The Divas
I recently finished a run of the musical "Oliver!" with a company in Manchester. It was loads of fun, and arguably one of the most satisfying productions that I've ever been involved in. I was blown away by the talent I was working with (kids as well as adults), however, I was also witness to two very different types of "diva"-like behavior.
Diva Experience # 1
One of the lead actors was one of the funniest guys I've ever seen. He dissappeared into his role every night and kept the audience laughing. During one of the breaks in between shows, we were outside catching a little air, shooting the breeze, and he started telling us a story about how, a few months ago, he helped out a community theater group in the area by stepping into a lead role when one of the lead actors got very sick five days before opening night. He said that when opening night arrived...well, here is how he told the story:
Actor: "I didn't really get along with the stage manager. She pulled this community theater s*** on me. She told me the cast was warming up onstage and I told her 'Good, you guys should do that', and she started giving me grief because I wasn't going out there with them. I told her 'Look, I'm a professional actor, I do this 8 days a week. I warm up in my own way.' When she pressed the issue, I told her 'Look, man, I'm doing you guys a favor.' And she walked out in a huff. Needless to say we didn't really speak much throughout the show."
I'm not trying to come off all high and mighty here, but that seemed uncalled for. Granted, the guy is a pro, and I'm sure he knows how to prepare for a show. And, yeah, like he said, he WAS doing this group a favor. But how about the fact that he was on THEIR turf, operating (you would think) by their guidelines? Would it really have killed his pride for him to suck it up and join the cast onstage for a two-minute warm-up? Would it have been so terrible for the cast of community actors to see a professional actor joining the cast circle and showing a little cast unity? Give me a break. Fine, so he's a professional, but you know what? He was not in a professional environment. If I'm a high school math teacher and I suddenly get asked to substitute for a class of third-graders, am I going to teach the third graders advanced algebra, or am I going to go with simple adddition and subtraction? Would I say "Well, I teach high school and I'll do things my way!"?
BOTTOM LINE: I'm not suggesting Broadway should change its practices and have cast circles, group warm-ups and pre-show dinners, like in a community environment. (For all I know, maybe some of them do!) I'm just saying, a little humility never hurt anyone. Remember...Jimmy Carter was President of the United States and spent his post-President years building houses for poor people. Think about it.
Diva Experience # 2
The theater we used is beautiful, but has TINY dressing rooms. They're practically closets. There are about 10 individual dressing rooms, each one which can comfortably fit about 3 or 4 people. (Well, not TOO comfortable, but at least you can get dressed without tripping over everyone else.) But when you have a large cast (as we did for the show), you have to do a little "cramming", and overfill some of the rooms.
So, I find my dressing room and I learn that I am sharing it...with 6 other guys! Seven guys in one room?? Certain dressing rooms are bigger than others, but the one I was assigned to was barely enough for 3 people. I took a stroll down the hall and saw that most everyone else was kind of in the same boat, and felt just a bit better. At least we'd all be having the same experience.
Well, kind of. The names of each room's occupants was posted on each door. I noticed that one of the dressing rooms...only had 2 names on it. (Two??) I took a closer look, and learned that our lead female and one of our leading males were sharing a room. (Co-ed dressing room??) Though, I should point out that these two people were ENGAGED.
At first, I just kind of shrugged it off. What the hell, right. They're the leading actors, obviously getting paid more than the rest of us, and yeah, they're engaged, so why shouldn't they get their own room? But the more I thought about it, the more cracks I found in this system:
a) Neither actor ever made a costume change. They only used the room was for about 20 minutes before curtain, and for 15 minutes after the show ended. Otherwise, they were onstage, backstage or in the green room. Meanwhile, myself and my 6 dressing room partners are constantly going in and out of our tiny room for costume changes (I had four changes in Act 2), trying desperately not to kill each other or rip or lose any costume pieces. I found myself wondering if it would have been so awful for a few guys to use that room during the show for some changes.
b) It was the biggest room! Am I crazy, or would it have been so awful to put 7 guys in the biggest room and two leads in a smaller (more cozy?) room? (Yeah, yeah, the stars always get the biggest and best, and if we were on Broadway, I'd probably not say a word, but last I looked, Broadway was about 4 hours west of here.)
c) Considering that there were teenagers in the show (some as young as 14 or 15), the co-ed dressing room wasn't a huge hit with some parents. It's not like the two leads were having quickies in there before each show, but when a 15-year-old guy is asked to leave one of the girls dressing rooms so they can change, as the female lead goes into her room half-naked, it does raise a few eyebrows.
BOTTOM LINE: In the end, the whole experience was more funny than anything else. Sharing a tiny room with 6 guys annoyed me at first, but it got to the point where all of us changing in one room was like a Marx Brothers movie. We all learned to laugh it off and just go with it. And please don't think I hold any ill will towards the two lead actors or the show's director. I have no idea why they got their own room (did they ask for it or was it given?) and I really don't care. I've always said, if you want to be a diva, you better have the talent to back it up. They did, and then some.
