This theatre thing is not for sissies. Those on the outside of the theatre often, in a most unkind and inaccurate way, have labeled theatre and all who work behind its walls as “sissies.” Well that “ain’t necessarily so.” Many students and even adults find that the greatest achievement that actors make is to learn those lines. I cannot count how many times I have heard these “outsiders” say, “How in the world did they ever memorize all of those words?” If only they knew that that is the LEAST of all the chores that an actor must do to realize their work. With the productions that I have directed over the years, I allow one week for memorization and then those scripts are staying in their backpacks. Paper has no place on stage unless it is a prop!
Today we were working with a scene in which an elderly character is limited to a wheelchair due to age and infirmity. She began the rehearsal with an intelligent thoughtful read that was just falling flat. It lacked the spark and fight that so defined this woman. I talked and talked about all of the adjustments and obstacles that this woman faced but I just didn’t have the right words or enough words to take her over that hump of talking into being.
I had an idea! I have used this idea before but usually it is reserved for boys and reserved for scenes in which they are required to stir up the fight and engage their whole body in conflict. I thought I would try it here. Why not . . .
I had the young lady fight to move forward while a gentle force was holding her in place. She was told she needed to expend all resources and all energies to get to the other side of the room. She was to engage her whole body and never, ever give up the fight. As I told her it is not about reaching the goal – clearly this exercise will prevent you from doing that, but the win comes when you are able to fight like hell. She did this. She was a fighter. Then, I imposed the actual scene on her and the dialogue was amplified by her full and strained breathing. As muscles were being challenged so was her ability to get through to the sentence. She muscled the language. She fought with the language. Language was about the only tool that was serving her at the time. Once her fight was done she was placed back in the chair, the fight remained. The scene made more sense. We were on the road . .
Then of course came time to rip down a cardboard box without thumbs – – but more on that at a later day.
4 comments on “Not for Sissies”
Theater definitely isn’t for sissies! I tried auditioning in college but I fell flat, nothing worked so I kind of decided it wasn’t for me. But boy, the whole memorize your lines, control your emotions, your breath, you mimics, everything requires so much thought and concentration that I just can’t imagine how someone can see the theater world as something synonym with the expression “the easy way out.” It’s tough and clearly not for anyone!
Yes, I also agree with you, that paper has no place on stage and everyone should memorize the words as soon as possible. And it looks so horrible for me in some movies where actors are working with some scene, because they usually have the script in their hands. Whyyyyy? You must know these words!
There is so much work that goes into theater class and there should be a lot of respect for the students that choose to learn about that side of life. Being called sissies is likely to be coming from a person that fears they could never be like them and are sometimes jealous of the fact that they would never get on stage in front of people.
I personally never would have thought that theater was an easy task.
For anyone.
Everything is live…so while sure, maybe the memorization isn’t the main part of the work (and I didn’t know that until I read this), there are no pauses or redos in a live performance.
I KNOW, for a fact (call it my intuition) that whether you realize it or not, you’re playing a pivotal role in these people’s lives.
You’ve come up with some very creative ways to not only get a scene to work but to get your students to use their imaginations.
The human imagination is where all possibilities exist. This is where the magic happens.
This student was shown (by you) a method to get in touch with an aspect of herself to bring a sensation to life. That isn’t an easy thing to do.
I wouldn’t be surprised if this plays a role in her life later on if she continues with acting.