It is now less than a month to the audition. All of Ibsen's great plays depend utterly on the quality of the acting. You might think that that applies to all plays and you would be right to a degree but some plays leave room for what I call 'directorial flash', that is, fancy staging, lighting and sound effects that can dazzle an audience and distract them from less than top rate performances. Alas, Ghosts offers no such opportunities. This is a claustrophobic 5-hander in which what is not explicitly stated is as important as what is. This sub-text can only be indicated to the audience by very detailed playing, exchanged glances, pauses, body language and so on. All those tiny moves need to be learnt and practiced by the actors in exactly the same way they learn and practice their lines. So who turns up for my audition is crucial!
One part of theatre whose importance I cannot overstress is music. Whenever possible I like to play an overture during which the house lights dim to near blackout so that the silenced audience is forced to listen. Music sets a mood faster than anything. We are blessed at the RSS with some very talented people and not the least of them is a young man called Mark Bannister [email protected]. I could not tell you the difference between a crotchet and a quaver but I can describe to Mark what it is I'm after in ordinary English, and he has the remarkable skill to translate that into superb music. Anyone requiring music for film or theatre, please contact Mark.
In amateur theatre we have to work very differently from the pros, particularly the state-subsidised pros, for one very good reason - time! We simply do not have the time for long leisurely rehearsals in which the cast can indulge in abstruse debates on the meaning of this, that or other. Consequently, I always have my productions blocked before we start so that I can tell the actors from the beginning where they will enter, move and exit. This is not written in stone and during rehearsals awkwardnesses can be smoothed out but it is essential to have a plan mapped out before you start. This is easy in a 5-hander, not so easy with a Shakespeare with 25 roles! Anyway, 'the game's afoot' and I will keep you posted on progress.
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