Ear Piece For Lines — Page 2

Fascinating to see such negative sentiment here. I remember five years ago, when Elaine Stritch did A Little Night Music, she refused to have an earpiece because of her dignity, which led to numerous long, awkward pauses as she tried to recall her lines. People then seemed to say that she should have sucked it up and used an earpiece like Angela Lansbury, who originated the role in that revival, did.

Also, I don't understand why so many people here think that actors who need help with their lines are not doing their jobs. The job of the actor is to believably and compellingly convey a story. Usually that involves being fully memorized, but some actors can benefit tremendously from the extra help. I don't think anyone mentioned here needs prompting due to laziness, but due to necessity. I would rather see an actor get the help they need to perform the role well than refuse the help they need because they have "integrity" or "respect for the theatre" or something else.

Phyllis Rogers Stone said: "I guess I just don't see what's so terrible about it if the actor wearing an earpiece is still giving a competent performance. "

I agree. Some people just need something to complain about. People were very vocal on here when Elaine Stritch refused to wear an ear piece in Night Music, and they would've still complained had she wore one.

Updated On: 11/7/15 at 01:27 AM

I think the performers in question are being held to two different standards which I'm kind of okay with. If a longing stage actor is prolonging his/her career, giving more people a chance to see them and playing an elderly character, giving them an ear piece as a safety net is ok. I hope it's a safety net and not a constant feed.

If an actor wants to do or is courted to do Broadway and cannot hack it by knowing his lines, that's not okay.

"If Pacino has multiple screens AND an earpiece, it doesn't sound like a safety net."

Exactly !!!

Agree - Pacino's teleprompter business is far from a safety net. I agree with the sympathy being expressed for his and Willis' scene partners.

Yankeefan, put yourself in Laurie Metcalfe's shoes.

You are receiving a large paycheck because the man you are playing opposite has agreed to do a stage play and he is not a stage play actor. He has tried to learn all of the lines but cannot so the play keeps stopping or he keeps jumping ahead and key pieces of plot are left out due to the missing dialogue. He also has a powerful agent so he has casting approval - meaning you would not be standing there if he did not like you.

Everyone in the theater actually CELEBRATES the day an actor starts wearing an ear piece. Now the show can continue without stops or missing plot. The cues are all there. People have been feeding lines from the wings to forgetful actors for centuries. It is much better than having other actors make things up each night to cover for the silence or plot jumps. This is just a more high tech solution to an age old problem.

Updated On: 11/7/15 at 12:26 PM

What we'll probably never know is just how much each actor wearing an earpiece actually depends on it. Some actors might be fed practically every line and some might be fed only an occasional line when it becomes obvious to the prompter that they've gone up. Some may even never be fed a line but they are able to concentrate on their performance while knowing that it's there if they need it (they are fed a line only when it's obvious that they're going up). Also I can imagine shows in previews are difficult with changes in the script constantly taking place.

Just thinking out loud here.

I understand why it's necessary for those actors such as Lansbury and Tyson, who are farther up in years and whose memories may not be as clear as they used to be, but Willis is just being lazy. Anyone can memorize lines as long as you work at it. It's the easiest part of acting for crying out loud!!!

At one time Pacino certainy could learn lines. Saw him in American Buffalo in SF back in the 1980s.

IMO I think what bothers some theatergoers the most,is that mostly everyone is plunking down huge amounts of money to see Pacino and Willis. When you invest that much time and money, you would expect actors of their stature be competent enough to remember a 90 minute play. I saw Pacino in MOV and I know he was wired. In his case, he's just "pacino-ed" into the role and must not care. If Pam McKinnon practically walks out, You Sir, are in deep S@@T. The thing is, life long Pacino admirers will see this and think it's normal, it's okay because it's him.

In Willis' case I just don't know? Where is his pride? I would gladly shell out a couple of hundred to see Laurie Metcalf again. She is always excellent! (I'm so glad I got to see her in AOC).

If you want a good performance out of Bruce Willis, just get Cybill Shepherd in there to swing that sledgehammer around. She knows how to keep that "____" on his toes. And he would look better in the end result.

YouWantitWhen???? said: "And, if the stories I heard are even half true, Metcalfe should get hazard pay and have a therapist on speed dial."

Search YouTube for Kevin Smith Bruce Willis, you'll hear lots of stories of Smith trying to get Willis to act in a movie in which he was the lead...

Honestly, this kind of thing happens more often than you know. Mario Lopez, while in A Chorus Line, didn't have an earpiece but did read from his script in the back of the house, and had notes written inside hats and posted on walls just offstage.

Sometimes even that wasn't enough, and he'd just paraphrase.

Zach's "Listen, now listen. Larry has exactly the style I'm looking for, very thirties. Everyone keep your eye on him. Let's do it again. A five six seven eight"

became, with Mario: "Ok, everybody check out Larry. Five six seven eight".

My first choice would have been to have someone else in the role. My second? Have him wear an earpiece.

Actors should hire someone to help them learn their lines before they go into the rehearsal process. I do not want to pay good money to see a BROADWAY play where an actor is reading his lines on a teleprompter, laptop computer or is being fed the lines through an earpiece. I do not think it matters what age you are.