20 Ways To Be The Actor Everyone Wants to Work With
Adriana Nocco, Guest Editorial
While surfing the web and avidly reading theatre blogs, I often come across articles that actors have written about how one should act to be a respectful, “good” audience member while serving as a theatre spectator.
I totally, 110% agree with these articles.
However, I often feel that there is also a lack of respect for certain actors’ parts toward creative and production teams while they are working on shows. If we wish to demand respect from those who serve as spectators of our difficult work (as we should), we also must demonstrate respect ourselves while doing the actual work.
As a person who has been performing most of her life thus far, I have witnessed many fellow performers act disrespectfully (sometimes unintentionally) during rehearsal processes I’ve been a part of and even during performances.
(This is not to say that actors are the only people I believe are capable of being disrespectful or that actors are the only people I have witnessed being disrespectful. I’ve witnessed them most often since most of my experience within the theatrical world has involved working directly with actors.)
As an actress, I have also made foolish, disrespectful mistakes in past rehearsals and performances that I regret immensely.
I especially regretted making those mistakes when I made my directorial debut last year at college and experienced firsthand how blatantly disrespectful actors could be/can be perceived. Even though (in the case of community theatre) actors are volunteers, we are expected to demonstrate professional ethics and work habits. If these ethics and habits are not demonstrated, not only will one’s chances of being cast dramatically decrease, but people will also not wish to associate with them or support them in their theatrical endeavors.
Therefore, I have compiled a sassy, sarcastic, yet serious list of what I believe to be respectful “rehearsal/performance protocol” for actors.
"Rehearsal/Performance Protocol (aka DO THIS IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO BURN EVERY BRIDGE AND HAVE EVERYONE HATE YOU):"
1. Rehearsals start at EXACTLY the time specified on the schedule!
Please be careful and ready to work at call time, which means do everything you need to do ahead of time BEFOREHAND (getting water/food, printing out rehearsal materials, calling your ex-boyfriend to yell at him for messaging your friends again, etc.).
2. Turn off your phone and your mouth
Unless you are granted permission to use either of those things or they are 100% necessary in a given situation, they are distracting, prevent you and your fellow actors from hearing important notes or instructions, and slow down the rehearsal process entirely. Your story about that trip to the Hamptons last summer can wait. Also, please keep them turned off backstage during performances. (One might think that goes without saying. Apparently not.)
3. As soon as you know you cannot attend a rehearsal, will be arriving later than call time, etc., you must immediately contact the stage manager
If you regularly fail to do so, a responsible actor will replace you. Yes, it is that serious.
4. No guests at rehearsals unless you have informed the director about them beforehand
More often than not, they prove to be utterly distracting.
5. PLEASE DO NOT BRING OBNOXIOUS FOODS TO REHEARSAL.
*Note: Adriana’s definition of “obnoxious” = smelly, sticky, and/or loud to open, like a pungent tuna salad sandwich or a bag of Nacho Cheese Doritos (these are my personal favorite chips, but WE ALL SUFFER FOR OUR ART, PEOPLE!)
NB: I performed in a production of The Vagina Monologues at my college (which, at certain points, touches upon horrifying, traumatic experiences such as rape), and a jerk that was sitting in the fifth row literally decided to chomp on chips throughout the second half of the play. This could destroy every ounce of hard work poured into that production, completely draw the audience out of the story, and spoil the emotion the piece is intended to evoke. If we disrupt our rehearsal processes by doing this, not only do we distract everyone involved and affect the work negatively, but as a result, we are not setting an example of how we’d like to be treated while performing.
6. ABSOLUTELY NO FOOD OR DRINK BACKSTAGE DURING PERFORMANCES
There is no better way to instantaneously bring a show to a halt than by spilling Throat Coat all over your costume, the props table, and everything on the props table.
7. ALL LINES/SONGS MUST BE MEMORIZED BY THE DATE ON WHICH YOU HAVE BEEN INSTRUCTED TO BE OFF-BOOK
I have worked with actors who have tried to step onstage with their scripts during dress rehearsal after putting off memorization throughout the process because “it’s not a big deal.” First of all, this is a gigantic pain in the ass and a slap in the face in the eyes of everyone else involved with the production and hinders literally everything. Second, maybe it ISN’T a big deal to YOU, and if so, do NOT pursue a professional theatrical career. It is not for you. You do not have the necessary, all-consuming drive and will never be hired.
