guy fromage

The show must go on Strategies for using understudies

by John D. Newman

The auditorium of our high school was filled with the worst-case scenario happened, we were unpre- a thousand sixth graders for a matinee performance pared. of our 2003 production of Crazy for You. In the musi- We took an unexpected “stretch break” while cal number “Shall We Dance?” Bobby swept Polly off I instructed one of the featured dancers to get her feet as the western town set pieces floated away into Polly’s costume and go on stage with book on cue, leaving the couple gliding about the red-rock in hand. By the next morning’s matinee, technical landscape. As the music swelled, Polly rose gracefully director Paul Cutrer had rigged up an audio cuing into the air… and landed painfully on a twisted ankle. system that allowed the new Polly to receive and Polly crawled off into the wings as Bobby did an im- speak her lines without a script in her hands. By promptu pas de deux with his tuxedo jacket. our first public performance, our original Polly was In previous years, I had designated understudies, back. With her ankle braced, she made it through but since we had not had to replace a main actor the show standing and hopping on one leg and in many years, I had grown complacent. I had felt leaning on strategically-located support bars, furni- somewhat guilty making students prepare for a role ture pieces and cast members, with her last-minute that they almost certainly would not perform and understudy serving as Polly’s “dancing double.” since they had never seen an understudy used on stage, many students were unenthused about accept- Assigning understudies ing or fulfilling such assignments. Therefore, when Now that we have had an actual instance in which TEACHING THEATRE 11 a principal actor couldn’t perform, I have no trouble one myself. Also, since I have placed myself in the convincing my actors of the importance of under- role of a fellow-learner, my students and I have been studies. Since Crazy for You, we have had some able to share memorization strategies and to engage in cases in which we’ve needed to replace actors, and some friendly competition in our memorization efforts. we’ve had a full complement of understudies ready While I offer my understudies flexibility in their to take the stage. schedules, I require that they observe at least one run- As a director plans an emergency replacement through, making notes of their characters’ blocking, strategy, he or she must decide whether to use ac- inflections, and stage business. If a principal actor is tors in supporting roles, which will need to be filled unable to attend a rehearsal, the actor is responsible by another actor if that actor is called to play the for getting the understudy to rehearsal in his or her larger role, or to use ensemble actors or chorus place. The main actor must also provide the under- members with few or no lines of their own. To use a study with his or her own copy of the script so that sports analogy, sometimes a high school theatre pro- the understudy can follow the blocking notation. That gram has a great set of starters but no bench. In such way the rehearsals can proceed without interruption, a case, supporting actors may need to cover leading the understudies are better prepared, and the main ac- actors and a complete “bump-up” scheme must be tors are reminded that they can be replaced. devised that will cover all contingencies. This can be We have also started the tradition of holding a especially problematic when two main actors need regular understudy rehearsal about a week before the to be replaced. If members of the ensemble, with show opens. The cast is also on call for an emergency few or no lines of their own, are up to the task, it is rehearsal the afternoon before a performance if it ap- generally preferable to use them as the understud- pears likely that a replacement will need to be made. ies. This will generally mean that a cast is supporting The regular understudy rehearsal shows me how well- one replacement actor at a prepared each replacement actor is, which is often less time rather than several. well than the student has reported. The more diligent However, even a mem- understudies will have their lines memorized, but I now include ber of the chorus with no most are familiar with the lines yet still need to carry individual lines may be a script. It can be helpful to have the principal ac- the understudies missed in key moments and tors present at the understudy rehearsal to coach their the understudy should think counterparts in the details of the stage business and through his or her usual blocking they have rehearsed for so many weeks. The in rehearsals from role and alert the director rehearsal also provides a moment for the director to to anything that must be explain to understudies how and when they would be the beginning and covered by someone else. notified if the decision were made to replace the main A choreographer may have actor. list their names to make some quick adjust- At that time, the understudies should also be re- ments to a dance number minded about any assistance they might have avail- and a choral director may able, such as an emergency prompter, an audio cuing in the program. need to reassign a few cho- system, or a mini-script. Many professional understud- rus members to cover cer- ies are allowed the option of carrying script under tain harmony lines. certain circumstances and student understudies should likewise have some options. In an ideal world, every Preparation and motivation understudy would know every line by heart, but edu- As with so many things in high school theatre, the cational theatre is rarely an ideal world. students’ attitude toward understudying directly re- The replacement actors should also be assured flects the attitude of their teacher. When I thought that an announcement would be made prior to their of understudying as a burden, my students dreaded performance. An informed audience can be very un- it like a burden, but when I presented it as an op- derstanding and may accept a prompter, earpiece, or portunity, they prized it as an opportunity. Rather script like any other theatrical convention. than ask actors to understudy as a favor to the cast, I made my actors apply for the positions. I now in- Emergency prompter clude the understudies in rehearsals from the begin- In previous centuries, when actors were required to ning and list their names in the program. keep dozens of roles in their memory and perform In our current production of The Tempest, I have them with few or no rehearsals, a prompter was con- also elevated the status of understudies by backing up sidered a necessary precaution. The prompter, locat- the role of Prospero myself. Understudies cannot, in ed either in the wings or in a downstage box, would good conscience, tell me they have no time to memo- follow the script and offer a line when signaled to 12 TEACHING THEATRE rize the entire role when I am memorizing the largest do so by an actor. Fines were often levied so as to Audio cuing Radio Shack, at a very small cost. Check before you by Paul Cutrer and Russell Felt buy. The audio cuing system we used in Crazy for You The CTCSS feature, sometimes called privacy consisted of two FRS (Family Radio Service) radios, codes, makes it so your actor receiving the prompt- one that would only receive and one that would ing will not hear outside radio transmissions. A only transmit. The VOX feature (short for “voice headset is needed for the prompter and is necessary operated switch”) offered on some radios does not to ensure that the microphone is always the same work well for this purpose. If your radio has this distance from the prompter’s mouth, assuring a feature, disable it or get a different radio. consistent volume level in the prompting. Any two-way radio system could be used, but Choose a clear channel on which to transmit. On make sure that you are not violating any federal FRS radios, use any channel two through fourteen, licensing regulations. We used the FRS system skipping channel one, which is commonly used in because of radio licensing, use regulations, and children’s toys. Find a place where the prompter requirements. (See http://wireless.fcc.gov/services/ can see the actor, read the script, not disrupt the personal/family/.) performance and backstage operation by talking, Some FRS radios have features that make them and not be interrupted by offstage actors. A little better for our purpose than others. Being able to practice and you’re ready to go. plug in an individual earpiece so it is not obvi- ous that it is being used is important. Earpieces Paul Cutrer has served as technical director at High- with 1/8" phone jacks are easy to find but they land High School since 1987. Russell Felt served on do not fit most new radios in use today. You can, the Highland stage crew and has served as the assis- however, get adapters at electronics stores, such as tant technical director since graduation.

