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Playing the Audience
By James B. Nicola
Applause Theatre Book Publishers $18.95
256 pages
Dateline: 30th January, 2006
It is frequently said of books that they can change your life, or,
in certain more emphatic cases, that they will change your life.
While James B. Nicola makes no such claim for Playing the Audience,
if you are in love with theatre this guide, which is ostensibly for
actors, could just have that elusive effect.
This is far more than just an acting manual for college students and
those taking their first steps towards a stage career.
Nicolais a free-lance stage director, playwright, composer, lyricist,
and occasional poet. He writes beautifully and if he ever turns his
hand to a novel, will undoubtedly make a success of it.
He is also clearly a deep thinker and this is where his book proves
to be such a revelation. Using examples from a remarkably wide range
of different playwrights and their work, he analyses what it takes to
direct, act in and understand various types of theatrical production.
In this way, not only does he help actors to make the most of their
roles but, in addition, any director or audience member, however casual
the last might be, will look at what is happening on stage with new
eyes and fresh insight.
As the title suggests, Nicola's work is very much focussed towards
the people in front of the stage. As he tells the performers, "The
audience is your friend" and he never forgets them as he provides
ideas and exercises that will help actors to give of their best.
He ends well too: "To get the audience to laugh together, cry
together, feel together, think together, realize the truth together,
hope together, change together - that is the charge of the theater".
Nicola divides acting into four primary categories, the meaning of
the play, the stakes for each character within that play, how to operate
on stage and the shape of the work, which enables it to tell its story.
One example that explains much about the appeal of the book is Nicola's
exploration of that previously untapped area, silence. He breaks it
down into several constituent parts and considers the underlying activities
that may be necessary in order for stage silences to become meaningful
to those observing. Later he extends this by looking in depth at the
nonverbal aspects of acting.
By contrast, he is also strong on language, this time enlisting help
from a single playwright for the book's longest chapter. It almost goes
without saying that his role model is Shakespeare, looked at in a dozen
or more different plays.
This book is packed with aphorisms that help readers to understand
what it takes to be a successful and convincing actor. In most sections,
there will be a one-line summary in bold that will also help those revising
for examinations or desperate for a quick fix before going onto a first
night stage.
To choose a couple of exemplars at random: "Never merely say the
line; always do something with it even when throwing the line away"
and "Structure conveys soul" demonstrate the style nicely.
Nicola maintains interest throughout, often using analogies from such
variegated sources as surfing, slalom skiing, golf and (in discussing
the climax of Hamlet) the bedroom.
Nicola's technique is first to provide an analysis of each area of
acting and fleshing out the bare bones that will eventually become a
play. He then usually offers a series of exercises that will enable
readers to perform at their peak.
His last, brief chapter moves on to the rehearsal period, that dreaded
opening night and keeping performance fresh during a long run.
His philosophy might be summed up in his own words. "Let the audience
see a living, breathing character who just happens to be so alive and
expressive as to be continually revelatory".
Whatever your interest in theatre, you should buy this book. It will
enhance your enjoyment of theatre, bring added interest and meaning
and should change or at the very least challenge your existing preconceptions.
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