MIKE: What qualities are needed to produce a good actor? Two obvious ones are the facility for learning lines, then delivering them with the feeling required by the role. Taking the second to a further level, it is the ability to inhabit the character, to make the audience believe they are watching a real-life situation, not one being acted. Another basic requirement, however, which is often overlooked, is to be a team player, by helping out when a line is forgotten, missed, mangled or misplaced by a fellow actor. This involves listening closely to every line delivered, reacting appropriately and sometimes even adding a few words to regain the correct flow.
Last week, on catching a brief trailer of Shortland Street I was reminded of this last point. There, playing Dr Boyd Rolleston, was Sam Bunkall, whom I last saw 20 years ago at Collegiate School, when he acted in one of four 1 Act plays I directed. The idea behind four short plays was to give would-be Thespians a taste of theatre, the opportunity to appear on stage, then decide whether they wished to continue this interest.
Drinking Companions had three characters, one male (Sam) and two female. One of the girls had learnt her lines, in the correct order, and when it was her turn to speak she would deliver the next line on her mental list. No actor, however, is perfect, and occasionally a line would be missed by the other girl. The first young lady would then deliver her next line in sequence, with no reference whatsoever to the sense of the play. When I pointed out to her that she had to listen and adjust her lines accordingly, she simply said it was their fault! She knew her lines and would spout them in turn, without any regard for what had just been said. She completely failed to understand that she had the responsibility to help smooth out any small kinks in the flow of dialogue. (By the way, she occasionally missed a line herself, which really compounded our difficulties!)
Sam handled the problem brilliantly. He never knew, either in final rehearsals or in the three performances, where he might have to jump in with some words to maintain the overall sense. He coped extremely well — the mark of a true actor — and learned an important lesson at an early stage of his career. He has continued in the theatre, though I must confess I have lost touch with his progress over the years. Perhaps I may even start watching Shortland Street.
JOAN: A recent visit to Wellington gave us the opportunity to visit the City Gallery and its present exhibition. Rather verbosely entitled Discover Contemporary Art This Summer the artists presented there, I have to admit, afforded me very little pleasure. My fault to some extent, but I was not over-impressed by what seemed more gimmick or novelty than something lasting and profound.
