www.thestar.com: Being an understudy is one of the most challenging roles in the theatre. These actors, who can be called on in a moment’s notice to step in when a lead actor cannot perform, are the living embodiment of the “the show must go on.” The Star recently spoke with four current and former understudies, who shared their insights on the unique role.
6 comments:
To me, the understudy role is always one that I feel I can never fully mentally understand as someone involved in theatre, but not on the acting side. It takes so much cognizant strength to constantly be in the shadows, but prepared to take the spotlight at a moment’s notice. Hearing these actor’s perspectives was really interesting to me as there is so much that goes into the understudy’s role and even the smallest mistakes are taken into account at the Broadway level. I also find how entertainment culture in general treats understudies as often not fully appreciated, or glamorized without recognizing the relationship between the understudy and overstudy. I’ve recently been analyzing a lot of 1930’s musical picture films, and specifically movies about show culture such as 42nd Street. All too often in the media, there is a competitive, negative relationship between understudies and overstudies, when in reality they frequently need to work together to understand the role fully.
Understudies have always amazed me, the fact that you could find out you have to go be the lead possibility moments before the curtain opens feels like a stress dream I’ve had not a real person's daily reality. I like how this article shows a few different voices and experiences with the role, especially the last interview where he speaks about how it’s not all just one person, but the whole production coming together to make last minute changes work. I think it’s important to point out the collaboration that is present in every tier of theater, from the design, to the build, all the way down to the actors supporting an understudy stepping into a new role. I also find it interesting how an understudy gets such different perspectives of the same shows, it must be a strange experience to go from being a background dancer one moment to the main event the next.
This article is awesome! Understudies are never appreciated enough! I find it kind of funny that if audience members never see understudies (or technicians for that matter), it is a good thing. Producing theatre is such a team sport, and they are one of the most critical players. Theatre would literally not be possible without understudies and swings. People go out all the time for a variety of reasons, and it is their responsibility to fill in the track. I really believe that understudies are the most talented people in the theatre. I can barely remember the day, much less the tracks of multiple characters. I can’t even comprehend how they organize all the lines, choreography, blocking, etc. for multiple characters in their heads. I know that there has been some controversy over understudies and them bowing and performances where they did not go in. I definitely think that they should be able to bow, as the show would not happen without them!
I enjoyed that this article was written from four different perspectives – the four stories all work together really well to create a well rounded narrative on what being an understudy is like and what the understudy means to a production. I was particularly drawn to the contrast between Matt Raffy and Celeste Catena’s stories. Raffy took the reader on a journey into their mental state right as they’re about to go onstage. They mention that it’s bittersweet – obviously they’re happy to be going onstage in a leading role, but it’s often at the expense of a person they know personally. It made me think of Andy in The Devil Wears Prada and how she was invited to Paris even though she knew Emily had been working for years for that chance. It’s important to separate your own success from the misfortune of others – which is an obstacle both Matt Raffy and Andy conquer. In contrast, Catena takes the reader on the journey of the understudy/swig’s practical preparation, and how this leads to individual strategy. In my undergrad, I was actually a swig for a show, and have used a similar color-coding method to what she describes.
I have and always will be impressed by understudies and swings. The fact they can get on stage within just a few minutes after notice and perform is insane. These people really save the show in a time of need and it’s awesome. I really liked to hear their perspectives when being cast as an understudy. You really get to understand their methods of being prepared or real experiences they had when having to go on stage. While I may not be an actor myself, I feel like their experiences show good lessons to all people about being prepared and working as a team. A funny thing I noticed was how one of the understudies mentioned their time to get on stage is kind of bittersweet. Usually the understudy performs only when the main role is unwell and unable to perform, and they describe it as “someone’s negative outcome is your positive, sort of celebrated outcome.” I feel like it’s celebrated as the understudy was able to save the show and the audience was able to still enjoy the production.
Being an understudy or a swing I think is absolutely the most underrated role in all of theater. I think people don’t typically think of how much work understudies actually go through because they are busy focusing on how talented the lead actor/ actress is. Both can be true. When I think of understudies, typically they play a part in the ensemble along with understudying one or more tracks. In the same time that it takes the lead to learn their track, the understudy is learning theirs and their own ensemble track. Not to mention the fact that understudies are usually not given a huge notice before going on in a completely different role. I understand as an actor getting an understudy part might not feel as rewarding as if they were to get the primary role but I think especially once you get to bigger theater like Broadway, every Broadway show I've ever seen has had at least one understudy on and if I didn’t know before the shows starts I wouldn’t be able to point them out, which means they did their job really well.
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