how do Actors select the next play to work on... ? (when I say Actor, I mean male or female)
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William Petersen in 'Dublin Carol'
at Trinity Rep (Providence RI) |
I realize a majority of actors or directors do not have the luxury of really selecting their projects... but even if you are not in that position, there probably still is some level of selection in what to audition for.
Let's say you
are in the position to select your next project, your time is yours and the money is of no real consideration... you made your fame and fortune in tv and movies, you did not waste your hard earned Dollars, Pounds or even Euro's on dodgy investments, the wrong fellow humans, castles, cars or drugs. You can choose to work or you can choose not to, or even retire... yet as I've been told by people who should know, acting is in your blood... an actor often keeps working, but if in this luxury position, he can do so on his own terms (must be nice, I'm jealous!).
I wonder, what makes a project interesting?
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Rhys-Ifans in 'Protest Song' at The Shed
(NT) London |
Is it the play itself? the challenging character available to give life to? is it the chance to work with other actors or a director already committed? or, if the project is in the early stages a chance to be involved with the selection of co-stars, director or other disciplines in the creative team?
Here's a 1981 article dealing with this same question... I imagine the situation has changed some, I think now even less plays are written with a specific actor in mind... more and more actors make their fame and fortune in tv or movies and venture (back) out to the stage, either because that is their first love, or because they have listened to their fellow actors waxing about how stage work is so different they want to experience it at least once (I haven't researched this, but I imagine that last category either falls in love or only does it once, as stage work definitely takes a different kind of dedication to the trade than tv or movie work).
a few quotes that jumped out for me (entire article included at the end of this post)
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Krister Henriksson in 'Dr Glas' ,
Wyndham's Theatre, London |
In the first place, say actors and producers, there just aren't that many wonderful new plays around - even for a star. And wonderful new plays suited to a particular actor's particular talents are even scarcer.
True, but I wonder if our actor who has the luxury of choice, would choose to take a risk on a new play or would choose to play that classic character he always wanted to play? The offerings of brilliant new plays might be as scarce as it was then, the library of wonderful plays that were produced before just keeps growing.
''I'm always amazed when a critic says, 'why would so-and-so pick to do this play?' '' she says.''That statement should be cut from every critic's review. It makes the assumption that actors are reading wonderful plays all the time, and that out of six, they reached out and took the wrong one. It's difficult for actors like Gerry (Page) or Julie (Harris) or G.C. (Scott) to be attacked on that level, as though they hadn't used their heads. My main reason and theirs is that we want to come back to the stage - it's what keeps you alive. ''You get to the point where you have nothing and you just want to go back to work.
Right, if you are looking for new work... on the other hand though there are a lot of wonderful plays out there that were produced before, that you can have some idea of on what might work or what not... Not that that is a guarantee for a perfect hand in picking a play... so many other things factor in, set design, sound, direction... for some plays even the sign of the time might work for or against it.
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Fiona Shaw, Alan Rickman and Lindsay Duncan
in 'John Gabriel Borkman' at The Abbey Theatre in Dublin |
To me the most important thing for our actor should be if he thinks he will have a good time working on the project, would the character push his buttons? make him flex his acting muscles, make him want to pull out all the stops to do it justice? does the story speak to him? of course our actor still would want the play to be a succes, draw in the audience because after all a lot of people make their living off the theater that will put up this play. But he is lucky enough to be able to wait until the right balance comes along.
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| William Petersen in 'Blackbird' (Victory Gardens Theater, Chicago) |
There used to be a following of theater people who went to see great actors - certainly all the plays the Lunts were in were not of equal caliber. But in this town today, there are no actors with followings. If the play doesn't work, it doesn't matter who's in it.
there still is a following!
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Daniel Radcliffe in 'Equus'
NOT Harry Potter |
admittedly there are not enough to fill a theater no matter what. I see a few fellow followers at some plays, we go for certain actors, directors, playwrights or specific plays.
I think these days 'the followers' can be roughly divided into 2 categories, 1) the single focussed ones who are a fan of a Celebrity in another trade and follow him or her to the the theater - case in point, the
Daniel Radcliffe/Harry Potter fans who flocked to "Equus" who may have left the theater in shock for not having seen Harry Potter but DR in a very different role... or the
William Petersen/Grissom fans who overran the town of Providence RI when he took a break from the (then) hugely successful CSI to do a play.
