Perfect Your Stage Acting Technique

If you are a budding musical theatre performer, you need all the help you can get to make it onto that illusive West End stage at the top of the bill. That’s why I thought I’d pull on my own experiences of the industry and give you a few tips to help you perfect your acting technique.

If you don’t have any experience in the industry, you may think that it’s all about talent; that if you have the skill, you’ll rise to the top with no trouble at all. You couldn’t be more wrong. An actor needs to know their craft to be successful in it, and that starts with the differences between stage acting and film acting.

Stage Acting vs Film Acting

Young Performers often fall into the trap of imagining that performing on a stage is a similar experience to performing in front of a camera. This couldn’t be further from the truth and that is because you are performing in front of a live audience.

A live audience comes with its own set of unique concerns. One that you must drill into your head is that you must get it right and do so consistently. You don’t get a second take and if you screw up, word could spread and it could damage public perception of the entire show.

You also have to remember the immediacy of a live audience. In front of camera, you perform, then your performance is edited, airbrushed and positively mangled to ensure it appeals to the audience. On stage, that responsibility rests on your shoulders. You and you alone are responsible for evoking the required response from your audience.

Bring it to Life

So, now you know why stage acting is such a unique style of performance, what can you do enhance your ability to bring a part to life in front of a live audience and establish yourself as a skilled stage actor?

· Follow Direction: On stage it is crucial that you follow direction. You are not a diva, you are performer; going off script won’t be hailed as innovative, it’ll be seen as obstructive. The director knows what they’re talking about – learn from them.

· Cultivate your Voice: In musical theatre especially, but even in non-musical productions, your voice needs to reach the back of the room. You need to take care of your vocal cards.

· Learn the Lingo: Stage acting is at the end of the day an industry, and like any other industry, it has a language all of its own. Learn terms such as ‘blocking’ and what they mean so that you can effectively communicate with those around you.

· Live Life: Don’t sequester yourself away and cut yourself off from the world. The best stage actors draw on their own experiences to bring their characters to life, to supply depth and believability.

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Take Her or Leave Her

Even I didn’t know, Simon Morris readers that Jessie Wallace once played Maureen in RENT. Reading that this week reminded me of the versatility of this iconic role and leads me to explore just why Maureen is such a fantastic character.

Maureen Johnson is a bi-sexual performance artist who is the girlfriend of lawyer Joanne and ex-girlfriend of film maker Mark in the hit 90’s musical RENT. That short description alone should give you an idea of just how many opportunities an actress is given when she takes on this iconic role.

Musically, Maureen requires a girl with lungs. Her signature introductory song, ‘Over the Moon,’ is a stylised Native American chant that reimagines classic nursery rhyme ‘the cat and the fiddle.’ Her main duet, the stunning ‘Take Me or Leave Me,’ with partner Maureen, is probably the best break up song in modern musical theatre.

The thing is that Maureen is so flighty that there are a number of different ways you can play her. I turn to three interpretations of the classic RENT character here to illustrate just why she is so fantastic.

The role was created on Broadway by the ever talented Idina Menzel, who went on to also create the iconic role of Elphaba in Wicked,  for which she won a TONY. Maureen was in fact her first major role on Broadway and she reprised it in the film version of the production.

Menzel made the character strong, determined and passionate. With Idina’s Maureen you saw the activist side of the character emerge. She cared about the world around her and the art she produced. She was very much the fresh faced, idealistic Maureen with a slight edge.

Next we turn to Nicole Scherzinger’s interpretation of the character at the Hollywood Bowl production of the musical. As the leading Pussycat Doll, Nicole oozes sexuality and this is an important aspect of Maureen. Maureen sizzled during her turn at the bowl.

Finally, we turn to Jessie Wallace’s portrayal of the activist. The EastEnders actress replaced Denise Van Outen in RENT Remixed, a reimaging of the piece set in the modern day. Despite the negative reviews it got, Jessie highlighted the hardness in Maureen; what gives her the strength to get up and stage her raw protest pieces.

