Theater etiquette for actors

[MineralDiva]

The performance pranksters are lucky they weren't told not to come back for rest of the run...even if it was only another night or two!  I once fired a leading character...in mid-run.

We were doing a production of One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest.  The actor playing the role of the Chief, turned out to have not only a temper, but an appetite for harassing the female members of the cast...usually in the wings, as they were waiting to make their entrances.

I realized this actor had presented some problems during rehearsals, but was unaware of how serious things were getting...until I assisted in setting up the stage, before one of the performances.  There he was, getting into character as I set the props for the first scene. (He was backstage.) 

When I bent over to get something, he made a suggestive comment as I did so.  I turned around and gave him the hairy eyebrow, and continued with what I was doing. I wasn't about to get into it with an actor just before curtain.  But I noted what had happened, and began to ask some questions about what ELSE had been going on.

This resulted in a meeting later, during which he denied all accusations of misconduct, and I had the pleasure of telling him to get out and not come back.  "You can't do this show without MEEEE," he screamed.  "Watch me! I said. I'll have you replaced by tonight's performance!  Now don't let the door hit you in the bottom on the way out...and don't EVER come back here again, or the police will meet you in the lobby!"

We never saw him again...and I DID have another actor onstage in his place that night, through the close of the show.  At first, we recorded the character's dialogue and played it from the booth as "thoughts" he was having.  Within a short time, the actor was able to be off-book and do the dialogue himself...but we kept some of the recorded stuff, 'cause it turned out so well.

The lesson?  DON'T conduct yourself so unprofessionally as to piss off the Producer of the show and the VP of Production for the theatre company, on the same day.  Paticularly when they're the same person!  (Me)

I also learned to be more "hands-on" with even shows I didn't have a particular role in...just to make sure all was going smoothly.  And now that I'm Executive Director of my own theatre company, there's no WAY that kind of nonsense would ever be tolerated!

[nutraxfornerves]

Regarding the vodka and veering a bit--
About 10 years ago I visited Uzbekistan, a former Soviet Republics in Central Asia. We got tickets to the National Ballet for all of US0.75. The ballet company was hurting badly. As soon as things had opened up politically, the best performers and crew had left as fast as they could for better paying jobs in Europe or North America. The only decent dancer was the (aging) prima ballerina. There were perhaps 50 audience members in a hall that held hundreds.

The lighting was done by some men who were manually operating the spotlights--nothing mechanical, much less computerized. We could see two of them in a sort of alcove next to the stage. We could also see that when not needed, they were clearly refreshing themselves. As the production went on, the lighting got more and more, um, creative. The spots would go one and off unpredictably and with no reference to the dance. Or the spot would stay on a minor character while the principals did a pas de deux. Eventually the lighting crew was unable to focus the spots at all and would chase a dancer all over the stage, never quite catching up. It looked like the dancers were used ot it however, or, considerng the skill of most of them, didn't care.

We managed to not laugh and even appauded at the right moments.

[artk2002]

I've seen a lot of those onstage pranks, and I've never thought that any of them were funny. I have as good a sense of humor as anyone else, but there is a time and place for pranks, and it's certainly not when people are trying their best to put on a really good production.

Confession time...  I've been a pit musician for many musicals in my life and we've sometimes gotten, um, a bit out of hand.  Instrumentalists are a peculiar lot to begin with and the fact that the onstage talent tend to treat us like peasants really doesn't help much.

Probably the worst that I can recall was a production of Stephen Sondheim's Company at UCLA, some time around 1980.  Rather than put the orchestra in the pit, we were situated in the wings, stage left.  This meant that our antics could be seen by the cast, but not the audience.   If you don't know it, Company is about a young man, Bobby, who goes from lover to lover while his (unhappily) married friends try to get him married off.  During one of the love scenes, I looked over to see all of the brass and percussion players with their pants down around their ankles, in sympathy with Bobby, as it were.  In a later performance, when one of the characters asks "does anybody still wear a hat?", the cast looked over to see the entire band in hats.  Mild stuff, but I'm told it's very hard to keep a straight face on stage.  That cast had been particularly snotty and most of the pranks by the band were directed at getting a laugh. 

[willow08]

OP, your list should be in every dressing room in the world!  And of course, this reminds me...

Years ago, I belonged to a local light-opera company; we did operettas and musicals, and were really a very tight ship despite being all-community and all-volunteer.  There was some annoying drama between our director and another local director, so we pretty much had the same folks year in and year out, and never really crossed paths with people from other local theatre companies.

    - saphie

I keep having this vision of you and the other theatre troupe facing off and doing numbers from West Side Story. Is that wrong?

