Death on the stage

Blood has been spilled for the last time at The Hollow. The curtain came down on a five-week season at Hamilton Town Hall last night. With the season now wrapped up, I can reveal I was the victim of the piece. I was a thoroughly nasty piece of goods who was impatient and snappy with his wife. He had a mistress and had his way with an ex who wandered casually back into his life. I coined it our love square. So much more interesting than a love triangle! So my character's wife picked up a gun and popped off a round. I had a bag of blood taped to my chest which I had to squeeze, forcing blood down my shirt - and running into my underwear if I was not careful. Too much information, I realise! Anyway, the blood ended up on the wall, door, curtain, rug and probably even on the back of the sofa! Then I had to fall at the front of the stage and gurgle before popping off to the other side. The repeated falls hurt my knee, making it all sore and festy. I know, too much information again! But the audience just loved the scene, with the blood, the death rattle and the gurgling. It might have hurt, but I do it gladly for my art ... and the audience response...

Breaking it down

Everyone seems to know the saying break a leg. But why say that, rather than, maybe, get an ear infection? Well, the story I have heard (and I don't know if it's right) is this: When actors were taking to the stage at the Globe Theatre in London for Shakespeare's plays, the best performer on the day would be lifted onto the shoulders of random members of the crowd to be cheered and generally celebrated. One day, an actor fell and broke his leg. Hence, telling an actor to break a leg is encouraging him or her to be the best performer on the day and risk the whole shoulder, fall, break thing. That's my story and I am sticking to it...

Cast, crew and curtains

Curtains are a part of every stage. Without them, there is no "curtains up" to start a theatre production or "curtain call" for the actors to receive their well-deserved accolades from the audience (you can tell I am an actor!). But what happens when curtains decide to get in on the act and want to take over as a star of the show? I'll tell you what happens. Actors are upstaged! This should NEVER happen! But it did last weekend, during curtain calls for The Hollow. The first incident involved a mishap in which the curtain would not close after we had taken our bows. The cast was left standing on stage, looking at each other and wondering if it was time to just walk off while the audience burst out laughing. The second incident, it was the reverse. The cast was still taking bows and had not yet stepped back when the curtains closed. Hugh Taylor and Paulo Araujo were entirely entangled in the curtains. It was the biggest reaction we got from the audience all night! Curtains, know your place. I know they are inanimate objects, but still...

Dressed for success

Quick costume changes are a pain. I have a very quick change in The Hollow. I have four pages of text in which to change from a day suit to an evening suit. It might sound like a lot of time. Trust me, it's not. As soon as I disappear from stage and am walking away backstage, I am unbuttoning my shirt and loosening my tie. Assistant stage manager Marion has my clothes on a rack ready to go. She helps me with my buttons, bowtie and shoes while I mess around with pants and jacket. Then it's a run back to make my entrance. During the final rehearsal, I made my entrance about 30 seconds too late and was not wearing shoes or bowtie. With Marion's help I have been on time since then! Phew! I will tell you about the worst costume change I have witnessed another time. When I have more time...

Doing lines, but not drugs

People have been asking me how I learn lines for my plays. This is probably the most boring part of being an actor - and therefore probably my most boring blog to date. I promise to keep it short. I learned the lesson from Glen Male (what a ham, but a fun guy to have backstage!) and still use it today. I read the lines on the first page and go over them again and again until I have them word perfect. I use a business card so I can't look ahead. Then I add a second page and make sure I know the lines word perfect on both pages. Then I add a third and make sure I have it word perfect on all three pages. Considering I have whole passages in The Hollow, it's surprising I ever got all the lines down...