DR. SEX Closing Perf/Unprofessionalism from a cast member- Page 4

[WindyCityActor]

Posted: 10/12/05 at 1:30pm

I suppose the main points are:

1. Actors do get sick and are unable to perform.

2. Understudies should expect and prepare for the unlikely regardless of the circumstances.

3. Never start a Topic Thread with an inflammatory title and the dash off because you can't handle the "D R A M A !"

Updated On: 10/12/05 at 01:30 PM

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 10/12/05 at 1:36pm

Ha ha!

And if anyone would like to "speak" with the not-so-suspiciously-MIA "iluvtheatretrash," he's "ledestin" on LiveJournal.

[redhotinnyc2]

Posted: 10/12/05 at 1:38pm

I used to be the constant understudy - and I had several stage managers over the years tell the producers that they had nothing to worry about, because in every spare moment I had, I'd be standing in the wings, recitng the lines along with the lead and watching his every move, wether I'd been rehearsed or not. I love doing it because it quite often gives you a chance to stretch - and when you do get to go on - it's such a rush.

[bwaysinger]

Posted: 10/12/05 at 1:38pm

Well, my only point here is that people are being uneccessarily harsh to Jared here. He did do his job. That it wasn't up to the standards of a fully-rehearsed lead, well, he just gave you all the circumstances, extenuating or not. It's not to excuse it, but it seems rather rude that people would expect him to be giving the performance you all seem to think should have been his own responsibility to prepare. Certainly having a week or so to get it all together without a put-in explains away the script and calling for a line.
I saw an understudy go on through an entire show with book in hand. The audience ate it up.

[WindyCityActor]

Posted: 10/12/05 at 1:41pm

My understudy actually video-tapped a performance to insure that he had the blocking correct. He also insisted that I type out every single inconseqential item in my "track."

[bwaysinger]

Posted: 10/12/05 at 1:45pm

Oh, no doubt, understudying is hard work. But fun work. But I do have a feeling people would be reacting very differently if the circumstances surrounding Jared's one and only performance as Kinsey had been presented to us a bit differently, people might not be taking it quite to task.

[Jazzysuite82]

Posted: 10/12/05 at 1:55pm

You misunderstand Bwaysinger. No one's expecting him to know all the blocking and such without rehearsal. At least I'm not. I too have understudied 2 roles at the same time and they were in scenes together at times. I'm just saying the part that could have been done on his own (lines and music) prob could have been done a bit better. That's all. No one's expecting Tony's here but certainly not script on stage. I don't think that's too harsh and too much to expect. And I'm not saying this to be particularly harsh on anyone

[bwaysinger]

Posted: 10/12/05 at 1:58pm

Oh, no, we're doing the go around again.
I think the real problem here is that the original post really gave to mind a performer who was stomping around completely lost onstage and giving an awful performance, which has caused a lot of people to chime in. Thing is, no one really knows how well/poorly he performed unless they were there. So he called for line and had a script in hand. Totally understandable things considering the circumstances, which he pointed out earlier in the thread.
And, lest we forget, he's hardly the only person to have performed onstage with a script in hand. I've seen it, I've been in productions where it's happened and it'll happen again. And people will enjoy it.

[Jazzysuite82]

Posted: 10/12/05 at 2:12pm

Firstly the original post actually sounds like Jared gave a great performance considering. It's just the whole script thing is what people are reacting to. I don't think it's understandable or Ok. Did he not have time to learn the lines? How long was the show open? I can understanding fudging up the blocking and such. But whatever people do enjoy it but it doesn't make it ok. We've all fallen off the pitch wagon and gotten hit by the flat truck while performing. That doesn't make singing out of tune ok. It shouldn't be done.
Updated On: 10/12/05 at 02:12 PM

[bwaysinger]

Posted: 10/12/05 at 2:22pm

Well, I don't want to defend him but god knows I'll go and get lucky enough to become an understudy and have to go on with a book.
But still, who's to say he didn't need the book in hand in order to have his blocking in front of him? There's a myriad of reasons behind why he might have needed it.
And god knows we've done enough "Book in hand" bashing after the Cherry Jones "fiasco."

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 10/12/05 at 4:17pm

Actually, I'm not M-I-A. I'm here. First time I've checked the boards since my last post, actually. Been busy with rehearsals and school work and haven't had much time for the boards.

I can't believe what all of this has sparked. Jared is right. His performance was magical. It was so incredibly magical seeing him go on, and, to be honest, THAT was what this thread was supposed to be about. To support someone like him. Not for all of this, yes, DRAMA.

Brian let down a lot of people. Not just his audience, but I'm sure the entire production and creative team, too. And maybe that's an assumption, but I know I would have been just as let down by him.

[Shawk]

Posted: 10/12/05 at 4:24pm

Perhaps this whole thing would have been much less dramatic if you had simply left off the last paragraph of what you just wrote, and the similar material in your original post.

