Breaking Character- Unprofessional or Funny- Page 2

[BillFinn]

Posted: 4/13/05 at 10:51pm

When I was doing A.R. Gurney's "The Dining Room", in Act II, we did this hilarious scene. Everyone purposely overacted. Very British comedy. And here I am playing the dumb-witted boy with the gawking mouth wide open. "SO UNCLE HENRY'S A FRUIT!" But everytime the maid would walk in, my "Mother" would tell her to go away so she'd mutter curse words under her breath and she was RIGHT next to me. It was hard to keep a straight face so I'd bite on my tongue, lip, or try to focus on something else. Sing in my head "Defying Gravity". But the last night, she didn't only mutter curse words. She muttered them in SPANISH! British family and maid and she muttered Spanish curse. The audience couldn't stop laughing and I just slammed my head down on the table, looking down and laughed my ass off. I couldn't stop myself.

[Timmerbo]

Posted: 4/13/05 at 11:19pm

BillFinn - I'm in The Dining Room right now, and I'm playing Standish, the father in that scene. We had our first rehearsal tonight and I think that's everyone's favourite scene at this point.

[midtowngym]

Posted: 4/13/05 at 11:26pm

Norbert Leo Butz broke character on saturday when a LOUD cell phone went off during his song. He turned to the audience, stopped singing whatever and said "...EXCEPT when there are cell phones ringing..." It stopped the show cold. I was annoyed, though the audience laughed.

[Bwaybaby109]

Posted: 4/13/05 at 11:32pm

**looks up** that's actually funny in my opinion!

I read that Richard Burton was doing Camelot during the 1980's, I think it was the tour version, and he forgot some of the words in the middle of 'How to Handle a Woman' and he stopped the orchestra and said "Ladies and Gentleman, this is my 1080th time doing this show and I have forgotten the words" and got a huge applause. I think it's moments like that can make a theatre experience really special to watch, it shows how actors are human, everyone makes mistakes.

Updated On: 4/13/05 at 11:32 PM

[VoiceofReason]

Posted: 4/13/05 at 11:39pm

speaking of NLB and cell phones-in an early preview (maybe even SF show) of Wicked, someone's cell phone went off during the scene when Elphaba casts a spell on the new teacher and the cast. Following her line (something like, do you really think animals shoudl be kept in cages), NLB replied, I think people with cell phones should be kept in cages. The management team went up to him following the show, and asked him to refrain from ad-libbing.

[Bwaybaby109]

Posted: 4/13/05 at 11:42pm

LOL! Wow he must really be anal when it comes to cell phones.

[jezzebelle]

Posted: 4/13/05 at 11:56pm

I can certainly understand NLB's frustrations. I performed in HAIR very recently and was well aware of someone having a cell phone conversation while the show was going on. It's so extremely rude to even have your cell phone ON during a show, never mind holding a conversation. That drives me up the wall.

[EponineThenardier]

Posted: 4/14/05 at 12:11am

Call me the wet blanket, I love seeing screw ups on stage for sevreal reasons. Firstly it's interesting to see how the actors react and get back hicups in the show, it makes that night of seeing it unique, and finally it's just damn entertaining.

This is however with comedy shows, I would be irritated if people were cracking up during "A Long Day's Journey Into Night."

[Dreamcatcher]

Posted: 4/14/05 at 12:22am

As others have said, I think it just depends on the situation and how the actors handle it. People are only human so they can't always be expected to remain fully in character in shows and besides, alot of the time it makes an amusing scene even funnier. I think I read somewhere about a mishap in RENT where Mark's camera went flying into the front row in the middle of the Finale A and no one was making a move to hand it back to him so he had to move foward, hold his hand out and ask for it back. Something like that, I would have found hilarious. Although in retrospect, I can understand how it could seem unproffessional and annoying if an actor stops the show cold in a dramatic/suspensful scene. That could just kind of ruin the moment.