8. The way to ask for a cue when you drop a line is by saying "Line."
Simple enough. Do not say, “Um, I know this one,” “I totally had this last night when I was practicing,” “I’m so sorry, give me one second,” or “I’m just so off today, my throat hurts, and I think I might have nodes and I’m going to go on vocal rest forever starting tomorrow.”
Just. Say. Line. Above all, keep character, keep it moving, and stay in the scene!
9. Every time you receive a note, WRITE IT DOWN AND APPLY IT TO YOUR WORK
It is exceedingly frustrating for directors to act like broken records when it is time for notes because you were too lazy to commit your notes to memory the first time they were given. It is also exceedingly frustrating for your fellow performers who have come prepared because your laziness significantly slows down the rehearsal process. And no one cares about how wonderful your memory supposedly is. No one feels like risking the possibility of jeopardizing the show’s quality so that you can try to prove a point.
10. Bring personal BEEF straight to management
If you have a problem with another actor, member of the production team, or anyone/anything that could be getting in the way of your having a successful rehearsal process, talk to the stage manager or assistant director, who will then bring the problem to the attention of the director. They will keep things confidential and help in any way they can/see fit. Do not post passive-aggressive social media statuses you know will pop up on everyone’s News Feed. You are no longer in high school, so stop acting like it.
11. Don’t give other actors notes, and don’t accept notes from other actors
The ONLY people who should be giving notes are the director, assistant director, and stage manager. If another actor offers you notes, say, “Thank you, but we should hear the director’s opinion.” You are a cast member, the same as them, and deserve respect, too; condescending behavior that undermines authority figures within the production should not be tolerated.
12. Wear the costume assigned to you
Unless, of course, it is choking you to death or has spontaneously caught fire. Your personal opinion of it does not matter.
13. The show Must Go On
During performance weekends, THE. SHOW. IS. YOUR. LIFE. YOU LIVE AND BREATHE IT. Additionally, being present at all times during tech week is non-negotiable unless there is a rare circumstance that the production team was informed about WAY in advance or a life-altering emergency.
14. Be Patient during tech rehearsal
Tech rehearsals can be grueling, so be patient while the crew fine-tunes cues and equipment. Give them the respect they deserve: pay attention, stay quiet, and be ready for instructions as they move from scene to scene. Just because a specific part of the process might not directly involve you does not mean it should be treated with disrespect, not to mention that the crew’s work WILL directly affect you later.
15. Respect your backstage Team
The members of your show’s backstage team are beautiful, wonderful gods. Remember that. And don’t forget to thank the stage manager when she gives you a call time (“15 minutes!” “Thank you 15!”). She MUST hear a “thank you” to know you have heard the call and are ready to go.
16. NEVER touch someone else’s prop unless specifically instructed to do so
DO NOT BRING PROPS HOME WITH YOU. I don’t care how cool the electronic cigarette you get to use in the second scene is; the props master must know where that one cigarette, along with every other prop, is at all times!
17.Do Not Ad Lib
Unless you must improvise in a given situation or improvisation is part of your show, don’t ad-lib. The show is written the way it is for a reason. Also, do not spontaneously decide that you will do a prank show, pretend to be drunk throughout, and throw everyone’s hard work out the window. The words of the writer(s) should never be messed with, nor should your director’s vision.
18. Treat Strike As Mandatory unless specifically told otherwise
If the production team tells you that actors’ attendance and assistance at strike is mandatory, then actors’ attendance and assistance at strike are mandatory. It is simple. It is not optional. It does not mean you are excused from the strike because you have “the worst hangover” after taking too many shots at the cast party last night. (News flash: Almost all of us have that hangover, yet we’re still present. You are not special.) It does not mean that a strike is only mandatory for people who have fewer lines than you do (yes, I’ve encountered dreadful people with this sort of superiority complex). It is mandatory for EVERYONE, so get with the program. Also, I never thought I’d say this (before my first year of college), but if you try to fake an injury during strike in the hopes of going home early, people will know. You’re not clever.
19. Always give 110% and keep your focus
Even if an audience member plugs their phone into a seemingly real outlet that is a part of your set. It is your time to shine.
20. Always stay positive, patient, and respectful
If you don’t, you will not get cast again in the future, and no one will bother to work with you. The theatre world is chock-full of talent and is also rather small, so zero people will remember your antics. And I’m sorry, but the only person who can do whatever she wants is Barbra Streisand. You are not Barbra Streisand. Unfortunately, none of us are.