What's the story behind The Green Room?

There's one room in Hollywood that truly only the elite can visit — the VIP Green Room to the side of the Oscar stage. Read; Hollywood's toughest spot: The VIP Oscar green room.

But the first specific reference to a green room in a theatrical context is to be found in A True Widow, a play written by Thomas Shadwell and published in 1678. One of the characters, Stanmore, declares, ‘Selfish, this Evening, in a green Room, behind the Scenes, was before-hand with me…’. A few years late in 1697  in The Female Wit – a play written with no attribution –  the character of Praiseall tells the assembled troupe of actresses, ‘I’ll treat you all in the Green Room, with Chocolate.’ Read more