[orangeskittles]

Posted: 4/14/05 at 1:21am

I don't blame Norbert for freaking about cell phones. If the cell phone is ringing loud enough for him to hear it up onstage, than it's definitely distracting the audience as well. Seriously, if someone in the audience is rude enough to leave their phone on during the show, they should be called out on it. Besides, the audience has already been pulled out of the fantasy of the show by the obnoxious ringing, so how is an actor ad-libbing going to make the performance that much worse?

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 4/14/05 at 1:24am

I think sometimes it can be funny. In a show like DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS, where the 4th wall isn't really ever established, it's sort of encouraged. When I saw the show, Lithgow messed up a line and it was a riot. However, if I were watching a show like STREETCAR and Blanche started talking to the audience, I would be annoyed.

I know it's not always right to have double standards, but in this case, I think it depends on the show.

[EponineThenardier]

Posted: 4/14/05 at 1:41am

If leaving my cell phone on at full volume would get Butz to come down off stage and haul my ass outta the theater, then I would do it.
Updated On: 4/14/05 at 01:41 AM

[Popular]

Posted: 4/14/05 at 2:58am

It's VERY funny at times. If you have any doubts after this clip, you just have no sense of humor at all

Debbie Downer Clip

[Jera]

Posted: 4/14/05 at 8:02am

Hugh jackman was excellent at staying in Character. When I went, he forgot his lines for an entire scene. He just sort of add libbed, but as if he was actually the character he was playing. He actually asked an audience member if she had seen the play before, and asked what his next line was. It was funny, because the person accually knew his next line!

I think as long as the actor accually made an honest mistake, mess ups can be funny. It makes the audience realized that there is a real person on the stage. If I wanted a flawless performance, I would have rented a movie. But not "Saw", because that movie sucked.

jera

[bdwaygirl]

Posted: 4/14/05 at 8:27am

"bdwaygirl, I don't think anyone would find the "Adam death stare" funny, but you can't really place blame with him as an actor for breaking character. If the audience isn't being respectful (i.e. not taking flash photography like they clearly state at the beginning of the show) than you can't expect the actors to be react professionally."

orangeskittles, I didn't blame Adam in the least! I WAS getting pissed off and I was in the audience, not on stage. It was most definitely worse for the performers on stage. I wouldn't have blamed him in the least if he HAD said something to all the picture takers. I was just mentioning the two biggies I witnessed of performers breaking character.

[LouW95]

Posted: 4/14/05 at 9:49am

I have seen "breaking character" in both DRS and Spamalot this month. Friends have also mentioned the same things to me. It seems that it is now part of the play to leave something in if it gets a big laugh.

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 4/14/05 at 10:03am

Sherie Renee's last night in AIDA. Made some ad lib and Adam and Heather were DYING onstage for a good five minutes. Probably one of the funniest things I've ever seen.

[Hanna from Hamburg]

Posted: 4/14/05 at 10:28am

The one situation that comes to mind for me is "Lion King." I didn't enjoy the show AT ALL because I felt the entire cast was unprofessional. One of the young actresses actually waved at someone in the audience, but the worst was the entire ensemble. There were a lot of entrances from the back of the theatre, down the aisles and onto the stage. EVERY entrance they made they were talking and laughing prior to their entrance. It SO disrupted the show for me that I couldn't enjoy it. I feel anything unplanned that is disruptive is unprofessional.

[thetheatrekook]

Posted: 4/14/05 at 11:18am

the biggest one that comes to my mind that i saw was when i saw wicked...forever ago....when taye diggs was in...idina and kristin were laughing through the entire first act, as well as a great many cast members...something was going on backstage there were like banging noises and stuff...and the scene where taye throws the broom at idina he missed....and everyone just about died...so they went back and started the scene over...but they made like a huge joke out of it and when he got it right everyone started cheering...i could have dealt with it but it wasn't really a funny scene....it just broke the mood and everything...

but yeah, i think there are times when breaking character works...and sometimes it doesn't...and i think there's a definate difference between like someone forgetting or ad-libbing and something actually going wrong (RENT - camera)

Posted: 4/14/05 at 1:15pm

Often I think it depends on the show and more so the performer. When a huge star goes up on a line once in a while and recovers well (or with humor) it can give the audience a kick. It's also fun to know that these stars are human,just like us.