prevent an actor from becoming too reliant on the system to indicate if there are problems with trans- prompter. mission. In a small theatre setting, such an individual The cuing system should be regarded as a sec- would be quite obtrusive, but on a large auditorium ondary aid and not a primary method for feeding stage, on which most of the actors carry portable lines to an actor unfamiliar with the role. The meth- microphones, a prompter could be easily concealed od may not work for everyone, but for those that in the orchestra pit. If there are any “chorus micro- can make it work, the illusion of “instant memoriza- phones” downstage or overhead, the audio techni- tion” can be quite convincing. cian may need to make certain adjustments during a prompted performance. Using mini-scripts With permission from the publisher, a script can be Audio cuing easily reduced to 50 percent or less and printed on The “audio cuing” system we used for Crazy for most standard commercial photocopiers. The pro- You consisted of a pair of two-way radios, one with cess of reducing, trimming, and binding the script a small earpiece for the actor onstage and one with can be quite time consuming and should be done a microphone headset for the prompter in the wings. well in advance of the performances. (See the sidebar at right on equipment, costs, and A quarter-sized script (half the width and half FCC regulations.) the length) can be held in one hand and can offer The prompter and the understudy should experi- the actor a full range of body movement and one ment with the system well in advance of the per- arm and hand with which to gesture and handle formances. In the case of Crazy for You, we were necessary stage business. The script may also be fortunate to have an effective team that could make small enough to be conveniently concealed in a the system work. Others would struggle to master book, diary or other hand prop. the trick of speaking the beginning of the line while This method is probably the best choice for an simultaneously listening for the end of the line. Our understudy who is not as prepared or rehearsed as prompter, the student director for the production, of- expected. It is usually the quickest response to an ten spoke the first few words of the line, which the emergency that occurs during the performance it- actor could complete by herself. A prompter must self. speak clearly and develop a certain intuition as to how much of each line to speak and at what point Preparing understudy technicians to be silent. The team must also develop a signaling The show cannot go on without someone in every TEACHING THEATRE 13 An understudy performance During our recent production of The Tempest, some scenes and not at all in most. As an un- my students and I decided to present an “under- derstudy, I found that while I had my individual study performance” for an invited audience one lines down cold, I struggled to respond to cues afternoon during the regular run. We squeezed and to associate lines with blocking and move- in a second understudy rehearsal before we per- ment. Miranda’s understudy had no such struggles formed and, in retrospect, we would have liked and attributed her success to listening to all the another run-through or two. The seven understud- lines in her scenes (not just her own) on tape and ies (including myself) who had completed their walking through the blocking as she rehearsed at memorization by the first understudy rehearsal home. Another discovery we made in the process (two weeks prior to opening night) were allowed was that the prompter needed to call “stop” rather to perform the roles they had prepared while the than prompting a stuck actor who called “line” main actors, whose understudies were not fully because the understudies had less sense than did memorized, played their regular parts. The actor the principal actors of when they were off-track. playing Ferdinand had only memorized his lines Allowing the understudies to perform prepared in Act I and so he performed the first act and was the actors, most of them younger and less expe- then replaced by the main actor for the remainder rienced than their counterparts, for the stress of of the play. For the presentation, we cut three playing the larger roles that they are likely to do large group scenes, which would have required in years to come. The opportunity also rewarded too many substitutions and adjustments to work the “unsung heroes” of the cast who assure that effectively. even in crisis, the show will go on. We used a prompter during the understudy —J. N. performance, who was utilized several times in

