Joseph DeMartino wrote:
> On Sep 17, 9:48 pm, Amy Guskin  wrote:
> 
>> That irked me, too.  I assumed the comment was Jerry's, not Joe
Chicago's.  I
>> guess if you're a dabbler rather than a professional who has
worked years at  
>> your craft, the rest of the script wouldn't concern you.
> 
> I think the part of the alleged quote that caused Doyle to use the
> word "delusional" was that about needing "the
code" rather than
> O'Hare's method of learning lines.
> 
> In any case there is nothing unusual about actors - professional or
> otherwise - paying attention only to their own parts.  (And, as you
> certainly know, the practice, especially in musical theater, is often
> to give some actors only "sides" containing their own scenes rather
> than full scripts )  There's also nothing unusual about some actors
> going through the whole script only for the purpose of counting up how
> many lines they (and others) will have.  
> 

Yeah, and that's why I don't see them working very often (or moving up 
to more demanding roles or theatre companies--even at the community level).
> Someting missing from most of what I've read of this thread (and I
> confess I haven't look at every post) is the difference between
> television or film acting and acting for the stage, which not everyone
> here understands well.
> 
> Plays are peformed in sequence, over the space of a couple of hours at
> most.  The action is concentrated and actors are never more than a few
> feet from the stage, and they generally listen attentively for their
> cues.
> 
> A two hour film will be shot out of sequence, over a period of months
> or longer, a one hour TV series episode also out of sequnce, over a
> period of only a few days, with the next script going before the
> cameras only a few days after that.  In both cases it can make
> sense .for actors to concentrate on their own parts.

I didn't make that part of my discussion because the original comment 
seemed to be related to the initial response of the actor to being given 
a script and their approach to the role--in that case, medium didn't 
seem to be pertinent.

The other issue with plays is that you generally have 4-5 weeks (more if 
it's technically complicated or a musical--exceptions, of course, so 
apply).  If you can get through that entire period without having some 
understanding of the piece, you are achieving that state willfully!

Blair
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