Thursday, October 29, 2009
Whispers Offstage? Could Be Actor’s Next Line
NYTimes.com: "Ticket holders at this week’s first previews of Matthew Broderick’s new Off Broadway play have been privy to a second drama: watching the veteran theater actor try to learn his lines, with help from a prompter sitting in the front row."
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11 comments:
I never knew that memorizing lines was such a issue on the professional level. While it's easy to say that actors should just know their lines, I can see how when there are shows with heavy monologues or older actors, constructing ways in order to help these actors can help produce wonderful performances. However I think that if it in a scene in which it is dialogue between more than one actor, the actors need to learn to cover one another before they use help as a crutch.
I had never heard of actors using prompters before at the professional level, although it's understandable considering the amount of lines they have to learn, and if frequent changes are made to the script. While it is important to learn lines, it isn't necessairly that unusual to need some kind of help at some point, but as Ariel note, actors need to also help each other with lines in case someone forgets, and be able to cover each other as well
I've never seen or heard of a show that used prompters before this (except operas and concert shows, but that's different). I can understand how difficult it can be for even professional actors to memorize their lines, as they may be trying to learn more than one show at a time. But it is their job to memorize their lines and should be their focus. It is a good compromise however to have a prompter for previews, because even though there is a prompter the audience still gets to see the full play, even with an interruption, rather than an actor struggling visibly.
For some odd reason, part of me has always assumed that in really big and long running productions, there are prompters hidden somewhere down stage. I don't know why I've always assumed this, but it just made logical sense to me that given that everyone forgets every once in a while, that theater would be prepared for this kind of issue. I'll admit I also assumed that it was generally expected for actors to memorize their lines, but I never realized that this was as major an issue as it appears to be. I guess I've always thought of actors as those people lucky enough to have good memories and that the perpetual running through of the same play multiple times eventually etched it into an actors brain. I was a little surprised by this article addressing the issue as though it is a very large issue. I did however, find the idea of equipping actors with ear pieces to help them stay on cue to be really good middle ground compromise between prompter and memorization.
I think that having prompters makes complete sense, especially on a professional level. If an actor say has 9 hours of dialouge to memorize they might want a little extra security in knowing they couldhave an earpiece or something to give them a lottle help when they need it. I think that having someone there to prompt lines if needed is better than the actor searching for 30 seconds or more and then scrambling to cover it up. I also think that Angela Lansbury makes perfect sense in saying that when you are a big name and youre older than you used to be but still doing rehearsals and everything else like you did however many years ago, forgetting a line is a horrifying thought. Regardless, if it makes the actor feel more comfortable I really dont see the harm
I agree with Ariel. These people are paid to act onstage and saw prewritten lines. I have heard of prompters before, but never ones in a broadway house. It makes me think that for all this money I am paying it is a waste since the lead actor cant remember his lines. To hear that Matthew Brodrick is using a prompter is dissapointing. To hear that Angela Lansberry uses one is understanding. There are certain cases and becasue of her age it is understandable for one to use an earpiece to keep on track espically with poor hearing and other problems that come along with age.
Really... criticizing and actor for using a prompter on a new work... Or even an older actress... The two actors named in this article are seasoned veterans. We all need help from time to time, this is how they can get it. Also, this is live theater. It changes from night to night and it could be considered exciting for an audience member to see this, because they are seeing a part of the process these actors go through.
Not to mention, the people criticizing are not onstage themselves and don't have any idea what is it like for the actors up there...
When the script is changing frequently and close to opening it can only be expected that the actors will need a hand remembering which of the three or four versions of a line that they did in rehearsal is the one that they're supposed to deliver on the stage, especially if it's a very well-rehearsed line that's changed at the last minute. It's certainly something to be avoided when possible, but it's something to accommodate when you have to. Something like the earpieces is a less obvious way of doing it, but in the end it's just a new technological solution to an old problem.
I believe that this sort of aid completely goes in opposition to goal of a production. If the actors are reading lines off of a prompter, then there is no possible way that the world that the actors are creating is real, even to them. While I would rather have the actors know all of their lines, this extra crutch is totally counter intuitive. Lets give the actors a crutch outside of the world of the play so when something does go wrong (which it will, they do not have to rely on fellow actors to maintain the world they have created.
On the other hand, I do see certain situations in which this could be used. One would be for swings or understudies. In the ideal world, these actors know the show just as well as the main actor/actress, however this is rarely the case. This sort of additional support is justified in such a case.
While I sympathize to some degree with the actor who can't seem to learn his lines, I also don't care.
With so many actors available for a show, I would think they could find someone capable of remembering something they had to say. Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't that part of one's job as an actor? It would also seem that the other actors in the show have known this is a problem--since the show was DELAYED--so perhaps they could cover a little more.
In all seriousness, there are so many actors available, surely someone else can perform the roll well (or better), and actually remember what to say. I'm sure this is another one of those "hire a well known actor just to get people in seats" cases.
In a greater scheme of things, the audience goes to the theater to see a story. They go to see the story written by the playwright. The audience is really the most important person there. If there is an actor calling line, the audience is going to get distracted. It will take them out of the world of the play, and make them realize that the cast isn't as strong as they could have been. This is just going to cause more problems than benefits. You are taking away from the work of the playwright, and you are basically wasting the money of the audience. The audience is coming to get lost in a new world.
The actors are characters, not real people when they are onstage. You don't want to remind the audience that the characters actually have a life outside the play. Also, the actors are being paid to do this. I understand that its hard to memorize a script when the lines are constantly changing, but look hunnie, this is your job. Get it done.
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