Quitting a show...Advice Needed

[Mark_E]

Posted: 6/12/07 at 6:57am

I have a situation that i need some advice on.
Im due to be in a show at school in 3 weeks time of the wizard of oz as the tinman. However the rehearsals have been going so bad, people not learning their lines and just generally messing around all the time and not wanting to do anything.

Last night I was trying to get to sleep but I was so stressed out by the thought of having to rehearse tomorrow and am so depressed every time I think of the show. Every time I think of this show i just want to break down and im getting so stressed out about the whole thing.

Is it too late to throw in the towel and just leave? I was going to do it 2 month ago but i just kept thinking it would get better and to be honest it hasn't it has gotton worse, with people leaving and just not putting any effort in at all. Im just so upset thinking about having to be in this show which is unusual as i normally enjoy performing.

Has anyone else ever been in a situation like this before? The main thing stopping me is its 3 weeks before the show and i don't want to let people down, but everyone is just no trying at all. Thanks for any advice.

[junkyard]

Posted: 6/12/07 at 7:50am

advice from an old pro.........I need to give you a little bio before advice............i am an older professional actor in NYC that has worked all over the country and in several Broadway shows..............NOW.....never quit, you auditioned and won a role and you owe it to do yourself to do the best you can.....If the show isn't up to par, that's to bad, ........BUT make your Tin Man, memorable........I have been in several shows that didn't come up to be personal expectations but I never refused my check because I always worked hard and did my best...........best wishes

[cathywellerstein]

Posted: 6/12/07 at 8:22am

Don't quit.

You made a committment. Simple as that.

You can learn from every show you do, no matter how bad the situation.

Don't worry about those other people and their lines. If the show just isn't working, there is nothing one singular person can do to save it. The end result won't be a reflection of your personal ability. You're the actor. Let the director worry about everything and everybody else.

Do the best you can do. If anything, you will stand out and possibly steal the show from the people who just aren't trying.

Try to have fun. It will be over in three weeks. And don't get too discouraged. A lot can, and usually does, change in the last weeks before opening.

Best of luck.
Updated On: 6/12/07 at 08:22 AM

[xoxRogue]

Posted: 6/12/07 at 10:25am

Besides the reasons stated, don't quit because you would be screwing it up for everyone else in the show.

Believe me, I've just been in a situation where right after the cast list was posted, about half of the people dropped out (because they didn't get a lead) and the show had to be canceled because they could find more people to audition.

Don't be one of those people. Just because you haven't been having your way, that's no reason to leave everyone else hanging.

(I didn't mean for this to sound as angry as it did. Hehe, I guess I'm still harboring vengeful feelings.)

[Mark_E]

Posted: 6/12/07 at 10:57am

Ok, I have spoken to the teacher in charge and he has reassured me on what I was worrying about. I wasn't at the friday rehearsal on the afternoon because I had an exam, but he said it had gone really well. We also have alot more rehearsals than i though because the whole week before we are going to have rehearsals through the day so we will have plenty of time to sort things out.
I guess that since I started it i need to finish it and I can see now that pulling out would be letting everyone down too much than I could cope with.

[Boq101]

Posted: 6/12/07 at 9:55pm

look at it this way, if everyone else is doing really bad, it's a great chance for you to look great!

I don't seriously mean that, but what I mean is that just because other people have low standards as to what ocnstitutes a great performance for them, focus on your stuff and make sure at least you know everything you need to know.

[MaryMag]

Posted: 6/13/07 at 8:55pm

please do not quit the show. it may ruin you. quitting shows has blacklisted me and other people I know from certain theaters.
Updated On: 6/15/07 at 08:55 PM

[singingshowgirl]

Posted: 6/14/07 at 9:15am

i understand the feeling of just being so depressed thinking of the show, but 3 weeks really doesn't give the rest of the show a shot in hell to get someone else to replace you....i'm sure it's frustrating and you want to die. but 3 weeks will come and go before you know it and who knows, the show might come together. before you know it, you'll be wishing you were in a show again.

[EricaRose]

Posted: 6/14/07 at 11:43am

I was in a similar situation this fall. I was scheduled to be the title role in an opera and nothing was coming together because the director was very disorganized and we had agreed that she would work around my schedule if I did the show because I had college auditions and other shows that were a priority and she started being really demanding of me with the rehearsal schedule and keeping me late at night because all the other actors were adults (I was 17 and a senior in high school). Although the cast consisted of some professionals and extremely talented people, it was more because it was disorganized and didn't look like it was going to come together from other aspects and I was considering quitting about a month before the show because I needed to focus on more important things and it was preventing me from doing so and stressing me out. My mother convinced me to stay because it would have been horrible to have left them stranded, and I'm glad I did because the show turned out great and it's a great credit on my resume, and it turned out to be a great experience for me. I focused on my personal performance and threw myself into it, and it was a blast. So don't quit, make the most of it. Don't focus on everyone else, you obviously have a higher level of commitment, and probably talent, than the rest of the cast, so take advantage of that and do a kickass performance, so that everyone will leave the show raving about the tinman! Believe me, it'll be worth it.
Updated On: 6/14/07 at 11:43 AM

[SarahBeth]

Posted: 6/14/07 at 3:15pm

I was just in the pit for a terrible production of Wizard in which every night I wanted to quit but I stuck it out because I had made a committment to them.

[musicman_17082]

Posted: 6/15/07 at 12:32am

Here is what I did the last time was in an IDENTICAL situation to your's... This is gonna sound krazy but it totally worked for me.

I was in a show that was doing horrible and, even worse, I was doing horrible as well! There are many factors to this which I will spare you of. Eventually I decided that my attitude was EVERYTHING. I was going on stage in 3 weeks in front of about 1,500 people over a weeklong run and WOULD NOT embarass myself. I decided to "trick myself" into being excited and enjoying the work. Once I actually ENJOYED what I was doing, I thought I would do it better.

I started just pretending like everything was amazing. People would ask me how the show was going and rather than saying "it SUCKS and I'm so freaked out" I would say "It is going really well and I think it will turn out just fine." I even wrote out an entire page or two about how much I love this production and how I love my part, etc.

Guess what? IT WORKED. After oozing with so much optimism I eventually believed myself, had fun, learned my music, and had an EXTREMELY successful production week.

Perhaps thats a bit extreme but it worked for me!