Do you expect performers to be great 8 shows a week?- Page 10

[someone.else's.story2]

Posted: 5/20/13 at 7:23pm

Best 12 Bars put it eloquently. As an actor, you at lEast have to give it you all on very performance. Since,we are not robots, some are better than others. But the effort and preparation should be there all time time. That's bing a professional. And it's the same in any industry. Not just theatre.

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 5/20/13 at 7:31pm

"Being a performer is the only job that you do 24 hours a day."

For those performers who choose to do it 24 hours a day.

Exactly, Matt. The same as any other job.

I must confessed I'm shocked this thread is still going.

Have we mentioned yet that performers get laughs, tears and applause that produce an adrenal response to help them through those 24 hours/week?

Compare that to slaving on spreadsheets in a cubical with no feedback whatsoever, neither positive nor negative.

[SNAFU]

Posted: 5/20/13 at 8:20pm

BUT NONE suffers as much as Broadway performers!

[Wynbish]

Posted: 5/20/13 at 8:22pm

Next time you need to go to the hospital in the middle of the night and see residents and nurses working their tenth, eleventh, twelfth hour, please remind them how much more demanding it is to play Velma Kelly.

Updated On: 5/20/13 at 08:22 PM

[SNAFU]

Posted: 5/20/13 at 8:28pm

But if Velma went up on a line!!!

Updated On: 5/20/13 at 08:28 PM

[Dave19]

Posted: 5/21/13 at 5:52am

Being a performer is the only job that you do 24 hours a day.

"For those performers who choose to do it 24 hours a day."

It's not a choice. You perform with your voice, your body.
Of course everyone works with his/her body, but there is a big difference.

Some people find it tiresome to work with kids, or in a factory, because of the long hours etc. The extreme pressure to perform is a whole different level.

It's like being an athlete, sitting on the couch on a family birthday in the afternoon, with everyone around him talking, laughing, drinking coke and eating potato crisps, knowing he has a very important match/competion that same night, which takes over your whole mind constantly.

[SNAFU]

Posted: 5/21/13 at 8:43am

Performing IS NOT THE ONLY PROFESSION one can, if they so desire, live 24 hours a day. Get over yourself.

[Blactor]

Posted: 5/21/13 at 9:02am

Dave19:

Yes, the "performing" was the only job I had at the time.

Being a performer is the only job that you do 24 hours a day.
When I was a teacher it was only from 8.30 am to 16.30 pm. Of course I had to prepare lessons etc at home or in weekends, but it's just no comparison.

Full day rehearsals, promo work, meetings with agents, guest appearances, singing lessons, rehearsals for events, auditions for new shows or commercials, preparing for the show, all your administration, arrange cv's, headshots, contact agencies, physical, vocal warm up, AND 8 shows a week, including 2 matinees.

Every moment that I was awake was fully dedicated to the performing. It included a special diet and a very tight sleeping schedule. And an immense amount of pressure to be in perfect condition physically, emotionally and vocally for every performance.

Like I said, all the normal things like going to a restaurant,
hiccups, coughing, a late night, a day with your little nephews, a wedding, an hour in a bar with loud music, a little cold, a date, can all influence your performance and those things would not affect most normal jobs. No one cared if I had a little cough when I was teaching. Or any of those things.

The most sensible statement in this thread.

Ridiculous comparisons to other professions aside, it's astonishing to me that so many so-called theatre-goers could be so dismissive of the demands of performing 8 times a week. Clearly, most of the people commenting here have never had to do it, and believe that all the work is in that 2.5 - 3 hours spent doing the show itself.

Remaining healthy is a full-time practice, whether you're a hard-working chorus member or the lead in a show. Those who don't take care of themselves tend not to last too long.

Of course professionals will strive to do their best 8 times a week--it's their job. And yes, sometimes they fail, for whatever reason. Sometimes they really ARE just lazy, and that's unfortunate. But those who are dedicated really pour a lot into making sure that they deliver when they are asked to.

It isn't saving babies or digging ditches or building homes for the poor, but it IS hard work to be consistent in a demanding show 8 times a week.

[Wynbish]

Posted: 5/21/13 at 9:19am

This is getting idiotic. NO ONE is saying performing is NOT demanding. People are just saying that it is probably not in the top 5, factoring in the military, police, firefighters, doctors, surgeons, ER/hospital nurses, and they don't get televised award shows and standing ovations for the work they do. Have some freaking respect for them.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 5/21/13 at 12:44pm

Ridiculous comparisons to other professions aside, it's astonishing to me that so many so-called theatre-goers could be so dismissive of the demands of performing 8 times a week.