Maureen is such a complex role and each of the three actresses highlighted a different aspect of the character. That’s why Maureen is so fantastic; you never know what you’re going to get from her. It’s a new experience every single time.

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What I’d like to see from Elaine Paige’s New Chat Show

Musical theatre geeks cheered this week as the news was announced that legend of the genre, Elaine Paige, is set to front a new musical theatre inspired chat show. What’s coming up and what would I like to see from this new show?

Elaine Paige is a genuine musical theatre icon; the woman’s a powerhouse on the West End Stage. She famously originated the roles of Eva Peron in the West End original production of Evita and Grizabella in Cats. She’s also had notable roles in productions of Hair, Chess, Jesus Christ Superstar and Grease.

So she’s perfect to front such a new show. A show like this, which brings the best in the modern industry and sits them down for a chat, of course has to be fronted by such a presence in the industry. This is because of the nature of the chat show formula.

A chat show, at its heart, is a show designed to provide a unique insight into the guests’ lives and character. Only someone who they respect, who they have long admired and looked up to, could handle such a task. Paige’s authority in industry circles uniquely positions her for such a task.

The show is slated to appear on the Sky Arts channel, so it’s very clearly centred towards a niche audience and this could prove a true boon to true fans of the genre. It’ll allow Paige to speak to the guests on a level that provides true insight. She won’t have to dumb it down for the general public who naturally have very little frame of reference.

Paige herself has said of the opportunity that "I look forward to welcoming some of my friends and colleagues to the show and singing not only some new songs but some of my all-time classics."

From this we can gather that it’ll be a mixed format; that part of the chat show experience will involve belting out some classics that provide a snapshot of that performers experiences and how they have lived their lives. That’s exactly what I want to see from a show like this; true insight. Also if it yielded collaboration of the Judy Garland/Barbara Streisand variety, then I’ll truly count it a success!

For musical theatre fans, Elaine Paige’s new show provides a unique opportunity to know more about the people behind the characters and it’s something you absolutely shouldn’t miss, Simon Morris readers.

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A Reflection: We Will Rock You!

Musical theatre junkies were forced into mourning last week as it was announced that beloved West End staple‘We Will Rock You’ is set to close after 12 years. In tribute to the game changing show, I wanted to take the time to reflect on what made ‘We Will Rock You’ such a fan favourite.

After 12 years, ‘We Will Rock You’ is closing. The show was originally written by Ben Elton and is a jukebox musical; a production framed around the songs of a popular music act. In this case, it was obviously Queen.

 It became the longest running show at the Dominion Theatre and was one of the biggest West End exports of the last decade. People everywhere love it (I’m not going to reveal how many times I’ve been to see it, let’s just say it runs into the double figures.) So what was it about the show that so entranced audiences?

For anyone who’s being living under a rock, the show tells the story of a dystopian future where all music everywhere is banned. As a band of true bohemians lead the struggle to restore fashion, live music and freedom of thought to the world in which they live, we watch the characters learn, love and grow.

Not surprisingly as a jukebox musical of a band of which some members survive, two of those members, Brian May and Roger Taylor soundtracked the production. It meant that we got Queen classics such as ‘Another One Bites the Dust,’ ‘Radio Gaga’ and ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ in musical theatre form.

It’s been phenomenally successful; it’s been seen by an estimated 16 million people. However it was actually never a favourite of the critics. When it was first released the Mirror famously declared that “Ben Elton should be shot” for ever putting pen to paper.

So why has it proved so enduring? The plot certainly plays a part in it. As human beings, we have a certain attachment to music; it brings out something in us that nothing else does. The idea of it being taken away seems gut wrenching and it makes us connect with the characters.

However this is one case where I would say the music outshines everything. Those Queen songs are loved by so many people and I think ‘We Will Rock You’ was so successful because it provided the audience with a new way of listening to and interpreting them.

‘We Will Rock You’ reminds us of the power of the jukebox musical. Like ‘Mama Mia’ before it, people went in wanting to be entertained in a new way by the songs they’ve loved for years. That is why everybody is so sad that the sun has finally set on ‘We Will Rock You.’

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