Smelling of roses

A second critic has written a review about one of my plays and again I come up smelling of roses. Hooray to Ray Swenson. This is what he had to say about my role in Deathtrap, playing at Samford until April 10:

De Wit plays his part with gusto and between (de Wit and fellow actor John Sayles) they have the audience changing quickly form raucous laughter to deadly silence.

I could write more, but that would give away the plot. So come and see it!

All for my art

Bruises are liberally sprinkled across my legs and arms. My role as playwright Clifford Anderson in the Ira Levin thriller Deathtrap is a challenging one, with plenty of lines to learn and actions to remember. But it was only last week that I realised just how much of the action would cause pain and bruising! I can't say too much about what causes the bruising, because that would be giving away too much to audiences. But let me tell you this: I am bruised and battered for my art. In fact, I will do almost anything for my art, except take my clothes off. The world is breathing a sigh of relief at that news!

Just don't look down

Who needs a safety net? Actors in amateur productions don't. They don't have understudies for emergencies. They just have to be there, night after night, so the show can go on. But what happens, you may well ask, if there is an emergency? Well, I am finding out!
The first time, it was during Post Horn Gallop at Samford last year. An actor had a very bad migraine and could not even lift her head off the pillow. The director knew a woman who had played the part years earlier and she stepped in. Her role was one of a tourist guide, so her holding a clipboard and referring to it was not out of character. Of course, she had the script on stage! Yet the audience didn't even realise. What a trooper!
The second time was during the most recent play, The Hollow. But it was during the later stages of rehearsals. An actor became very ill and had to pull out. I replaced him, taking on a more major role. A new actor was found to take on my somewhat smaller role. The new guy was a seasoned actor and took no time making the role his own - and won quite a bit of audience admiration in the process.
Now we come to the third time. We are in the early stages of rehearsing for Deathtrap. The actor due to play the main role has had to withdraw because of serious illness. Another actor has been found - one I have previously played opposite in Black Coffee. Given that we are in the early stages of rehearsals, I don't see this as a problem.
But there is a bigger issue here: should there be understudies? Well, it's tough. I wouldn't want to be an understudy. It means learning lines and probably not getting so much as one chance to appear on the stage - even though you work as hard as the guy getting all the applause at curtain call! Or is this saying something about the size of my ego?
Anyway, this is where I skip to the last of my thoughts (my brain can only have so many at once). Things come in threes and I have had my three emergencies. I am not jinxed. Just things happening as they should, in threes. The reason these emergencies have been so deftly handled is that people in amateur theatre are so damned resourceful and practical. I hope it rubs off on me! Meanwhile, it's back on the highwire without a safety net for me...

Trapped again

It has been about a month and almost two weeks, so it was high time to get back on the horse, so to speak. I am doing that, proverbially, with casting in a play called Deathtrap. I will play Clifford Anderson, a young and (obviously!) good-looking playwright with a hit script on his hands. He is summonsed to a legendary playwright's house and offered a chance to work with him to improve the script. Or is he about to be killed, so the legendary one can steal the work and claim it as his own? You will have to come and find out at Samford in March. More details to come...

Murder, she wrote

It appears I have received a rave review. Just one, but I'll take it. This is what Kellie Scott at aussietheatre.com.au had to say about my performance in the Hollow, staged at Hamilton in November:

Erik de Wit as John Cristow was a charm as the classic ladies man. His foolish attitude was persuasive and I particularly commend his facial expression during death - hysterical.

I must admit, Kellie is not an Agatha Christie fan and did not say wonderful things about the storyline, but liked the acting, set and costumes. Well, it's as much as we can do: present a story with good acting, projection, movement on stage and good set, lighting, costume and the like...

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...