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Kids!
We've
all done shows with them. Maybe they've been our own, or
belong to
our friends, but usually they are complete strangers, for
a short while at
least. William Claude Dukenfield issued a most explicit
warning against
allowing them near the audience or himself.
The
have been lauded and lamented in tale, song and dance. Their
transition
between what they are now and what they will be has been
grist for so many
plays, films and TV shows that their theme rivals that of
the battle-of-the
sexes. What am I talking about! They are the initial skirmish
in that
battle. I am speaking, of course about kids, youthful protégés
of the
thespian arts, audience melters, scene stealers, and melodramatic
maniacs.
This column is not a diatribe against kids. Actually I'm
quite grateful to
them, wary of them, perhaps, but grateful nonetheless. Why?
Well, working
with kids keeps you young.
Yes
it does, yes it does -- and don't you dare roll your eyes
at me! Of
course, to receive the maximum benefit of exposure to kids,
rather like UV
light treatment for a tiresome but intractable skin condition,
it does helps
to be a grandparent. You see once you have a chance to witness
that the
"mother's curse" coming true on your own children
(the ones who gave you so
much difficulty when they were juniors, eighth graders,
two-year-olds --
really take your pick) by your grandchildren you begin to
realize that this
phenomenon can be spread outside the family sphere and become
an asset.
Oh
yes, the "I-hope-you-have-children-that-behave-just-like-you!"
can be
exploited if it can be directed into the correct production.
Let's face it:
precocious kids are actors-in-embryo and a disciplined approach
and a little
leadership has brought out the potential star in the many
children.
Naturally working with kids is a two-edged sword. They generally
are
unfamiliar with focus until you equate it with video games.
But they
memorize well -- better than me these days - and absolutely
love the
opportunity to work with other adults who are, wonder-of-wonders,
NOT their
parents, especially if you as the director go out of you
way to treat them
like little adults.
OK,
OK - they're not always going to behave like little adults,
that's a
given, but they loved to be encouraged to do their best.
And once you get
all of them in chorus to sing in unison, as opposed to a
staggered choir,
even notes that are not "spot on" in terms of
pitch sound well to family in
the paying seats. Having kids in your shows encourages whole
families to
get involved and for chronically short-handed groups this
is a bonus.
Resources open up when you do "family shows" as
people-who-know-people-whose uncle in the city might just
let your group borrow a certain precious item because you've
given their children an enriching experience.
And
it is an enriching experience because kids get to work with
adults more
equally than parents and teachers can manage, though most
I know do their
best. The parents have to parent and the teachers teach,
after all that's
their jobs, but adults in theater get to interact with kids
on a different
plane. Kids give you back the viewpoint you might have forgotten,
they
remind you that some people are born actors and other need
a lot of
coaching, but best of all they look at you with shining
eyes that are having
so much fun all the while helping you keep your group viable
and lively.
Yes,
every group needs to do an adult show, that's essential
too. But
consider the kids, if you haven't, and enjoy if you have.
Using kids is
enlightened self-interest for any community theater group.
Just one hint:
try to pick a show with some mature elements in it for the
kids, as all
kids, but especially teens like to stretch their talents
and perceptions and
will work much, much harder for you than if you select a
show that they
perceive is too young for them.
©
2005 Foner Curtis
How
To Stand and Move Like A Real Actor
by Mike Sepesy, Playwright and Author - SPECIAL to the
MeACT web site
Characters
entrances should be made through the holes in the set.
Some people call these doors, but I don't like to limit
things by labeling them.
Characters should not try to enter through the walls; this
will increase the show's running time.
If there is furniture, characters should move around it
or on to it as the script requires. Actors like to hold
on to the furniture. Make them stop. Holding on to the furniture
makes actors feel safe and puts a barrier between them and
anything the audience might throw.
Actors should be in full view of the audience at all times
(if your performance is bad enough to make people throw
things at you, you should take your lumps).
Western cultures read from left to right, so movement from
left to right is comfortable to them. Most characters
should enter from left to right. If the entrance is meant
to shake things up (someone coming in with bad news or naked),
disturb people (someone coming in naked with bad news),
or make the audience uncomfortable (someone coming in with
bad news about naked people), characters should enter from
right to left. On stage, you can only have sex or kill people
from right to left.
Characters should stand so that the audience can see their
faces. This is helpful so the playwright can hear clearly
how wildly the performers are veering from the text.
Actors should stand fully facing the audience when giving
a speech or talking about something that died. The
actor shouldn't look AT the audience, but should either
look up (which appears hopefully wistful),down (which appears
despondent), or through the audience (which appears
"deep in thought"). Where the actor chooses to
look is up to him or her; this is what people mean when
they refer to actors making choices. The actor should
also face front when pretending to listen to another actor
say something of high dramatic impact. The listening actor
is probably going to do some crazy things with his or her
face, and the audience wants to see it.
Actors should stand slightly turned to one side but still
facing out when pretending to talk to each other in normal
conversation, since no one in real life ever does this and
it is therefore thought to look natural. Moments of internal
conflict are also performed in this stance, with the tormented
actor facing away and looking off into space as if trying
to find where his/her mother is sitting in the balcony.
Actors can also speak to one another in full profile.
Actors should NEVER face away from the audience unless they're
on their way backstage to stitch on a severed limb.
Try to keep performers from standing in a straight line
onstage. This will make them want to sing and kick their
legs. Everything possible should be done to keep actors
from singing and kicking their legs.
Mike Sepesy
Three
Wishes
(Source unknown)
An
actor, a costumer and a stage manager found an old bottle
in a pile of junk backstage. The actor rubbed it against
her sleeve, and poof! A genie appeared.
"You got me fair & square," the genie said.
"So you each get one wish."
"I want a world tour in a starring role," the
actor wished.
"Granted," said the genie. Poof! The actor was
off on her tour.
"I want a yacht and unlimited funds to cruise the exotic
ports of the
world," said the costumer.
"Granted," said the genie. Poof! The costumer
was off on his tour.
The
stage manager rubbed his chin, thought a minute and said,
"I want them back after lunch."
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