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William Petersen in 'Dublin Carol'
at Trinity Rep, Providence RI
NOT Grissom |
Where DR took to West End and Broadway, where the celeb fans were easily absorbed, WP found a small theater in a small town where all the celeb fans pretty much stood out.
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And 2) there is the category of followers who fell in love with the theater at some point in their lives and will go to any play if it has certain cast members in it - usually following a number of actors who have proven themselves to have captivating stage presence, but will also go to great lengths to see plays by a certain playwright or director or sometimes even a venue or a production company (the
Michael Grandage Company comes to mind), who keep an eye out on Fringe Festivals to see the new gems before they get discovered by the rest of the world... yes, we are not a club of millions, but we are here!
For the theater community, I'd say both categories are good, it would be a bonus if the Celeb fans who may find themselves in a theater for the first time following their celeb, like it enough to come back for other plays. I remember
Timothy Dalton once saying during the press run for his first James Bond movie where he got criticized for doing a Bond movie while he was a 'serious' stage actor, 'wasn't he afraid now that people would come to the theater to see James Bond and not whatever Shakespeare character he was playing at the time?' his reply: of course it was a different thing to do, but if going to see his movie made a few of those people go to the theater, even if it was to see James Bond he would be happy... those people would NOT get to see James Bond (like many CSI fans were aiming to see Grissom at Triniy Rep in Providence RI), but they might see something they liked and come back for more...if not, at least a few more tickets were sold for that play, if they came back, more tickets! win win.
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Judi Dench in 'Peter and Alice'
Michael Grandage Company, London |
Celebs will draw people to the theater, I'm undecided on the whole issue of stunt casting, but at least it gets people to the theater... and more people, means more money and more money in theater world means more chances for other productions, for other actors and other playwrights.
The 2nd categorie of followers are not so many that they make much of a difference as far as 'butts in seats' are concerned, but they are more vocal about their passion... they take to social media, blogs and in that small way contribute to the theater buzz.
Clearly most actors in these days of movies and television do not appear in the theater for money. Instead, many stars including Colleen Dewhurst, Ruth Gordon, Jason Robards, Laurence Olivier, John Gielgud, and Geraldine Page have used Hollywood as a means of financing their stage careers. By making the occasional picture - often a picture chosen with an eye toward making substantial money - they can be more selective when it comes to choosing shows.
very true, and I am grateful that this is happening... keep funding the theater opportunities Hollywood!
There are a few directors such as Harold Prince and Mike Nichols whose reputation alone is enough to win over a reluctant actor. ''Actors will frequently go with Hal on faith,'' says Mr. Prince's casting director Joanna Merlin. ''Sometimes we won't have a final draft and the score's not completed, but they're willing to take a chance because they know his work.''
What's more often the case is that an actor develops a special working relationship with a particular director or producer, and feelings of loyalty and trust persist.
My money is on the joy in collaboration being #1 consideration for our actor, with the Character on offer a close second. I'm thinking not even collaborating with friends or heroes will make up for a character that is a wrong fit. Of course the message of a play can also be so powerful our actor would want to work on it no matter the rest of the cast or creative team. It seems to be rare though to make a choice solely on the message of the play.
to illustrate, from a recent interview (2014)
(Bill Nighy, Carey Mulligan, Matthew Beard: interview The stars of David Hare's Skylight in the West End talk to Sarah Crompton about theatre, ideals - and cooking on stage)
SaraCrompton: So what’s the bit that pulls you back?
BillNighy: I don’t know, I’ve been trying to work it out. [He half-laughs] It’s more than usually possible that I won’t do a play again. But Skylight is one of the great plays in the English language. I was lucky enough to be a part of it at one point in its life, and it’s a timely thing to deliver it again in the modern world. We haven’t attempted to contemporise it or anything. It’s set firmly when it was written, in the Nineties, and to see how it resonates now is quite extraordinary.
When you are in something that you’re proud of and it’s funny and it’s a good night out and all of those things, there’s nothing quite like it. The rewards are proportionate to the amount of alarm and distress it causes you.
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| Bill Nighy in 'Skylight' at Wyndham's Theatre, London |
Published: February 8, 1981
REGEN KAKUTANI By MICHIKO KAKUTANI
The theater has always been a whimsical business, and in no respect do things seem more whimsical than in casting. Why, for instance, is Richard Burton turning his back on King Lear, a role he's always wanted to play, just to tour the provinces in ''Camelot,'' a show he did 20 years ago?
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