Excerpts
from
Behind the Velvet Curtain: A Lesson in Theater Reality
Excerpts
from
Behind the Velvet Curtain: A Lesson in Theater Reality
This article will demystify some of theater’s “magic” and answer audience members’ burning questions such as “How do they learn all those lines?”
So….how DO they learn all those lines?
If there’s any inquiry that makes actors cringe, it’s this one. Audience members ask
this a lot and we hate it. A friend of mine recently performed a strenuous one-woman
show and I overheard someone ask her this question. She appeared to be smiling, but I
actually think she was gritting her teeth.
Let’s put this one to rest. Line memorization isn’t really that hard if you put your mind
to it. Age matters somewhat but there are some 20-somethings that don’t have a clue.
Every actor has his/her own memorization method. The best one for me has been
recording the other actor’s lines and leave space on the tape when it’s my turn to
speak. Then I just play the tape again and again, at home and in the car, until I can
recite my lines off-book. Others just use their script until they’ve got the words in
their head. An actor friend of mine once told me he only uses rehearsals to memorize.
That’s scary. Especially since he and I have been on stage together a lot.
So there you have it. It’s not a mystery. Now don’t ask this question again.
How do the actors know where to go when they’re on stage?
It’s called “blocking.”
The blocking for a stage performance is “mapped out” during the rehearsal process. Sometimes a director will tell the actors exactly where to stand on a particular line or during a scene, and other directors let the actors figure it out for themselves. The latter is done for the director’s amusement. It’s fun for them to watch the actors bump into each other and circle around in frustration. When the director has had enough of this comedy, he will then do his job and tell the actors where to stand on stage. Invariably, at the next rehearsal, there will always be one actor who has not reviewed his/her blocking at home and neglected to pencil it in their script. All the other actors will smugly inform this floundering actor where he/she should be, mainly so the clueless actor doesn’t upstage them.
What is “upstage?”
This terminology helps when you do blocking. The stage is divided into sections: stage right and left; downstage; upstage; center stage and points in-between. Center stage is usually where you will find the actor who thinks he/she is the star of the show but, actually, they have somehow inched their way over there during the weeks of rehearsal unbeknownst to the director who was too busy devising ways to humor himself.
This terminology becomes a problem for actors who do not know their right from their left…and there are many of them. You can tell who these actors are when the director tells them to move stage right. Upon hearing the instruction, they hesitate several moments, lifting each hand slightly, and trying to remember in which hand they hold their pencil. Then they will move to the right.