Soap or serious? Actors explain...

There are many very talented actors in South Africa who make a good living by doing only one thing, namely Industrial Theatre in all it's various forms. They are often unknown, seldom famous, but always dedicated. And very often they are deemed to be somehow less worthy than “real actors” who appear on television daily.

But how difficult, or easy, can it be to be a specialist Industrial Theatre performer? Here are some thoughts shared by well known soapie stars who have had to the opportunity to perform in Industrial Theatre productions.

“It is one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. Besides the absurd technical difficulties of doing a stage production in a place not designed for it, you have a non­theatre going audience who laugh in the wrong places or who don't respond at all! Tough, tough, tough!”

“I was overawed by the way my colleagues managed the problems. We were performing on a conveyor belt, for heaven's sake! Yet, they managed admirably. I have great respect for these guys!”

“One forgets how hard stage work is. All the stuff I have done on stage have been in real theatres with real lights and sound and stage managers and dressing rooms. I had to get dressed and do my make up in a tent! And then I had to go and face an audience of 300 company employees who didn't really want to be there! Thank goodness for the other actors! They sailed through the opening 5 minutes and then I realised we had the audience. It was an eye opening experience for me!”

“For me the best thing was the way the audience responded to the actors and the message! It was unbelievable to see grown men totally taken up in the story and the journey of the characters on stage. And it wasn't some deep Shakespearean drama! It was a play about transforming a company and how it would affect them and their work place! It was awesome.”

“This is real acting. The Learning Theatre guys know what they are doing and it is very rewarding to do this kind of work.”