Ah, the wonders of show business.
Diva Experience # 1
One of the lead actors was one of the funniest guys I've ever seen. He dissappeared into his role every night and kept the audience laughing. During one of the breaks in between shows, we were outside catching a little air, shooting the breeze, and he started telling us a story about how, a few months ago, he helped out a community theater group in the area by stepping into a lead role when one of the lead actors got very sick five days before opening night. He said that when opening night arrived...well, here is how he told the story:
Actor: "I didn't really get along with the stage manager. She pulled this community theater s*** on me. She told me the cast was warming up onstage and I told her 'Good, you guys should do that', and she started giving me grief because I wasn't going out there with them. I told her 'Look, I'm a professional actor, I do this 8 days a week. I warm up in my own way.' When she pressed the issue, I told her 'Look, man, I'm doing you guys a favor.' And she walked out in a huff. Needless to say we didn't really speak much throughout the show."
I'm not trying to come off all high and mighty here, but that seemed uncalled for. Granted, the guy is a pro, and I'm sure he knows how to prepare for a show. And, yeah, like he said, he WAS doing this group a favor. But how about the fact that he was on THEIR turf, operating (you would think) by their guidelines? Would it really have killed his pride for him to suck it up and join the cast onstage for a two-minute warm-up? Would it have been so terrible for the cast of community actors to see a professional actor joining the cast circle and showing a little cast unity? Give me a break. Fine, so he's a professional, but you know what? He was not in a professional environment. If I'm a high school math teacher and I suddenly get asked to substitute for a class of third-graders, am I going to teach the third graders advanced algebra, or am I going to go with simple adddition and subtraction? Would I say "Well, I teach high school and I'll do things my way!"?
BOTTOM LINE: I'm not suggesting Broadway should change its practices and have cast circles, group warm-ups and pre-show dinners, like in a community environment. (For all I know, maybe some of them do!) I'm just saying, a little humility never hurt anyone. Remember...Jimmy Carter was President of the United States and spent his post-President years building houses for poor people. Think about it.
Diva Experience # 2
The theater we used is beautiful, but has TINY dressing rooms. They're practically closets. There are about 10 individual dressing rooms, each one which can comfortably fit about 3 or 4 people. (Well, not TOO comfortable, but at least you can get dressed without tripping over everyone else.) But when you have a large cast (as we did for the show), you have to do a little "cramming", and overfill some of the rooms.
So, I find my dressing room and I learn that I am sharing it...with 6 other guys! Seven guys in one room?? Certain dressing rooms are bigger than others, but the one I was assigned to was barely enough for 3 people. I took a stroll down the hall and saw that most everyone else was kind of in the same boat, and felt just a bit better. At least we'd all be having the same experience.
Well, kind of. The names of each room's occupants was posted on each door. I noticed that one of the dressing rooms...only had 2 names on it. (Two??) I took a closer look, and learned that our lead female and one of our leading males were sharing a room. (Co-ed dressing room??) Though, I should point out that these two people were ENGAGED.
At first, I just kind of shrugged it off. What the hell, right. They're the leading actors, obviously getting paid more than the rest of us, and yeah, they're engaged, so why shouldn't they get their own room? But the more I thought about it, the more cracks I found in this system:
a) Neither actor ever made a costume change. They only used the room was for about 20 minutes before curtain, and for 15 minutes after the show ended. Otherwise, they were onstage, backstage or in the green room. Meanwhile, myself and my 6 dressing room partners are constantly going in and out of our tiny room for costume changes (I had four changes in Act 2), trying desperately not to kill each other or rip or lose any costume pieces. I found myself wondering if it would have been so awful for a few guys to use that room during the show for some changes.
b) It was the biggest room! Am I crazy, or would it have been so awful to put 7 guys in the biggest room and two leads in a smaller (more cozy?) room? (Yeah, yeah, the stars always get the biggest and best, and if we were on Broadway, I'd probably not say a word, but last I looked, Broadway was about 4 hours west of here.)
c) Considering that there were teenagers in the show (some as young as 14 or 15), the co-ed dressing room wasn't a huge hit with some parents. It's not like the two leads were having quickies in there before each show, but when a 15-year-old guy is asked to leave one of the girls dressing rooms so they can change, as the female lead goes into her room half-naked, it does raise a few eyebrows.
BOTTOM LINE: In the end, the whole experience was more funny than anything else. Sharing a tiny room with 6 guys annoyed me at first, but it got to the point where all of us changing in one room was like a Marx Brothers movie. We all learned to laugh it off and just go with it. And please don't think I hold any ill will towards the two lead actors or the show's director. I have no idea why they got their own room (did they ask for it or was it given?) and I really don't care. I've always said, if you want to be a diva, you better have the talent to back it up. They did, and then some.
Ah, the wonders of show business.
posted by Glenn at 10:28 AM
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