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Dressing Rooms

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Topic: Dressing Rooms

Posted By: actingbee
Subject: Dressing Rooms
Date Posted: 3/27/07 at 1:44am

I've had an actor get very (I mean VERY) upset on a current production because we've put a curtain up to cordon off the men's "dressing room." I initially thought that their area was sufficiently isolated (a loft full of full garment racks) but found out otherwise. We are a group that entire families are involved in, thus we had 11- and 12-year-old girls as well as high school student volunteers backstage. He chewed out my director for 20 minutes (less than an hour before curtain) and when I approached him after the show to ask him if I or someone else had done something personally offensive, he indicated that the curtain was offensive. "This is 'theatre,'" was his repeated reason.

It never, ever occurred to me that anyone would be upset by this. Any thoughts on this?

Replies:

Posted By: Kathy S
Date Posted: 3/27/07 at 2:18am

One explanation - as far as I can guess, he's mental. Sorry for the oversimplification. Or, Maybe he's one of those people who has to have a hissy fit before a show in order for things to feel right to him. Sort of a ritual or a superstition, of sorts, like wearing his lucky underwear.

I recall a wonderfully creative and talented actor who has a hissy fit at every dress rehearsal and flounces out in a snit. It is exceedingly unprofessional and immature, but I think that's what he does to make himself feel like everything is normal for him. Dysfunctional for the rest of us. Maybe your guy just has to have his buttons pushed an hour before the show and you happened to draw the lucky number.

Has anybody ever read anywhere in the theatre rule book that you have to change clothes in public? Not me. Just because many of us don't have the luxury of private dressing rooms doesn't mean that we all enjoy changing clothes in front of everybody in the cast and crew. I think you'd find more people who will appreciate your efforts to give them some semblance of privacy by putting up a curtain.

Posted By: jayzehr
Date Posted: 3/27/07 at 6:06am

Hi actingbee--first of all let me ask what your role is in this production? Are you the producer maybe?
If I'm getting the situation right--you had the dressing room set up a certain way. Then you found out that the men's section wasn't "sufficiently isolated"? How did you find out? Did someone see something they were uncomfortable with and complain? Was this guy singled out? It's possible this guy could think he was being accused of improper behavior involving 12 year old girls. If he's guilty of that you need to get him out of there right now no matter what. If he's just an actor carelessly changing his clothes in the space he was assigned, then depending on what happened back there and what was said, it could be understandable that he might get very defensive, feel insulted and/or lose his temper.
Also, yes, it's possible he's a diva with a bad temper and/or mental health issues. But in my experience, an emotional outburst like that usually doesn't come out of nowhere. Maybe the show's in great shape and this guy's an idiot. On the other hand, is there some unresolved ongoing personal or artistic conflict? Have there been confrontations you don't know about? Is the director a screamer? Has she/he lost control of the show? Is it one of those horribly stressful productions where nobody has it together? (Just brainstorming here) Like I said, the show could be in great shape, but maybe the actor was upset about other things and finally lost it over this issue. I'd also bet that with eleven and twelve year old girls and high school volunteers running around in what appears to be tight quarters there's a chance the backstage atmosphere is more chaotic than the norm and might put a sensitive person on edge.
At any rate, I think what needs to happen before the show starts its run is to sit everybody down, show them what's going on backstage, how you do things and what is expected of everyone. The dressing rooms have eccentric people in tight quarters under highly charged circumstances and everyone needs to respect everyone elses' space as much as possible but you know that.
Assuming the guy's not insane or a sexual deviant, if this is early in your show's run, the courageous move would be to sit everyone down and try to clear the air, smooth feathers, maybe he apologizes, everybody hugs and gets back to doing the show and having a good time. Otherwise you'll have that cloud hanging over the show ....YMMV

Posted By: Theatrestation
Date Posted: 3/27/07 at 9:34am

Perhaps he needs reminded that EVERYONE needs to feel comfortable, and on the level of family oriented theatre there needs to be a little more reserve than in the type of theatre that he apparently wants to be involved in.

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Posted By: Shatcher
Date Posted: 3/27/07 at 12:06pm

all I can say is Some actors are never happy no matter what you do. I worked with a guy once who would punch the wall before every show... I asked him about it and he said it hurt but helped him focus. You get all types in this busisness

Posted By: actingbee
Date Posted: 3/27/07 at 5:24pm

Hello Everyone:

Quick update, received an e-mail apology from our actor for his unprofessional behavior. I have replied "apology accepted" and also regrets for the situation being so upsetting just before a performance. I am the producer and the show is going really well. The director maintains his calm and no one is floundering. I didn't really know about the exposure the guys were receiving because I hadn't been backstage during the show. Thank you for the input.

Posted By: jayzehr
Date Posted: 3/27/07 at 7:52pm

Well, that sounds like the best possible outcome. Sorry to have rattled on about negative possibilities! I'll make a note to myself not to post after having to stay up all night! I'm glad you don't have some unresolved weird situation to deal with.

Posted By: falstaff29
Date Posted: 4/01/07 at 8:47pm

Sometimes "hissy fits" happen because there is some real deficiency on someone's end that isn't being resolved. This is not to make excuses for this particular situation (I don't have all the facts), but rather to caution against kneejerk reactions of, "Oh, he's just a diva."

In any event, glad that he apologized and that it appears resolved.

Posted By: avcastner
Date Posted: 4/11/07 at 11:42pm

I'm worried. If you have youngsters in a situation like this and he dislikes the curtain, I have to wonder . . . "Does your group do FBI background checks on the adults?"

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Posted By: jayzehr
Date Posted: 4/13/07 at 3:09pm

This came up before where someone found a member of their group listed in a online sex offender registry. If you have something like that available in your state or area, I guess it wouldn't hurt to check if you are going to have adults you don't know very well working with minors.

Posted By: DramaTrauma
Date Posted: 4/13/07 at 3:25pm

Dont overlook that some actors (on the CT level) possess an "exhibitionist" gene.

We had a similar situation in a recent show where an actress in her 30s couldnt remember that it was inappropriate to change in front of the 11 year old boy who was also in the cast (I'm talking bare breasts). She had to be taken aside and "talked to" by the producer. She also apologized (profusely) when the situation cooled down, but everyone was convinced it was a personality disorder.

All I could think was, "Man, where was she when I was 11?"