Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: Read the cast bios of almost any professional theater production, and you might think that a role on one of the versions of "Law & Order" is a professional requirement.
That might be a bit of an overstatement. But it's rare to find a regional theater or national-touring production without a few performers who list "Law & Order" among their credits.
3 comments:
This atricle speaks very highly of stage actors and gives them credit as one of the reasons "Law and Order" has been successful for such a long duration. The other thing I noted which speaks highly to stage actors is that even though some of them think of "Law and Order" as a way to make a little extra money on the side of a stage career, the producer notes how the performers come prepared with developed characters and ideas. I think this attention to the role makes for a more collaborative process and in turn a better show.
It is more often than not the case that one or two familiar faces will land a role in one of the many "Law and Order", long running TV shows, celebrities like Taylor Swift, even Justin Bieber gracing some of the guest victims,friends of the deceaced, even criminals themselves. It however makes so much sense for stars in the theater world to try their chance at the small screen in this way- to test out a new audience, process in acting, and style itself. This article did a great job at explaining why this is so- characters change weekly, offering a wide variety of characters for actors to "experiment" in playing, while adding the pressure of learning/ developing new roles in a shorter amount of time. I am enthralled by most all of the Law and Order shows, the characters themselves, and believe that episodes never run out of new and enticing stories and plotlines.
It makes sense, with Law and Order having such a long run, and a couple guests every episode, that most professional stage actors who have been around the industry for any length of time would have acquired a role. It's also a good yardstick, if a casting agent sees "Law and Order" on a resume, that means something, and they are more likely to pay more attention to the person auditioning.
Something that could also be a factor that the article didn't mention is that, often it's not possible to watch a (good) recording of any of the many plays the auditioner has been in, but if the interviewer wants another glance at his/her skills, it's easy to quickly download that Law and Order episode and watch their scenes. They might see things they didn't during the actors monologues or script-reading. (Assuming it is that kind of an audition)
Post a Comment