They weren't.

It's not a choice.

Of course it is. How you choose to apply yourself as a performer is your choice.

Some people find it tiresome to work with kids, or in a factory, because of the long hours etc. The extreme pressure to perform is a whole different level.

Luckily, you've never had another job with extreme pressure. They do exist and can be far more debilitating to the body, spirit and mind than performance.

[Platypus]

Posted: 6/3/13 at 12:07pm

According to Adam Pascal, working on Broadway is the easiest job ever: http://stagedoordish.com/adam-pascal-on-returning-to-broadway-in-chicago-staying-connected-with-rent/

Oh how I wish that man would think before he speaks.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 6/3/13 at 12:17pm

That article is hilarious with respect to this thread.

[South Fl Marc]

Posted: 6/3/13 at 2:31pm

Too funny , especially after reading some of the comments in the thread.

From the article: "People say to me all the time, “Oh my God, you do eight shows a week, you must be so exhausted.” You know, we’re so lucky to be able to do this. I work three hours tops a day. How exhausting can that be, no matter what you’re doing? I’ve had jobs in my life that are exhausting. I was a janitor, I was a landscaper, I was a mason worker. Those are exhausting jobs. Being on Broadway is a gift. Being an actor who gets to do it for a living is a gift, and anyone who complains about it and says that it’s exhausting doesn’t deserve to do it."

[newintown]

Posted: 6/3/13 at 2:42pm

I've worked with artists (actors, writers, composers, directors, etc.) who moan about how hard their lives and work are, and you always realize that, if $10 billion fell into their laps, they would still moan about how difficult their lives are.

It's just the way some people validate themselves.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 6/3/13 at 3:16pm

I just hope these guys contact Pascal and tell him how completely and utterly WRONG he is.

[Dollypop]

Posted: 6/3/13 at 3:30pm

I have been blessed to see some of the greatest performers on Broadway: Mary Martin, Ethel Merman, Gwen Verdon, Joel Grey, John Raitt, Marian Seldes, Angela Lansbury, Patti LuPone, Tommy Tune, Boyd Gaines, George Hearn, Len Cariou, as well as my beloved Carol Channing. In many instances, I saw them in the same roles multiple times. Never--and I mean, NEVER--did they ever walk through a performance I attended.

I've gotten to know some of these performers quite well and they've told me that they take care of themselves while they're performing: easting, sleeping and resting their vocal chords in order to give the performances that were expected of them.

[N2N Nate.]

Posted: 8/9/13 at 5:35pm

Quick Question and I didn't feel like starting a new thread: Has it always been 8 shows a week? Why exactly is it 8 show a week?

[jnb9872]

Posted: 8/9/13 at 5:54pm

Oh god, not this thread again...

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 8/9/13 at 8:14pm

What's the problem? I admit I don't know how 8 shows/week became the standard.

Was that merely the best AEA could get, or is there a specific reason for 8?

(Please note: I'm not arguing the number should be more. I'm just interested in the history, if somebody knows it off the top of his/her head.)

[TheatreDiva90016]

Posted: 8/9/13 at 8:42pm

Nate...


You really do seem to know how to pick a scab.

[justoldbill]

Posted: 8/9/13 at 8:47pm

Yes. I don't get my money back if they aren't. People like Verdon or Rivera or Orbach were never less than great eight shows a week (I saw them), and they certainly worked harder than the revolving-door "celebrities" being cast in shows like CHICAGO these days.

[N2N Nate.]

Posted: 8/10/13 at 10:57am

@Gaveston, I oddly couldn't find any info on why 8 shows is the standard. I'm sure someone must know.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 8/10/13 at 11:14am

I think we can all agree it's demanding, but we're not on the front lines.

A friend of mine is in a production of CATS and two of the members have already had to go home because of injuries and it's the first week of rehearsals! wtf

[Joviedamian]

Posted: 8/10/13 at 11:47am

As someone who has worked in casting, I have had people audition who nailed it and then when they got on stage it was a complete opposite in what I saw that made us want to cast them. So, in regards to the audition tape, maybe he was perfect then and not so perfect on stage, or though his audition was amazing, the director decided to go in another direction and the final product you may have seen on stage was not what was the final outcome from that audition.

[N2N Nate.]

Posted: 8/10/13 at 11:52am

It's always frustrating when the Actor and Director have completely different views of how the character should be played.