeling particularly Hollywoodish, pretentious, or both. ---
**Author:** ![david263](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de0a6/32.png) [@david263](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/david263)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2020, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-end-scene-or-and-scene/642851/33 "2020-04-11T21:27:57Z")
In general, a good etymology will always give researched details, mainly the date and place of first known usage, and sometimes the language or place of origin. When we guess at an etymology, this guesswork can easily lead to “false etymologies” (sometimes erroneously called “folk etymologies”), which are, well, just false. Never guess at an etymology; it is like starting a rumor. It is like guessing at all the Across entries in a crossword puzzle and writing them in ink without checking out the Down entries. A good way to look up an etymology is to look up the word in the Oxford English Dictionary or another good etymological dictionary. The next best way is to look in books of etymologies (there are quite a few). It is best to look in several such books, because they frequently disagree when the etymology is difficult, as so many are. Sometimes a correct etymology is found after wrong etymologies have been accepted for years, or after the word has been considered as “origin unknown” for many years. But these new etymologies are usually discovered in old publications and understood by their context, never guessed at. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2020, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-end-scene-or-and-scene/642851/34 "2020-04-11T21:47:42Z")
And … ? ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2020, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-end-scene-or-and-scene/642851/35 "2020-04-11T23:55:04Z")
…_scene_. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2020, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-end-scene-or-and-scene/642851/36 "2020-04-12T00:29:48Z")
Now, thou, my friend, art an actor who knows how to pick up a cue. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2020, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-end-scene-or-and-scene/642851/37 "2020-04-12T00:43:15Z")
I’m pretty sure that looking up words in the OED is not going to answer the OP’s question, which was not an etymological question in any case. ---
**Author:** ![Yorkshire\_Pudding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/59ef9b/32.png) [@Yorkshire\_Pudding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorkshire_Pudding)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2020, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-end-scene-or-and-scene/642851/38 "2020-04-12T01:14:45Z")
> [@david263](#): > > “false etymologies” (sometimes erroneously called “folk etymologies”), which are, well, just false. Never guess at an etymology; it is like starting a rumor. It is like guessing at all the Across entries in a crossword puzzle and writing them in ink without checking out the Down entries. A good way to look up an etymology is to look up the word in the Oxford English Dictionary or another good etymological dictionary. The OED lists “folk etymology”. ---
**Author:** ![robardin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2020, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-end-scene-or-and-scene/642851/39 "2020-04-18T21:49:55Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > Not if they want to get fucking cast. It’s horribly amateurish. yeah, instead of allowing the director to call “cut!” it’s ending by breaking character and the fourth wall to face the director to say “mic drop!” ---
**Author:** ![robardin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2020, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-end-scene-or-and-scene/642851/40 "2020-04-18T21:52:18Z")
> [@vix](#): > > I recently saw a group of high school students perform improv at a street festival. Their director marked the end of each sketch by saying “And… scene!” I once saw some people doing improv (badly, IMO) where more than once in that show, someone ended with “…aaaaand fade to black…!” like it was an ultra-cool segue to the next person. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-end-scene-or-and-scene/642851.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-end-scene-or-and-scene/642851.md?page=3)