Brad Schreiber recently provided
Improv Miami a copy of his book, Stop The Show: A History
of Insane Incidents and Absurd Accidents in the Theater,
for us to review.
Stop
the Show: A History of Insane Incidents and Absurd Accidents in
the Theater
by Brad Schreiber
Anyone who has performed live in front of an audience knows that
they are taking fate into their own hands. No matter how much
preparation or rehearsal can account for all circumstances that
may arise during a live show.
That, of course, is the appeal of a live performance as opposed
to video. No two shows are ever 100% the same, and there is always
the element of danger. The audience is watching a high-wire act
live, not knowing if the actors will be able to make it through
their performance without being inextricably drawn into the annals
of theatrical history.
Enter Stop the Show by Brad Schreiber. A collection
of often amusing stories from live theatre where the stature of
the scripted page turned into bedlam, the book takes the reader
through incident after incident. Although there is no true theme
or story line to the book, the sheer magnitude of stories makes
it worth reading for anyone involved in the theatre.
Many of the stories are so bizarre as to draw
a bit of reluctance to believe the tales. And some have entered
the world of urban legend. At least one story I recognize as a
joke that my grandfather used to tell me about the World Series,
but reconfigured for the theatre. Most are not only plausible,
but likely true.
Many of the stories feature top performers through history dealing
with the unpredictable to the absurd. From Richard Burton, Lionel
Barrymore and Peter Ustinov from classical theatre, to Harry Houdini
and Eric Bogosian. One can only presume that Michael Richards
might be in the next printing.
Keeping some semblance of structure to the chaos, Schreiber winds
his way through chapters on flubbed lines, costume errors, problems
with props and scenery, unintended loud noise interruptions, blocking,
and unruly audiences.
There are several incidents noted where an unpredicted
moment led to a positive result on stage. Those improvised moments
then become a mainstay in the productions. The effectiveness of
good improvisational skills can not be mistaken in the actors
that dealt with these situations.
As an improviser, a reading of this book helps
to instill the sense that our art form and the skills that it
engenders is seen as beneficial by those who encounter such problems.
Being quick on your feet, confident and secure go a long way to
making certain that you can deal with most anything that might
happen. Hopefully more directors will read this book and look
to improvisers to help protect their plays.
If you would like to read additional reviews
of the book or to buy the book, go to Amazon.com
by clicking here!
Reviewed by Todd
Rice on 12/3/06.
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