major actor role, but it will also not go on without saboteur could, with a few twisted buttons, wreak a trained person at every major technical post. havoc with the audio. A visual record of a sound- Like the director of the show, the technical board could be worth its weight in gold in such a director must be sure that more than one per- scenario. son could cover each crucial technical role in an In areas where there the technical crew is in emergency. All members of a crew should be constant motion, such as the counterweight rail, trained in basic soundboard and lightboard opera- have a backup headset available. If the entire au- tion, but the technical director must also assure dio communication system fails, cues for curtains that more than one crew member is familiar with and drops can be given using flash lights and pre- the configuration of the lightboard for a particu- arranged hand signals. lar show and the microphone settings for each individual actor. It is easy for skilled technicians Preparing backup props to assure crewmates that they have everything in Attentive directors and stage managers must al- their heads, but everything needs to be on paper ways ask the magic “what if?” Even if all the ac- as well. Likewise, if the director calls the show, he tors and crew are in place, what if Puck’s magic or she must leave a detailed promptbook in the flower crumbles? What if Annie gets her gun and theatre in case of accident or emergency. The grip it doesn’t fire? What if Romeo arrives in the tomb crew and rail crew should have heads as well as and finds he has forgotten his poison? assistants that know the whole operation. Where Preparing for performance emergencies may feasible, it is also a good idea for assistants and include understudies for objects as well as actors backups to take charge of part of a run-through and technicians. A taped-off prop table, with a so that the person is fully ready to take charge if place for everything and everything in its place, the main technician is missing. will allow a stage manager to see at a glance if It is also a wise precaution to prepare to reset a anything is missing. Getting the props onstage lightboard or readjust a soundboard. Most modern with a forgetful actor may be another matter. It light boards allow for floppy disc backups and might not hurt to plant a backup prop in an ac- multiple copies should be made and strategically tor’s pocket and it is always prudent to provide a located. A paper copy of the patch schedule could replacement for any prop that could potentially allow a quick fix, even with a disc drive failure. If break during the performance. A pre-set synthe- 14 TEACHING THEATRE the soundboard is located in the audience area, a sizer in the orchestra pit may provide a backup sound effect in case a stage weapon misfires or With less than two days notice, we had to replace another live effect miscues. the title character. The understudy was mostly prepared but needed audio prompting for the The designated troubleshooter first performance. By the final performance, she The stage manager traditionally serves as the even- needed no prompting. When we took the play to tempered troubleshooter who has already antici- our regional festival, the understudy received an pated everything that could happen and has a plan acting award for her performance. to deal with it if and when it does. In some school With such experiences in recent memory, we are settings, the director doubles as stage manager and now diligent about preparing understudies for cast, the role of troubleshooter sometimes gets neglected. crew, and even objects. The challenge is to remain A student director or crew member may fill the role on our guard and plan for the unexpected when of gadfly. The role of “designated troubleshooter” we work with future students who have not yet en- may be filled in a number of ways, but it must not countered such last-minute performance surprises. be neglected. John D. Newman teaches theatre at Highland High All’s well that ends well School in Salt Lake City, Utah. He currently serves After learning our lesson the hard way with Crazy as president of the Utah Speech Arts Association. for You, we were prepared with understudies for In 2003, he received the American Alliance for one of our next productions, a new children’s Theatre and Education John C. Barner Teacher of play called Tua’s Dreams by Alisa Faye Weinstein. the Year Award. Originally published in the quarterly journal Teaching Theatre. More info: Schooltheatre.org