what do bway actors do whent hey need to go to the bathroom?- Page 3

[stanton]

Posted: 11/26/07 at 11:32pm

No but Sean COmbs acting was ****. Maybe that is what you herd?

[Enjolras77]

Posted: 11/27/07 at 1:58pm

About 13 years ago (God was it that long ago!) I played Hero in a community theatre production of "Forum" -- and one night we had a "bathroom" mishap.

There is a point in Act One where Pseudolus calls to Lycus, who then enters from offstage. Well, this particular night, Pseudolus called for him, and he didn't enter. So Pseudolus called again, still with no response. Luckily the actor playing Pseudolus was a seasoned pro, so he adlibbed long enough until Lycus finally made his entrance.

It turned out that the actor playing Lycus had some sort of "stomach virus" (as he called it -- but it was probably just some bad Taco Bell) and was still on the john when it was time for his entrance cue. When he entered, he played it up by having a sheet of toilet paper attached to his sandals. The audience roared with laughter at this, and the show continued on without a hitch. Luckily with the slapstick nature of the show, most of the audience assumed that it was a pre-planned gag.

[Mealz1042]

Posted: 11/27/07 at 6:11pm

though musical theatre actors and actresses do need to drink water for their voices, straight actors too.

[billynj]

Posted: 11/27/07 at 6:25pm

and you guys pick on me ....

[Dover]

Posted: 11/27/07 at 9:35pm

I'm a stage manager, not an actor, although in a lot of cases that's worse because at least some actors have breaks in the middle of an act. I am a big proponent of not eating or drinking anything after about 7:15, although as someone said, you do have to drink a certain amount of water, so it can be a bit of a balancing act.

I once did a show with two actors who had very specific instructions for the places call. Basically they wanted me to tell them exactly when I was about to start the show so that they could go at the very last possible second, and not be kept waiting if we were holding on the house, etc. It wasn't a long show, but they didn't want to lose focus by being distracted by having to pee. I get that. I find it incredibly distracting myself, and will always hold the curtain if someone asks if they have time to go -- actor, audience member, or even myself -- because what fun is a show if you spend the whole time just wishing it would be over?

And one final story. There was a certain actress, starring in a certain Broadway show, who didn't have adequate time to pee during the show and I guess was pretty adamant about getting to do so. So her dresser had to be standing by with a bucket offstage. I wonder if the wardrobe union has special compensation for that in their contract?

[MarkRascati]

Posted: 11/27/07 at 9:45pm

Of course actors go to the bathroom on stage... how else could you explain tarzan?









Buh doo chah

[Gothampc]

Posted: 11/27/07 at 10:01pm

Bucket backstage for the play "Fences" where the father does a lot of drinking in Act 1 and doesn't have time to run to the bathroom.

[GHOSTLIGHT2]

Posted: 11/28/07 at 9:00am

Someone brought up a good point when they said that Actors may do what Astronauts do.
Astronauts cannot eat much that requires them to go to waste extraction, so unless there is a special occasion they are supposed to eat low residue producing foods that the body will absorb better.

[markypoo]

Posted: 11/28/07 at 12:38pm

Back in 2000 I interviewed for an assistant job for a production of David Dillon's PARTY in Chicago.
Since the men's room and the stage were not easy for the cast (all male, btw) to access, part of my job was to take responsibility for (and regularly empty) a bucket that the guys could leak into at their discretion.
How this worked out in reality I'll never know 'cause it completely grossed me out and I declined the position.