Do you expect performers to be great 8 shows a week?- Page 2

[Kelly2]

Posted: 5/19/13 at 9:33pm

" I just happen to understand that performers are not robots who are programmed to do everything spectacularly well 8 shows a week for a couple years."

Just because it happens doesn't mean it should or that it's "right" for it to. For the record, there are plenty of artists who perform in long-running shows who still give first-rate performances years later. As with any career, there great actors and consummate professionals, and there are not.

[Kad]

Posted: 5/19/13 at 9:33pm

They're not programmed, no. They're just trained and conditioned to do so.

[BroadwayStar4]

Posted: 5/19/13 at 9:35pm

"They're just trained and conditioned to do so."

True, but they're still humans.

[Kad]

Posted: 5/19/13 at 9:38pm

No one is debating that or saying that performers should be incapable of degrees of quality.

But there is a minimum to that degree, and they need to be meeting it and preferably surpassing it. It is what they are trained to do. It is their career.

When I go to a professional theatrical production, I expect to see performers at the top of their game. Why should I expect less?

[dramamama611]

Posted: 5/19/13 at 9:38pm

And so are doctors and lawyers and bus drivers and teachers and hunters and parents. (I 'understand' when a parent loses their cool with their kid -- doesn't make it right.)

The consequences to be made are: the loss of a fan, a bad review, a disappointed audience.

[blaxx]

Posted: 5/19/13 at 9:39pm

We are humans too, belive it or not.

And you will not be convinced of something you don't want to change your mind about, what do you expect now?

[BroadwayStar4]

Posted: 5/19/13 at 9:41pm

You're a muppet, not a human.

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 5/19/13 at 9:41pm

Of course. Just like my boss expects me to always be a consistent employee.

[blaxx]

Posted: 5/19/13 at 9:44pm

Next time anyone screws up at work, just say "What do you expect? I'm a human, not a robot. Do you really expect me to perform perfectly every day of the week?"

Let's see how that works for you.

[BroadwayStar4]

Posted: 5/19/13 at 9:47pm

Except that being a Broadway performer is much more demanding than being an employee, teacher, bus driver, etc.

[blaxx]

Posted: 5/19/13 at 9:49pm

Right. Any Broadway role is automatically more challenging than any other profession. Genius.

[BroadwayStar4]

Posted: 5/19/13 at 9:52pm

More or less, yes. Being a doctor or lawyer is more challenging, but Broadway performer is right up there. And it's not just playing the role, but enduring the auditioning process.

[Kad]

Posted: 5/19/13 at 9:53pm

...Have YOU ever taught for a full school day?

[blaxx]

Posted: 5/19/13 at 9:53pm

You're adorable!

[billis2]

Posted: 5/19/13 at 9:53pm

Do I expect performers to try their best to give a great performance every single time?

Yes, at least at the Broadway level.

Is a performer actually going to give a great performance every single time?

No, of course not. We're all human.

But a professional will try to do their best to give that great performance. Every single time.

[BroadwayStar4]

Posted: 5/19/13 at 9:56pm

You're adorable too! I always shipped you with Kermit!

[Kelly2]

Posted: 5/19/13 at 9:56pm

"Being a doctor or lawyer is more challenging, but Broadway performer is right up there."

Um, sorry, not it isn't. Raised in a family of theatre professionals and medical professionals. Having somebody's life in your hands and performing, say, an organ transplant as my father has, is MUCH more difficult than being a Broadway performer. To even compare them is an insult. Expecting someone to hit their turns is a lot less pressure than expecting someone to save a life.

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 5/19/13 at 9:58pm

I stand by what I said that most people wont know what level a performer is at if they are a pro. They will ebb and flow with energy and such but they will deliver the performance.

[blaxx]

Posted: 5/19/13 at 9:58pm

I'm sure that a firefighter in the middle of an emergency or a cop in a shoot out is thinking "At least I'm not a Broadway performer!"

[John Adams]

Posted: 5/19/13 at 9:59pm

>> "I also think it's unfair to say that an actor is horrible as a certain character just because they had an off day. Having an off day should not overshadow all of their previous amazing performances."

That statement implies that it's OK to have inconsistent performances from an actor. That on some days (even if that's *most* days), their performance will be "amazing", yet on another, (it may be only one) it may be noticeably "off".

That should never happen. Never.

Professionals warm up vocally, physically and mentally before a show so that there are NO off days. If they're under the weather, professionals do extra warm-ups, use *all kinds* of remedies (steam, lozenges, teas, sour patch candies...) to make sure their performances are consistent.

You can't cut an actor slack (or say it's "unfair") for having an off day. You should never be able to notice. If you *did* notice, they haven't done their job.

[billis2]

Posted: 5/19/13 at 9:59pm

Are you really saying that being a Broadway performer is anywhere close to the rigor and difficulty of being a doctor? Now I know you're trolling. I'm also willing to bet that you're neither a Broadway performer nor a doctor, because no one in either profession would say such an idiotic thing.

[BroadwayStar4]

Posted: 5/19/13 at 10:00pm

Kelly2, I said that being a doctor is more challenging. I literally just said that.

[Kelly2]

Posted: 5/19/13 at 10:02pm

I'm aware. I said it's an insult to mention them in the same breath.

[Kad]

Posted: 5/19/13 at 10:02pm

...followed by, "but Broadway performer is right up there"

[BroadwayStar4]

Posted: 5/19/13 at 10:03pm

Yeah, like Top 5.