Community Theater Green Room Discussion Board: Dealing with a terrible actor

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didj1028
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Joined: 1/25/11
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Posted: 1/26/11 at 7:41pm

Maybe some kind of prop could help? depending on his role of course. If he's a servant could he putter around a little dusting or something? Or give him a book to be reading? Thank goodness I'm a designer and not a director, just my two cents on some things I've seen work in the past.

Geoff Ehrendreich
Waterloo Community Playhouse
Waterloo IA

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B-M-D
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Posted: 1/30/11 at 10:22pm

First I'd like to say that I think you're blessed with infinite patience and understanding and should be commended for that. I on the other hand am not. You say that you can't cut him. Why? If he's that bad and getting worse cut him lose. I'm sorry but I would not sacrifice the quality of the show just to make someone feel good about themselves or as therapy to overcome their awkwardness.

"Dying is easy, comedy is hard."

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PaulyWally
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Joined: 2/03/11
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Posted: 2/03/11 at 11:40pm

In my experience, not cutting an actor that needs to be cut is often more detrimental than simply replacing them. On the other hand, cutting an actor for any reason is easy for only a select few.

Remember that YOU are the director. Directors need to let actors do their thing... BUT... you can't let anarchy ensue. It always remains the director's responsibility to ensure that the actors are making choices that are conducive to the ensemble. And for that reason, I'll reiterate the "orchestra" analogy.

The characters are the actors' responsibility. The entire production is yours. There's a difference between letting an actor develop their character, and letting them create an entirely new play.

Another dimension to this is to figure out WHY your actor is doing this. What kind of person is he? What is he trying to accomplish? Does he want to be noticed? Is he trying to get appreciated? Is he bored with the role? Is there someone else in the cast/crew he's trying to impress?

Hopefully that helps a little...

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peacock
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Posted: 2/04/11 at 2:19am

Thanks, everyone, for the comments. The biggest issue with this guy is that he is socially awkward in the extreme. I cast him as a nerd, which should have been easy, but somehow it wasn't. So I finally called him in for a private talk. I told him that I would like to envision the character differently. I gave him a 180 degree different idea of the character, and said that basically he should do the opposite of what he was doing. Guess what, it is working at least well enough that I don't need to cut him. I have found in the past that sometimes weak actors get stuck in a characterization that does not work, so they need to just cast it aside and start again. I need to remember this for next time.< id="gwProxy" ="">< ="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" ="">

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SamD
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Posted: 2/04/11 at 8:16pm

I'm gonna have to try that "stop what you're doing and do the exact opposite" approach. Glad you figured it out!

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MusicManD
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Joined: 3/21/11
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Posted: 4/19/11 at 2:29pm

I've had a lot of luck with "I really like what you're trying to do there. Now stop it."

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Directing
Community Theater Green Room Discussion Board :Producing Theater :Directing

Author	Message
didj1028 Star Joined: 1/25/11 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 54	Posted: 1/26/11 at 7:41pm
	Maybe some kind of prop could help? depending on his role of course. If he's a servant could he putter around a little dusting or something? Or give him a book to be reading? Thank goodness I'm a designer and not a director, just my two cents on some things I've seen work in the past.
	Geoff Ehrendreich Waterloo Community Playhouse Waterloo IA
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B-M-D Celebrity Joined: 11/03/05 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 346	Posted: 1/30/11 at 10:22pm
	First I'd like to say that I think you're blessed with infinite patience and understanding and should be commended for that. I on the other hand am not. You say that you can't cut him. Why? If he's that bad and getting worse cut him lose. I'm sorry but I would not sacrifice the quality of the show just to make someone feel good about themselves or as therapy to overcome their awkwardness.
	BD "Dying is easy, comedy is hard."
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PaulyWally Player Joined: 2/03/11 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 28	Posted: 2/03/11 at 11:40pm
	In my experience, not cutting an actor that needs to be cut is often more detrimental than simply replacing them. On the other hand, cutting an actor for any reason is easy for only a select few. Remember that YOU are the director. Directors need to let actors do their thing... BUT... you can't let anarchy ensue. It always remains the director's responsibility to ensure that the actors are making choices that are conducive to the ensemble. And for that reason, I'll reiterate the "orchestra" analogy. The characters are the actors' responsibility. The entire production is yours. There's a difference between letting an actor develop their character, and letting them create an entirely new play. Another dimension to this is to figure out WHY your actor is doing this. What kind of person is he? What is he trying to accomplish? Does he want to be noticed? Is he trying to get appreciated? Is he bored with the role? Is there someone else in the cast/crew he's trying to impress? Hopefully that helps a little...
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peacock Star Joined: 3/03/09 Location: Bangladesh Online Status: Offline Posts: 58	Posted: 2/04/11 at 2:19am
	Thanks, everyone, for the comments. The biggest issue with this guy is that he is socially awkward in the extreme. I cast him as a nerd, which should have been easy, but somehow it wasn't. So I finally called him in for a private talk. I told him that I would like to envision the character differently. I gave him a 180 degree different idea of the character, and said that basically he should do the opposite of what he was doing. Guess what, it is working at least well enough that I don't need to cut him. I have found in the past that sometimes weak actors get stuck in a characterization that does not work, so they need to just cast it aside and start again. I need to remember this for next time.< id="gwProxy" ="">< ="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" ="">
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SamD Lead Joined: 6/25/09 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 39	Posted: 2/04/11 at 8:16pm
	I'm gonna have to try that "stop what you're doing and do the exact opposite" approach. Glad you figured it out!
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MusicManD Star Joined: 3/21/11 Online Status: Offline Posts: 91	Posted: 4/19/11 at 2:29pm
	I've had a lot of luck with "I really like what you're trying to do there. Now stop it."
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