The Girl Cave

[softball chick]

Aw! Again, I'm sorry! I think I would be a horrible actress! Last year, our class read The Diary of Anne Frank. We then got into small groups and had to perform a skit from the top of our head. The theme/ skit was that Anne and everyone else survived the war and they were just coming out of hiding. Because I was the only girl in my group, I was forced to be Anne and my best guy friend was Peter. It was soooo awkward yet hilarious because he kept looking at me and putting his arm around me. He was saying stuff like "We love each other. She looks so good!" We were both trying not to laugh, so we looked completely stupid! After that I decide I would never be an actress!

Haha that sounds hilarious! But to tell you the truth, even we "actors and actresses" who do the plays are totally the same way during rehearsals. We are completely crazy, goofing off and cracking up at the most random times (probably why I love it so much )

 

[Disney-Obsessed]

Haha that sounds hilarious! But to tell you the truth, even we "actors and actresses" who do the plays are totally the same way during rehearsals. We are completely crazy, goofing off and cracking up at the most random times (probably why I love it so much )

Probably, I would get NO WHERE at rehearsal! Especially if it was with my good friends! I laugh whenever I'm in extreme pain, embarrassed or trying to fight through an awkward moment! I would love, though, to do a stunt or something! (Not too dangerous! I'm still a teen in school!) My favorite action/ fight scenes are typically from Pirates of the Carribean! I think stuff like that would be cool, like a sword fight with flips, rolls, and stunts!

 

[softball chick]

Probably, I would get NO WHERE at rehearsal! Especially if it was with my good friends! I laugh whenever I'm in extreme pain, embarrassed or trying to fight through an awkward moment! I would love, though, to do a stunt or something! (Not too dangerous! I'm still a teen in school!) My favorite action/ fight scenes are typically from Pirates of the Carribean! I think stuff like that would be cool, like a sword fight with flips, rolls, and stunts!

Oh stage combat stuff is really awesome! In my Acting Lab (freshman theatre class) we got to learn a bit of stage combat - pulling hair, stabbing, pushing someone, etc. And then in MacB last year there was a ton more, including a huge knife fight which was incredible to watch.

 

[Disney-Obsessed]

Oh stage combat stuff is really awesome! In my Acting Lab (freshman theatre class) we got to learn a bit of stage combat - pulling hair, stabbing, pushing someone, etc. And then in MacB last year there was a ton more, including a huge knife fight which was incredible to watch.

What do y'all use for knifes? Rubber or?????? Just wondering!

 

[softball chick]

What do y'all use for knifes? Rubber or?????? Just wondering!

Well usually yes we would have prop knives that are rubber/plastic (but very real looking). But for MacB last year, we actually rented some real knives that had been dulled down for theatre use. But they still could actually stab and/or kill you if you weren't careful (as our director told us many a times during rehearsals)

 

[Disney-Obsessed]

Well usually yes we would have prop knives that are rubber/plastic (but very real looking). But for MacB last year, we actually rented some real knives that had been dulled down for theatre use. But they still could actually stab and/or kill you if you weren't careful (as our director told us many a times during rehearsals)

I would NOT want to do that! What makes the noise of a knife hitting another knife if it's rubber?

 

[softball chick]

I would NOT want to do that! What makes the noise of a knife hitting another knife if it's rubber?

Well they could have it be a sound effect (like that the sound booth takes care of) or they could perhaps have a bit of something on the blade of the knife (like metal) that is hit together to make the sound. Or the sound could come from somewhere else (offstage perhaps) from someone hitting two metal knives things together.

 

[Disney-Obsessed]

Well they could have it be a sound effect (like that the sound booth takes care of) or they could perhaps have a bit of something on the blade of the knife (like metal) that is hit together to make the sound. Or the sound could come from somewhere else (offstage perhaps) from someone hitting two metal knives things together.

How do they get the sound right on queue? (I think that's how you spell it!) Are there counts for the fighting scenes, almost like how there are counts for dancing! Justin Bieber's perfume Someday smells sooo good!! I like how Usher's cologne smells!!

 

[Disney-Obsessed]

How is everyone?!?!?! I haven't really posted on here in a while!!!!!!!!!!

 

[softball chick]

How do they get the sound right on queue? (I think that's how you spell it!) Are there counts for the fighting scenes, almost like how there are counts for dancing! Justin Bieber's perfume Someday smells sooo good!! I like how Usher's cologne smells!!

Yes. Stage combat is entirely choreographed and our director literally "counts it out" for us when we are first working on it. Any fighting in theatre has to be extremely and carefully planned or people will get really hurt

 

[Disney-Obsessed]

Yes. Stage combat is entirely choreographed and our director literally "counts it out" for us when we are first working on it. Any fighting in theatre has to be extremely and carefully planned or people will get really hurt

Whenever it comes to kicking, punching, etc, do they add in sounds to make it the hit/kick seem more realistic? Say there are two people: the one kicking and the one being kicked. Does the one being kicked have to lean on count with the kicker?! How do the members/ stage directors ensure that the kick will look realistic from the audience's view point?!

 

[softball chick]

Whenever it comes to kicking, punching, etc, do they add in sounds to make it the hit/kick seem more realistic? Say there are two people: the one kicking and the one being kicked. Does the one being kicked have to lean on count with the kicker?! How do the members/ stage directors ensure that the kick will look realistic from the audience's view point?!

