Yes, You Need to Be Off-Book for Virtual Performances

A couple of weeks ago, I logged in to watch a streamed performance of a Shakespeare play over Zoom. While obviously not an ideal setting to take in the Bard on a hot summer night, I was impressed by the production level and performances that these actors were giving sitting in front of a sedimentary camera in their living rooms.

All except one. One actor. Anytime they spoke, whatever momentum a scene had, was destroyed.

Why? Because it was very clear this actor was reading from a script.

It was obvious. They were looking above the camera. Every now and then they would make a mistake that can only come from reading a page. And they often motioned for whoever was helping them off-camera, to turn the page. The awkwardness and frustration on the faces of the other actors couldn’t be hidden.

And while some might excuse this behavior for actors of a certain age or other disabilities, that wasn’t the case here. I have this actor perform before, they know better. This was confirmed later with me communicating with the director about it and them saying that the actor simply didn’t learn their lines.

With the emergence and likely continued existence of virtual streamed performances, it’s obviously reasonable for the audience to expect the same quality performance they would receive if there were sitting in the theatre. This means every performer needs to be off-book if the type of performance calls for it.

I completely understand that might not be the case with readings. We know people will be reading from the script because that’s what “readings” means. But a full-formed performance? That’s much different.

Let me also say that all professional performers know this. I would be very shocked if this happened with a cast of Equity performers. This cast I saw this happen with an amateur company.

At the same time, that shouldn’t matter if it’s an Equity performance or not, if an actor takes pride in their work, then they will respect the audience(virtual or not) enough to properly prepare.

Because the reality is that these types of performances are likely going to be as much “live” theatre as we’re going to get for a while. Broadway isn’t likely to return until 2021 and community theatre seasons are already being delayed or canceled. So these virtual performances are going to be the norm for the near future.

While I’m sure 99.99% of actors know how to prepare for these new types of performances, sometimes these things must be said for the .001%….did I do that math right?