Joseph DeMartino wrote:   
   > On Sep 17, 9:48 pm, Amy Guskin  wrote:   
   >    
   >> That irked me, too.  I assumed the comment was Jerry's, not Joe Chicago's.    
   I   
   >> guess if you're a dabbler rather than a professional who has worked years   
   at     
   >> your craft, the rest of the script wouldn't concern you.   
   >    
   > I think the part of the alleged quote that caused Doyle to use the   
   > word "delusional" was that about needing "the code" rather than   
   > O'Hare's method of learning lines.   
   >    
   > In any case there is nothing unusual about actors - professional or   
   > otherwise - paying attention only to their own parts.  (And, as you   
   > certainly know, the practice, especially in musical theater, is often   
   > to give some actors only "sides" containing their own scenes rather   
   > than full scripts )  There's also nothing unusual about some actors   
   > going through the whole script only for the purpose of counting up how   
   > many lines they (and others) will have.     
   >    
      
   Yeah, and that's why I don't see them working very often (or moving up    
   to more demanding roles or theatre companies--even at the community level).   
   > Someting missing from most of what I've read of this thread (and I   
   > confess I haven't look at every post) is the difference between   
   > television or film acting and acting for the stage, which not everyone   
   > here understands well.   
   >    
   > Plays are peformed in sequence, over the space of a couple of hours at   
   > most.  The action is concentrated and actors are never more than a few   
   > feet from the stage, and they generally listen attentively for their   
   > cues.   
   >    
   > A two hour film will be shot out of sequence, over a period of months   
   > or longer, a one hour TV series episode also out of sequnce, over a   
   > period of only a few days, with the next script going before the   
   > cameras only a few days after that.  In both cases it can make   
   > sense .for actors to concentrate on their own parts.   
      
   I didn't make that part of my discussion because the original comment    
   seemed to be related to the initial response of the actor to being given    
   a script and their approach to the role--in that case, medium didn't    
   seem to be pertinent.   
      
   The other issue with plays is that you generally have 4-5 weeks (more if    
   it's technically complicated or a musical--exceptions, of course, so    
   apply).  If you can get through that entire period without having some    
   understanding of the piece, you are achieving that state willfully!   
      
   Blair   
   --- SBBSecho 2.12-Win32   
    * Origin: Time Warp of the Future BBS - Home of League 10 (1:14/400)