under rehearsed
Tue, 24 Aug 2010, 01:43 pmGordon the Optom33 posts in thread
under rehearsed
Tue, 24 Aug 2010, 01:43 pmGenerally the standard of community theatre is excellent, each person pulls their weight and everyone has a good night, audience and cast together. However, recently, I have seen three shows which were well directed, had experienced actors and yet were struggling due to lack of rehearsal.
I have even seen a few veteran actors who do not seem to be tuned in – dare I even say disinterested? Possibly they think that they are there just to ‘fill in’, or capable of performing their part without any real effort.
Sadly, the result is that not only do they label themselves as second rate, but cause some amateur theatres to be constantly avoided by the public because ‘their shows are always very poor.’ It is very sad that the odd badly rehearsed show, or lazy actor, can put an unjustified bad label on future productions for that theatre or group for months to come.
To all those who bring my life so much pleasure, a very big thank you.
Thank you Theo
Thu, 26 Aug 2010, 02:57 pmRight, some teeth and I'm pleased you disagree - ;-) - BTW Hi Theo. Been a while.
Firstly thank you for the clarification regarding the comparison between Community Theatre and Professional. That was an area I was very grey on. Good to have that cleared up.
Re-reading my comments, I find that I was rather reactionary. They are a reflection of attitudes I have encountered more so than anything else.
"lack of rehearsal has got more to do with teams not achieving their goals fast enough" - Yes, that is my point. It isn't the sole responsibility of the Company, Director or Actor. It is a Team Effort.
And as to the responsibilities of the Director I would also agree and add
- provides strong motivation and vision.
"I have to take offence at the statement "It's only community theatre..." " - Actually, I think I left myself open there. Was not intended in that sense. I was implying that the attitude is often that way, at least in my experience, in both the director and the actor of a particular show. It was not a slur on the quality and abilities of Community Theatre (CT) in general. Many a time have I been in a show where either the director or fellow cast members have apparently been there for the lark of it, not because they had any faith in what they were doing. It's been a social event, a chance to meet guys/girls. It is highly frustrating when you want to make this thing you are a part of good and there are others who see it as a night out.
I have often spouted that I believe CT to be often better than Pro due to the Passion members have for their shows. When that passion is ignited, supported and allowed to flourish, then the results are inspiring. We do it because we love it and when that works, it works beautifully. When it doesn't, it really crashes (and that's not too say that Pro work doesn't crash, you just don't seem to hear about it as often ;-) )
My comments were of course in direct response to the statement "Surely the director is to blame here? He is the one who can call more rehearsals or get on the actors backs and demand they rehearse more at home." and refers to shows that "appear" under-rehearsed.
Absit invidia (and DFT :nono:)
Jeff Watkins
Looking for an Agent? Read this first!!
- ···