It's entirely a matter of timing. Before any combat, the actors make eye contact and then the attacker goes at the other one. The attack-y then reacts in time with what's being done to them. Classic example is the face slap - one person swings at the other and the other turns their head just as the slap passes their face. As for the sound of the slap, either the slapper hits their other hand on the way up to the slap, or the person being slapped claps their hand off to the side to make the noise. Both are used (I prefer the first one though) and it all literally comes down to a huge issue of correct timing and not rushing anything - that's when people start getting hurt

 

[Disney-Obsessed]

It's entirely a matter of timing. Before any combat, the actors make eye contact and then the attacker goes at the other one. The attack-y then reacts in time with what's being done to them. Classic example is the face slap - one person swings at the other and the other turns their head just as the slap passes their face. As for the sound of the slap, either the slapper hits their other hand on the way up to the slap, or the person being slapped claps their hand off to the side to make the noise. Both are used (I prefer the first one though) and it all literally comes down to a huge issue of correct timing and not rushing anything - that's when people start getting hurt

So if the timing was off by 1 second, someone could get really hurt... That freaks me out! I wonder, though, how the fight scenes in the movies look so realistic. Is it the same concept or for the movies, do they edit the fight scenes? For the live performances, do certain cast members have stunt doubles?

 

[softball chick]

So if the timing was off by 1 second, someone could get really hurt... That freaks me out! I wonder, though, how the fight scenes in the movies look so realistic. Is it the same concept or for the movies, do they edit the fight scenes? For the live performances, do certain cast members have stunt doubles?

Well I'm not as sure about movies, but I assume that those stunts are somewhat similar. The difference there is in theatre, the audience is farther away than a close up movie camera, so you don't have to like physically make contact with each other to make it look real. As for stunt doubles, I'm not sure. Anyone who is teaching/directing the fights are trained in stage combat so they can usually make the actors safe in the fights. Plus stage combat is extremely fun, so I don't think many actors would want a stunt double to do it for them!

 

[Disney-Obsessed]

Well I'm not as sure about movies, but I assume that those stunts are somewhat similar. The difference there is in theatre, the audience is farther away than a close up movie camera, so you don't have to like physically make contact with each other to make it look real. As for stunt doubles, I'm not sure. Anyone who is teaching/directing the fights are trained in stage combat so they can usually make the actors safe in the fights. Plus stage combat is extremely fun, so I don't think many actors would want a stunt double to do it for them!

So physical contact isn't necessary?! How long does it usually take one to prepare and train for a fight scene?!?

 

[softball chick]

So physical contact isn't necessary?! How long does it usually take one to prepare and train for a fight scene?!?

No because the audience is so far away that you can sometimes just make it look like you're touching someone (safer that way). As for timing, it depends on the fight. For MacB we had a huge knife fight which took a few rehearsals, each about 2ish hours long, to learn and then a lot of going over it during run through. But then in Dracula (which I'm in right now), we have a scene with a stabbing, choking, and knocking someone out and so far we've just spent 1ish hours learning all that.

 

[Disney-Obsessed]

No because the audience is so far away that you can sometimes just make it look like you're touching someone (safer that way). As for timing, it depends on the fight. For MacB we had a huge knife fight which took a few rehearsals, each about 2ish hours long, to learn and then a lot of going over it during run through. But then in Dracula (which I'm in right now), we have a scene with a stabbing, choking, and knocking someone out and so far we've just spent 1ish hours learning all that.

WOW! The theater is violent! I suspense and action movies/ plays! To begin with, what is MacB? How do the actors/actresses bleed? How does the fake blood look real as if someone were cut? How do you time that? (I don't mean to get gross!!!)

 

[softball chick]

WOW! The theater is violent! I suspense and action movies/ plays! To begin with, what is MacB? How do the actors/actresses bleed? How does the fake blood look real as if someone were cut? How do you time that? (I don't mean to get gross!!!)

Ok first, MacB is a short name for the play Macbeth. In the theatre, that particular Shakespearean play is the "cursed play" - it is bad luck to say its name in a theatre and therefore I usually just don't say it (often called "MacB", "the Scottish play", "the cursed play", etc.)

Now for blood, depends what kind of bleeding you're looking for. In MacB, people had to be covered in blood after murdering the king, so we had a "blood recipe" that props crew used to make blood that we then splattered all over those actors' clothes/hands. But if you need to start bleeding onstage, often you use blood capsules or similar things. Little containers with stage blood in it that you open/pop at the right time so the blood goes where you want it and looks like you actually started bleeding onstage. (And it's not gross to ask about it - although the blood we used was a little nasty...)

 

[Disney-Obsessed]

OOO! ok! So MacB isn't a subject, just a play, right? Ugh! I'm not the greatest fan of blood, but that sounds REALLY cool! Say this person's finger needed to begin to bleed. Would that person wear a fake finger with the capsule in it? (Sorry if it doesn't make much sense!) How could one stop the bleeding in a scene on stage if the capsule still had blood in it? (Again, sorry about everything with the blood!)

 

[softball chick]

OOO! ok! So MacB isn't a subject, just a play, right? Ugh! I'm not the greatest fan of blood, but that sounds REALLY cool! Say this person's finger needed to begin to bleed. Would that person wear a fake finger with the capsule in it? (Sorry if it doesn't make much sense!) How could one stop the bleeding in a scene on stage if the capsule still had blood in it? (Again, sorry about everything with the blood!)

Haha I love how into this you're getting! And yes MacB is just a famous play (and one I was in). If a finger needed to bleed, what would probably happen would be there would be some stage blood perhaps on a weapon/prop/something that they could rub their finger on when it needs to start bleeding (again example of Dracula - we need a girl's face to look burned after a cross touches it, so we're putting makeup on the cross and it will be rubbed on her face when she's attacked with it). Or they could burst a capsule and drip some on their finger. As for stopping the bleeding, the capsules aren't that big (they can often fit in your mouth - used for mouth bleeding a lot) so they would stop bleeding pretty fast or else you just tilt it upright/put it somewhere so the blood stops dripping out onto the actor.