Some legendery ones:

Hermione Gingold in "A Little Night Music" came out for a big scene and went up on her lines. She paused, stared at the audience...and in that great charactery voice of her's simple said "I don't know what they want me to say"--The audience went crazy, laughing and applauding in support of her honesty. She went off stage for a moment, recovered and went on with the scene.

Another "Night Music" moment (from a friend who worked the show). Big dinner party scene, actors sitting around dining table, all kinds of dinnerware, glasses, silverware, etc.. All of this rolled out on big set piece. Someone didn't secure some of the props and when the set stopped center stage, some of the dinnerware didn't! Plates crashing, glasses flying, etc.
Most of the actors were stunned, but Miss Gingold, with that voice and face looked out at the audience and simply said "Oooooooh" Audience again ate it up.

Wish I had been there.

[onceadancer2]

Posted: 4/14/05 at 1:36pm

Darlings:

None of you ever saw Beatrice Lillie. She would break character, or song, or monologue, or skit and just go off!

Miriam

Updated On: 4/14/05 at 01:36 PM

[ShineOn]

Posted: 4/14/05 at 1:42pm

That Debbie Downer link reminded me of something. I would consider Amy Poehler highly professional, but I've seen her break and burst into laughter SO many times I can't even count them. I used to go to Assssscat every Sunday night when I was living in Manhattan and she was notorious for it. I wouldn't call it unprofessional at all because we were laughing right along with her... she would always slip right back into character, of course, but the thing with improv is that you never know what kind of absurd thing the next person is going to come out with, and like I said, we're all human and we don't know how we're going to react to the unexpected.

Also, certain things come into play... like if you're over tired things tend to hit you differently and its a lot harder to focus. I know when I'm exhausted I'm as giddy as a school girl... the stupidest things make me laugh.

I think what it boils down to is how the actor handles the situation. Incorporate it into the scene and you're fine.

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 4/14/05 at 1:45pm

Regarding the posts about reacting to backstage/offstage noise: The production of CABARET that I just finished up in was next door to a LOUD nightclub, and underneath a roller rink - you can't even begin to imagine the distraction. One time one of the onstage tables was knocked over and glasses and bottles broke. Not once did anyone onstage ever break character nor get distracted from the breaking glass nor the ourside noises - and this is Off-Off Broadway - we weren't being paid a dime. It's called being professional and doing your job.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 4/14/05 at 2:17pm

It really depends on the show and the situation. In most comedies, I find it wonderful because it's usually in the spirit of the show and it reminds the audience how special live theatre can be. It's not like they get to see the "bonus features" of a Broadway show.

Now if it were a farce like Noises Off, where it would break the timing, it could be a potential disaster that could seriously halt the momentum required to make the show work. Of course, in a dramatic production, it's simply fatal. I can't imagine Streetcar or Equus in which an actor bursts out in a fit of giggles.

I've only seen it happen twice - both in London. The first was My Fair Lady when Martine McCutcheon and Jonathan Pryce lost it during the diction sequence, but I was too far away to see what had happened. It had the audience roaring and it did not go on very long. The second was in the review All You Need Is Love and it was during a somewhat serious moment. But given there was no real plot, it truly was funny to watch because the two actors kept having to look each other lovingly in the face. Anyone who's ever been in this situation knows this only makes things worse. I couldn't stop laughing myself.

[Chloe]

Posted: 4/14/05 at 4:50pm

During her Chatterbox appearance for Aida, Sherie Rene Scott told a funny story about going up on her lines for Over the Moon in RENT. As she put it, the only thing she could think of to say was "a horrible, horrible, horrible profanity, so that the audience RECOILED." She turned to see the rest of the cast with their backs to the audience, shaking uncontrollably. Apparently it took a long time for them to recover.
Updated On: 4/14/05 at 04:50 PM