[MineralDiva]

LOL  THANKS, willow!  Now I've got the same visual stuck in my head too!  I can even see the "cast!"

[Kaylee]

Confession time...  I've been a pit musician for many musicals in my life and we've sometimes gotten, um, a bit out of hand.  Instrumentalists are a peculiar lot to begin with and the fact that the onstage talent tend to treat us like peasants really doesn't help much.

Probably the worst that I can recall was a production of Stephen Sondheim's Company at UCLA, some time around 1980.  Rather than put the orchestra in the pit, we were situated in the wings, stage left.  This meant that our antics could be seen by the cast, but not the audience.   If you don't know it, Company is about a young man, Bobby, who goes from lover to lover while his (unhappily) married friends try to get him married off.  During one of the love scenes, I looked over to see all of the brass and percussion players with their pants down around their ankles, in sympathy with Bobby, as it were.  In a later performance, when one of the characters asks "does anybody still wear a hat?", the cast looked over to see the entire band in hats.  Mild stuff, but I'm told it's very hard to keep a straight face on stage.  That cast had been particularly snotty and most of the pranks by the band were directed at getting a laugh. 

On behalf of actors everywhere, I apologize for treating you like peasants.  (You are an odd lot, though.   )

OTOH, trying to break people up onstage has a long, proud tradition, really.  I love "Company", and now I will always enjoy it just a little bit more, picturing those...hats.  Yeah, yeah, that's it.  The hats.

[willow08]

Oohh, I have one.

Don't demand that other cast members "trade" costumes with you because you like the dress they were assigned better. There's a reason the director assigned the costumes the way he did. There's a big difference between what a well-off woman in her 20s in the Great Depression wore as opposed to what a woman in her 40s who cleans the younger woman's home wore.

[Xanthia, Maker of fine Tin-foil hats since 2007]

Almost 5 years ago, I was in a Musical, I quickly became friends with the writer and director as they were SIL and BIl's close friends and Jellybean had known them for years.  I did not want to be in a play, but I got the part because we went to pick up BIL and SIL to go to dinner (this was my first time meeting them) we did not know they were helping cast the play, and some strange man walked up to me and asked me "Can you sing?", I nodded slightly, he asked me for my sheet music and I told him I did not have any, then I was hustled off and Jellybean stood there looking at me in astonishment.  A few moments later I was thrust onto the stage and I was asked what I was going to sing I so I sang "Walkin after Midnight" accapella and did a little line work (good thing I have acted my whole life).

I got a part, and they re wrote a song for me, and I got to write my own monolog, it was fun.  Well, close to the end of the run, I walked in to with a wicked high fever, but I went on with the play, by the next morning I had NO VOICE and was running a fever, I had walking pneumonia.

Somehow, I am not sure how, I got through the last 2 performances with very few changes, just me being off stage when I was not "active" so I could sit in front of a fan, drink water and suck lozenges.

The dedication I showed that night, got me 4 more roles, even thought I did not "look" the part or was the wrong age, they knew I could pull it off and would be dedicated to the production.  The director was very dedicate to casting the correct ACTOR, not the correct body type.  Made for some interesting plays!

Unfortunatley, during that first musical, the other cast was so unprofessional, it was HORRIBLE, people were stealing money from purses and walets, not showing up, not knowing lines, not knowing blocking, cues or songs...SIGH.

[IndianInlaw]

 " These girls thought it would be hee-larious to put REAL vodka into the bottles for the tavern scene, as a "fun prank" for opening night."

That is a crime.

Pure and simple.

A crime.

[Gileswench]

As appalled as I am at the thought that someone would spike the 'liquor' onstage, I must admit I do have a fondness for a bit of harmless joking onstage.

Years ago I was in a production of Lysistrata. For any of you unfamiliar, it's an ancient Greek comedy. In it, two city-states are at war and the women of both cities, under the leadership of Lysistrata, band together to deny the men sex until they settle their differences.

To underscore the plight of the men, they were provided with...appendages to be worn under their tunics. It was really hilarious watching them all compare sizes backstage when the appendages were issued!

Anyway, on closing night we got down to the scene where the men had capitualated. Several of the men had stage business where they 'exposed' themselves to the chorus of old men (of which I was a member...which I found amusing as a nineteen-year-old girl). Well, one of them 'exposed' himself to me and I saw he'd glued googly eyes and painted a little smile on the end of his appendage! It took all I had to keep from laughing and get my next line out, but I've never forgotten that performance! LOL!

Spiking drinks, however, is beyond a joke. You never know if someone in the cast has a medical condition that would make it dangerous or is such a lightweight that it could seriously jeopardize the performance.