As I do more film and have my acting experiences altered by that medium, I start to wonder about the assets of the theater. Now there is no arguing that film is now the more popular medium. There are no powerhouse industries pumping out bootleg productions of Hamlet or Rabbit Hole in China. No one sneaks video cameras into Broadway premieres as much as they do to a test screening of a new film. So it stands that the more people are willing to risk their neck, their jobs or at least a $300 camera, the more demand for it there must be.
But what is film if not a form of theater? Actors are still called actors, the director a director, scenes, sound and light are all still managed to provide an effect that enhances what is seen and felt by the audience. So many things overlap that the two at times seem identical. Certainly their artistic value stands A Beautiful Mind is certainly as valuable as Long Days Journey Into Night. So what gives?
The key is in the audience.
The audience, or lack of audience is the big difference. When you’re on stage there is a weight placed upon you. You can feel when the attention of the audience shifts from place to place or when it wanes tragically away into boredom. It’s a hard feeling to describe but it’s there. A meter telling you how well you’re communicating with the audience if the intangible “it” is there, breathing in the space from the stage to the seats. Live theater is a shared experience. Film however is not. That was the first thing I have noticed working in front of a camera. There’s no way to know if you “have it” if what you’re conveying reads. It takes practice to trust what you’re doing.
The audience also changes too. The deal goes both ways. Film is a voyeuristic experience at it’s core. A group of people sit in the dark and peer in on a drama played out by strangers. Nothing can disrupt this paradigm, even if a cellphone rings the movie plays on, the actors don’t stop and request that the person leave the audience. Film creates a division between the actor and audience, it also inadvertently places the actor in a place of reverence, with close up shots, musical underscoring, perfectly timed editing and stunts.
The live theater experience eliminates the barrier between audience and actors. It takes away the need of thousands of dollars for equipment. Though Broadway productions certainly benefit from their high budgets in terms of costuming, lights, sound, etc., theater can at it’s simplest be an exchange between two people, one acting and one participating as an audience. This will always be the most honest venue and the one that in times of crisis and strife that we will turn to.