I simply don't understand why one actor has to be cast as the bad guy for another one to be cast as the good guy in this scenario. Why can't it just be left at: Brian Noonan had vocal problems and couldn't go on, and the understudy went on and did well, especially considering inadequate preparation for a variety of reasons?

[WindyCityActor]

Posted: 10/12/05 at 4:29pm

Ugh! This whole thread just went full circle!!!

DRAMA!!!!

[Violet Hilton2]

Posted: 10/12/05 at 5:45pm

Please give it a rest iluvtheatretrash! First of all, the man was sick, he didn't opt to go see a movie. Secondly, he is a paid professional and you are a theatre student my dear. If I were you, I would choose my words a little more wisely. You plaster your face on this board and then write something so harsh about a man you don't even know. That's just poor judgement in my opinion. This business is very difficult my friend and people remember these things. How would you feel if you were cast in a show with Brian Noonan? Also, never underestimate who reads these boards. You are making a very bad name for yourself.

[redhotinnyc2]

Posted: 10/12/05 at 5:50pm

I second that advice - this business is not one in which you want to make enemies - remember - you run into the same people on the way down the ladder as you do on the way up!

[Mr. Tuttle]

Posted: 10/12/05 at 6:03pm

Thank you jazzy for being the one here who actually understands the business.

Jarod was hired opening night. Did he go on the next night. How many nights till the closing performance. Seems they were not right next to each other. There was ample time to do your own homework and attend shows and get the blocking yourself.

And you better believe I'm harsh. This is a harsh business. This is a business where you are expect to do your work no matter the pay. As one of the few people who actually works in this industry on both sides of the table, I will impart my knowledge in the hopes that many of the untrained will understand that this is a business....not a past time hobby. It needs to be taken seriously and work needs to be done without bitching. If not..leave now, cause there's someone right behind you who will be more than happy to fill your shoes.

[white guy]

Posted: 10/12/05 at 7:21pm

oh mr. tuttle. we should have dinner sometime. it would be full of interesting negative conversation.

you think I don't understand the business?....super. ignorance is temporary, but stupidity lasts forever...remember?

just re READ my posts, and TRY to look on the "bright side of life"

i was IN the show from day one. i had a cover that had to go on for me when i went on for brian. there was no rehearsal for me to watch! they were over. if the producers would have hired me from day one in my role AND as the cover, i would have been even better. instead, as a money saving option, they asked me to cover 2 parts at opening, which i gladly did, then they cancelled our rehearsals, before they were completed.
the person who covered my part was the swing, and he had learned, from day one, my part....guess what...he was great.

how can i write down blocking and choreography, when i am IN the show?

and please don't tell me i'm bitching, when you are the queen mother. and i'm proud of you for working on both sides of the table. (golf claps)

the writers and producers told me to have the book in my hand the whole performance...and were surprised when i didn't. they also asked if i wanted to cancel the show. they knew it wasn't my fault. ..but it was my job, and i had to do it. happily.

i'm signing off folks...for mr. tuttle here is a brick wall of negativity...and i can't put up with his next negative retort.
_________________________________
oh, and for fun...NOT TO TOOT MY OWN HORN, NOT TO BRAG, because i was NOT NEAR perfect...but i tried my best..... but this is an email from the composer to me...word for word, copied from my aol mail: for those of you that think that because i had my book in act II, i'm the spawn of satan....

EMAIL:
Now that it's the morning after, I wanted to tell you by daylight how totally wonderful you were--I've been on the phone all day talking to friends who saw the show last night and they couldn't stop raving about you. What can I say, my friend? You turned the evening into a totally delightful and memorable closing night for me and I had as much joy watching you do your thing as you had doing it. Thank you. You're a talented guy and mensch to boot and I think the world of you./CUT

[roquat]

Posted: 10/12/05 at 8:27pm

It is indeed true that many actors (who may or may not have been understudies) had to go on with book in hand, or had to come up with onstage tricks for posting their lines everywhere--Marlon Brando and Laurence Olivier among them. I once worked on a production of "Joseph" where the actress playing the Narrator was taken to the hospital with bleeding vocal chords. No understudy had been prepped. Another girl in the company learned the music, blocking, etc., in a few hours and went on that night. She carried the book--but it was disguised as a large Bible, and since she was the storyteller, nobody noticed. Maybe if Jared, as Kinsey, had been carrying a large clipboard around...

[amasis]

Posted: 10/12/05 at 10:20pm

Posters are understanding you to say that you made $21/week, period.

I didn't read it like that even when he first mentioned it. I thought it meant whatever he's getting paid for his regular role, *plus* $21 to understudy.

[WriteInNYC]

Posted: 10/12/05 at 10:27pm

Not knowing the specifics of an actor calling in sick, last performance or not, I would reserve judgement. Things happen: injuries, illnesses, deaths in the family...Most professional actors would not miss their final performances on purpose or to spite the show or their colleagues. Unless you know the specifics of the situation, it's unfair to label the actor as unprofessional based on an assumption.