The Friday Five, October 14, 2011

Five Comments Actors Love To Hear After a Performance

Just saw someone you know perform in a play? Struggling to think of something to say about it? Well turn that struggle upside down into a smile, because I'm coming to your rescue with five foolproof comments that will leave the recipient thinking, "Wow, this person's comment was so good that they should consider writing an article about how to talk to actors after shows and then post it on the internet."

by Kyle Gatehouse of Matt and Kyle and Matt

1. How did you learn all those lines?

This is a great question because it gives actors a chance to engage their famous wit and fire back an amusing quip, like "I paid someone to learn them for me", or, "I didn't actually learn any lines, I made that all up hahaha." See? Now we're all laughing!

2. What a beautiful set!

Actors like to know that the set designer did a good job. Similarly, it's important to let the set designer know that all the actors performed well. 

3. You really sweat a lot up there!

This makes an actor feel good, because it means you noticed and appreciated their hard work. If you're feeling particularly charitable, you could also mention how many times you saw spit fly from the actor's mouth, it shows you were paying attention! 

4. Was that supposed to happen?

Theatre shows are elaborate, confusing affairs with people pretending to be other people and talking to other pretend people, or sometimes even talking to imaginary pretend people who aren't even on stage! Also it's hard to tell if the clothes the actors are wearing are really their clothes, or if they are pretend clothes that immediately disappear once the actors step off stage. And is the actor actually a different person when they're acting, because doesn't that other person need a social insurance number and birth certificate and is there a branch of the government that accommodates actors who are continuously becoming new people, like isn't that just a ferocious clerical nightmare?  

5. Was it hard telling your parents that you're gay?

It's a widely known fact that all theatre professionals are of homosexual descent, so why not seize the opportunity to demonstrate that you're totally okay with that by asking them deep personal questions about their private sexual lives. 

I guarantee that using one, two, three, four, five or all of these post-show communiqués will result in a fevered exchange of fervent friendly frivolity. Enjoy!