Waiting in the Wings
Printed From: Community Theater Green Room
Category: Producing Theater
Forum Name: Directing
Forum Discription: For questions about handling shows, actors, crew, board members, children ...or do we repeat ourselves?
URL: http://www.communitytheater.org/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=2124
Printed Date: 11/23/24 at 12:04pm
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 8.05 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: Waiting in the Wings
Posted By: BeJa
Subject: Waiting in the Wings
Date Posted: 11/14/06 at 3:37pm
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I will be directing the next play in our active senior adult community. I've been looking at Waiting in the Wings by Noel Coward as it has a cast that fits our members' ages and also calls for 14 women and only 4 men. In my opinion, it is slow moving, but there is an opportunity for the cast to really get their teeth into "character development." In the past, we've only produced light-weight musicals, which our senior audience is getting tired of seeing, tho our members love to do. If you've had any experience with this play or any of Coward's, please let me know how your audience reacted, plus did your cast like doing it? Our audience consists of relatives and residents of our community. We do not sell tickets outside, because of restrictions. Thanks. |
Replies:
Posted By: falstaff29
Date Posted: 11/14/06 at 10:53pm
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My general thought on Coward: everyone thinks because he's British his
characters must be proper and stuffy (because people think all Brits
are like that...). He's a good writer, but you have to break out
of the "proper" mentality. Eg, in Blithe Spirit (which is
probably the one I'm most familiar with), the opening segment with
Charles and his wife- I've seen it work best when he's just a regular
old horny b**tard instead of the standard "dead" American impression of
a Brit. In conclusion, if you have good actors and you let them be free, they'll find the humor, and there's plenty if you look hard enough. |
Posted By: tristanrobin
Date Posted: 11/16/06 at 11:57am
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I agree that Americans seem to think all Brits act like the cast of a
Masterpiece Theatre piece. They forget that Britain also gave us Monty Python, Benny Hill, and Graham Norton! |
Posted By: castMe
Date Posted: 11/16/06 at 9:55pm
......and Little Britain ------------- Investigate. Imagine. Choose. |
Posted By: Gaafa
Date Posted: 11/17/06 at 2:09am
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Blimey cobber, be natural with a Yankee accent. Coward is
complete subtle humour, coming more from the dialogue, pauses &
allowing it to sink in to the punters, rather than being in your
face slap stick comedy. Don?t try & mimic the toffee nose pohms of the era, which in most regards, was Noels way of bunging on a bit of side & getting up the noses of the rather polite society. As he did for most of his life, which belied his humbler birth. He used it successfully as a tool to camp it up & get his point across! [In more ways than one] Go for it the BeJa the blue rinse set & others will love it!  Although he was as camp as row of tent pegs, he was more acceptable to the fairer gender! ------------- Joe Western Gondawandaland turn right @ Perth. Hear the light & see the sound. Toi Toi Toi Chookas {{"chook [chicken] it is"} May you always play to a full house} |
Posted By: pammat
Date Posted: 11/21/06 at 2:00pm
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My comment comes from watching a...well, VERY EXPERIENCED cast(i.e., on the less-than-young side) completely blow Blithe Spirit this weekend. Please just make sure whoever you cast actually GETS the NC humor. The actors in this production just didn't seem to know what was funny -- and neither, apparently, did the director; the cast just read every line straight. For example, in the opening scene, Ruth and Charles should be quite arch with Madame Arcati (OK, granted, they should be arch ALL the time) so as to have their in-joke. But this cast asked every question, made every comment, as if they were completely sincere. It was deadly to watch.
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Posted By: Gaafa
Date Posted: 11/22/06 at 5:41am
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Maybe the director should have of got a copy of the
generic ?Ha ha ha? recording, that is used for the supposed
TV comedy bits produced over there, to play to the cast during
rehearsals. But as you posted the director would have needed to be cued
at the humorous bits anyway. I?m not knocking yankee TV comedy or humour in general. But it always amasses me why they use the same generic audience laughter recording. Or believe they need to prompt the viewers into laughing, at what they think is the right places & the obvious punch lines? Although I have been advised over time, that the average TV executive believes in treating the audience as 5 years olds. Even though I believe the average 5 year old is normally miles ahead of the situation & the funny bits as they unfold on TV. Unfortunately it has crept into the odd pohmy productions, except they either use a live audience or different recordings each time. Because it is difficult & I can?t seem to pick up the same bods laughing, in the different shows of the same series. Maybe as with over there, it is just the pohmy sense of humour has been cultivated completely differently?  ------------- Joe Western Gondawandaland turn right @ Perth. Hear the light & see the sound. Toi Toi Toi Chookas {{"chook [chicken] it is"} May you always play to a full house} |
Posted By: A-M-K
Date Posted: 11/27/06 at 9:45pm
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Gaafa, Sorry, what exactly is "pohmy"? I tried my best to guess!  |
Posted By: Gaafa
Date Posted: 11/28/06 at 7:27am
It is the original acronym for ?Property Of His Majesty" which was used
on the ships manifest of convicts sent to Australia. So anyone from
Britain became know as a Pohmy &/or Pommy, which was also
descriptive of the pommy skin, when compared to that of a Pomegranate
& their complexion, after being exposed to the sun. However the original term pohmy bastard was apparently coined as being descriptive of all convicts or ticket of leave prisoners, within the colony. Much later the term "G?day ya old pohmy bastard " Became G?day ya old bastard". Later the term was deemed by the supreme court as a form of endearment & mateship. Which was extended to include pommy bastard as being a British mate. In fact I?m a card carrying member of the ?Old Bastards Club?, which is a charitable organisation. So in real terms I?m still an Old Pohmy Bastard, even though I have been here since 1960. As I have not as yet under gone surgery to become an Ocker! ------------- Joe Western Gondawandaland turn right @ Perth. Hear the light & see the sound. Toi Toi Toi Chookas {{"chook [chicken] it is"} May you always play to a full house} |
Posted By: A-M-K
Date Posted: 12/01/06 at 4:39pm
| Thank you, that's a great story! |