horrible acting scenario - what would you do?
Wed, 8 June 2005, 01:38 pmWalter Plinge13 posts in thread
horrible acting scenario - what would you do?
Wed, 8 June 2005, 01:38 pmIn my experience as an actor, there's nothing worse than one of your castmates forgetting their lines - and I know that I'm a regular offender. It happens, and I think getting out of one of these situations is one of the skills that separates a good actor from a great one.
What do you think should be done in this situation? Two actors are on stage, someone goes blank and in the confusion a page of dialogue gets skipped. The page is important - a lot of what happens in the rest of the play relies on the dialogue that was missed.
Should the actors attempt to reintroduce the dialogue at an appropriate point down the track, potentially saving the story but running the risk of spoiling a second scene? Or should they ignore the error and concentrate on making the rest of their performance go according to script?
This situation happened to me last week, and we made a decision to reintroduce the dialogue at a particular point in the following scene. It obviously wasn't perfect, probably spoilt the flow of the second scene, and our deliveries were not as good as they ordinarily would have been, but at least the rest of the story made more sense.
Ever since then, I've been wondering whether we did the right thing or not, and I'd value some feedback about this in case it ever happens to me again. What do you think?
What do you think should be done in this situation? Two actors are on stage, someone goes blank and in the confusion a page of dialogue gets skipped. The page is important - a lot of what happens in the rest of the play relies on the dialogue that was missed.
Should the actors attempt to reintroduce the dialogue at an appropriate point down the track, potentially saving the story but running the risk of spoiling a second scene? Or should they ignore the error and concentrate on making the rest of their performance go according to script?
This situation happened to me last week, and we made a decision to reintroduce the dialogue at a particular point in the following scene. It obviously wasn't perfect, probably spoilt the flow of the second scene, and our deliveries were not as good as they ordinarily would have been, but at least the rest of the story made more sense.
Ever since then, I've been wondering whether we did the right thing or not, and I'd value some feedback about this in case it ever happens to me again. What do you think?
Re: learn lines Promptly
Tue, 14 June 2005, 01:37 pmwalter plinge wrote:
>
> Isn't a situation like this when a good stage manager comes
> to the fore? Prompting seems to be a lost art now a days, sadly
I'm not so sad. Having to prompt from offstage implies that no one onstage is capable of solving their own problems, and I lose respect for the performers. When I hear a cue called from the wings it disappoints me and makes things sound decidedly amateurish. The embarrassment of all concerned is highlighted and it distracts me from the play.
If I don't notice an error covered well, I get to stay in the fantasy of the story. And even if I do notice an error, when I witness the performer stay in character and solve the problem as efficiently and professionally as possible, I am more inclined to respect the performer and not let it distract me. In fact it becomes one of those 'moments' of live theatre where you appreciate the uniqueness and spontaneity of live performance.
In my personal experience, 70% of my professional appearances have been without ANY stage manager, and many of the theatres (Subi Theatre Centre is a good example) don't have anyone in the wings; the stage manager is out of reach in the bio-box behind the audience. In my view the benefits of designs-other-than-pros-arch outweigh the advantages of having a prompt corner. Without the safety net to fall back on, you learn to look after yourself.
Of course, that's not to say I haven't dried. The best stage manager couldn't have helped me when she was sitting about 150m away during a Shakespeare performance in Kings Park...and even my closest actor was about 10m away! I stumbled and stuttered, eventually repeating something I'd already said before other actors helped me get back on track. Not something I'd wish to repeat, but a valuable lesson learnt.
Don't just learn your lines; REALLY learn your lines.
Cheers,
Craig
>
> Isn't a situation like this when a good stage manager comes
> to the fore? Prompting seems to be a lost art now a days, sadly
I'm not so sad. Having to prompt from offstage implies that no one onstage is capable of solving their own problems, and I lose respect for the performers. When I hear a cue called from the wings it disappoints me and makes things sound decidedly amateurish. The embarrassment of all concerned is highlighted and it distracts me from the play.
If I don't notice an error covered well, I get to stay in the fantasy of the story. And even if I do notice an error, when I witness the performer stay in character and solve the problem as efficiently and professionally as possible, I am more inclined to respect the performer and not let it distract me. In fact it becomes one of those 'moments' of live theatre where you appreciate the uniqueness and spontaneity of live performance.
In my personal experience, 70% of my professional appearances have been without ANY stage manager, and many of the theatres (Subi Theatre Centre is a good example) don't have anyone in the wings; the stage manager is out of reach in the bio-box behind the audience. In my view the benefits of designs-other-than-pros-arch outweigh the advantages of having a prompt corner. Without the safety net to fall back on, you learn to look after yourself.
Of course, that's not to say I haven't dried. The best stage manager couldn't have helped me when she was sitting about 150m away during a Shakespeare performance in Kings Park...and even my closest actor was about 10m away! I stumbled and stuttered, eventually repeating something I'd already said before other actors helped me get back on track. Not something I'd wish to repeat, but a valuable lesson learnt.
Don't just learn your lines; REALLY learn your lines.
Cheers,
Craig
- ···
- ···
- ···
- ···
- ···