>> On Sat, 18 Sep 2010 17:01:47 -0400, Joseph DeMartino wrote
(in article 
):
> 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.  
> 
> 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. <<
Oh, there are people here who understand that perfectly 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. <<
No doubt, and as Caryn said, different actors use different methods.  I think 
that what made many folks bristle was the dismissive way he referred to 
O'Hare's style.  And I don't think asking for "the code" is all
that crazy, 
especially if you're working in an auteur-style situation.
Another reason theater actors might be more apt to know their fellows' lines 
is...because they have to listen to them, night after night.  I spent many a 
Mikado backstage throughout the entire first act, waiting to come on (as 
Katisha), and memorizing every scrap and tittle of what the other actors said 
(and sang).
Amy
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