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Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / PROFESSIONALISM: Problem Actor...
« on: Jun 10, 2007, 11:32 am »
Minor rant/stream of thought warning...
I am currently in performances of Cabaret right now, and for the most part it is going great. The set is wonderful, the lighting is brilliant, my crew is flawless, and I love my acting company. However, there is one problem child. The woman playing our Fraulein Schneider has consistently had off shows, and I could never figure out why. So far, there has not been a night where she has not flubbed lines, gone up on lyrics, or all together not been in the scene.
Last night I found out that it was in large part due to the fact that she spends most of her offstage time during the show on her computer in the dressing room. I have told the company no less than three times that ALL electronics are to be turned off at half hour, and the only thing that I allow are IPods in the rehearsal hall (where my "office" is) while they are stretching. Well, after I was approached by another actress to inform me of the computer usage, I told her to turn it off, and that I didn't want to hear about her on it again. I got the diva attitude that I expected but she did go and turn it off. Well, fast forward twenty minutes and the lights come up on Act 2 Scene 2 which is a two person scene between her and Schultz. She isn't there... She was almost a full minute late to that entrance, because she was chatting on her phone! I am beyond livid at this point as I had to go retrieve her from the dressing room. Then I was approached again after the show because after the missed entrance, she came back to the dressing room and was on her phone yet again!
Tonight she will be turning over her computer and her phone to me as she walks into the theatre, and in return I will be handing her back a copy of the libretto so she can study her part when not on stage. I'm not even sure what else I can do to impress upon her how inappropriate it is to blatantly disrespect the rules of our theatre, and her fellow performers by not taking her job seriously. The Artistic Director and I have scheduled a meeting with her today before our matinee but I'm not sure what to expect as she appears as though she has no idea that she is in the wrong...
I am currently in performances of Cabaret right now, and for the most part it is going great. The set is wonderful, the lighting is brilliant, my crew is flawless, and I love my acting company. However, there is one problem child. The woman playing our Fraulein Schneider has consistently had off shows, and I could never figure out why. So far, there has not been a night where she has not flubbed lines, gone up on lyrics, or all together not been in the scene.
Last night I found out that it was in large part due to the fact that she spends most of her offstage time during the show on her computer in the dressing room. I have told the company no less than three times that ALL electronics are to be turned off at half hour, and the only thing that I allow are IPods in the rehearsal hall (where my "office" is) while they are stretching. Well, after I was approached by another actress to inform me of the computer usage, I told her to turn it off, and that I didn't want to hear about her on it again. I got the diva attitude that I expected but she did go and turn it off. Well, fast forward twenty minutes and the lights come up on Act 2 Scene 2 which is a two person scene between her and Schultz. She isn't there... She was almost a full minute late to that entrance, because she was chatting on her phone! I am beyond livid at this point as I had to go retrieve her from the dressing room. Then I was approached again after the show because after the missed entrance, she came back to the dressing room and was on her phone yet again!
Tonight she will be turning over her computer and her phone to me as she walks into the theatre, and in return I will be handing her back a copy of the libretto so she can study her part when not on stage. I'm not even sure what else I can do to impress upon her how inappropriate it is to blatantly disrespect the rules of our theatre, and her fellow performers by not taking her job seriously. The Artistic Director and I have scheduled a meeting with her today before our matinee but I'm not sure what to expect as she appears as though she has no idea that she is in the wrong...