If you can find another person to play the understudy's role, let them do the show with a script in hand.  It is nice to try to make the script as unobtrusive as possible, but you do what you can.

Edited by jtonner - 11/05/12 at 1:18pm

Originally posted by Thudster We had that happen, had to recast one of the main roles with one of the secondaries. The director ended up doing the secondary parts herself, just no other way to make it happen.

I'm sure you don't want to hear it Fauxgoddess but Thudster's suggestion might be the best alternative at this point.  You're also closer to knowing the lines than anyone else you would bring in.


Edited by jayzehr - 11/05/12 at 4:27pm

As a director of a small group I was notified opening night that an actress was too sick to get out of bed. She couldn't even stand up. I went on stage playing her part with book in hand and everyone told me that after the first couple of lines no one noticed the book. Except, that is for one funny time. I was playing the part of a palm reader and visiting a neighbor. We stood up and I asked to see her palms. The lines went like this:
Lead actress: What do you see (referring to her palms)
I was trying to examine her palms but the book was in my way so the first thing I ad-libbed was: "It is pretty hard to see anything with this book in my hand." That brought the house down. The whole experience was fun except I felt sorry for the missing actress. Her whole family was in the audience.

Not QUITE the same thing but I recall we had an Actor doing a show - who went through auditions, rehearsals and come opening night (and this is not related to having to fill in with someone else but you'll see the dilemma I think) but opening night who should show up to the door but the POLICE - with warrant in hand to arrest the actor - get this - for MURDER!!!! Yep that's right.  SCARY.  THEY however did allow him to go on with the opening night show while posted around the theater.  Then for the rest of the run you would be surprised to know that they "transported" him to the theater every evening to do the show then back to jail.  Talk about scary, insane and having to figure out how to do a show from opening night on through the run - if they had NOT allowed that to occur.  WHY or HOW they got away with that I'll never know - but it was one definitely for the book someday....whenver I write it.  But I could NOT make up stuff like this. Isn't that insane?  Fortunately I wasn't involved at all with that show - just was on the board and saw the show numerous times.  To this day I don't even remember what show they were doing - I think I was more worried about this guy, the cops and incidents than anything else.

Originally posted by TonyDi but opening night who should show up to the door but the POLICE - with warrant in hand to arrest the actor - get this - for MURDER!!!!

That's a great story. I'm wondering how the rest of the cast felt about spending the run backstage with a murder suspect.

Edited by jayzehr - 11/07/12 at 5:00pm