Monday, April 22, 2024
‘We still haven’t cracked it!’ How much does a play change during previews?
Theatre | The Guardian: Rachael Stirling picks her way from the back of the stage, joins her colleagues in the stalls, and then promptly bursts into tears. “I’m tired,” she explains. Stirling is playing Sarah Siddons, the great 18th-century actor, in The Divine Mrs S at the Hampstead theatre in London, and we’re chatting right in the middle of the preview period. It’s a fraught time.
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2 comments:
Personally I do not think that plays should charge during previews. I do see how some would believe that they should charge, there is a lot of work put into a production. and seeing even a slightly less polished version of it should charge something. however I'm looking at a play like a piece of art, you don't pay to see someone's progress you pay to see it the art, and sometimes you don't even pay to see it only to own it. so I under these Morals I think that a play should really not charge. Half of the play is the audience, without any audience there is no play. theater is also a dying industry to be blunt, many people don't have the patience or urge to see a show anymore so people really should be encouraged to see beautiful shows in Productions and understand that they are extremely meticulous to piece together. seeing progress work is beautiful, it leads to revisions as well as alterations to make the final show better, and the audience gives a lot in this. the reactions as well as their presence helps the actors and technicians and designers make their work of art a masterpiece.
I really do love new works for the mere fact that so much can change in such a short amount of time. I’ve always found that part of the process to be thrilling. I once did a show where once we got into previews, the playwright completely rewrote the second act. It made the show better and much easier to follow. I’ve also done new musicals where everything is changing during the preview process. I remember one time one of the actors got off track on her song because she had reverted back to the original version that had only been changed two days prior. New works really are an adventure in and of themselves, and it’s something I’ve found so enjoyable and adventurous about the work. I like how the article had examples of shows that really needed to utilize their preview process, I’m thinking of you Spiderman: Turn Off the Dark.
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