When to promp?

I believe the term is "suspension of disbelief". An audience, having paid for a ticket, walked into a theatre or cinema, and having read who's in the cast of the play or film, is not likely to really believe that what they are about to watch is reality. They are therefore in a state of disbelief. However, in order to enjoy the story and let themselves be transported into whatever fantasy world we are all trying to create, audience and cast alike all agree to ignore this disbelief, and pretend that the characters and situations are real. It doesn't mean we suddenly believe. We have simply 'suspended our disbelief'. Meanwhile, on the subject of prompts, I have never had an official prompt in any professional play over the past 20 years (apart from during rehearsal). That's not to say I haven't occasionally needed one, it simply means that there is no magic person waiting in the wings watching the script for us. You get yourself and your fellow actors out of trouble the best way you can. Of course, this has varying degrees of success... Luckily, because an audience is already suspending their disbelief, it's no big shock to them if they see something go wrong and then get patched up again...they never actually believed you in the first place, and as soon as you're back on track, they'll go back to their suspending. Cheers, Craig ~<8>-/====\---------