In this article two juggernauts in the acting world will do battle for your recognition and respect. This will be one for the ages. They are evenly matched. Yet their slight differences seem to set them worlds apart. In this corner, stage left, wearing the spotlight trunks is the theater actor. To my right, wearing the lights-camera-action trunks is the actor of film. We will evaluate their pros and cons as they hook and jab for artistic superiority.

They both received direction in the dressing room and off-set. Keep it clean and put on a good show. Let’s get it on!

Stage throws the first jab; the theater actor projects. The last person in the last row who may be hard of hearing must be able to hear even a stage whisper without struggling. The audience members themselves are conduits of energy that can make for an electric atmosphere. Everything is happening now and in the moment. All movements and dialogue are dialed out because they are performing for you; the theatergoer plopped in that clumsy seat.

Film tries to counter. While the stage actor projects, the film actor draws you in. The energy is reversed. It’s more about the eyes and subtleties. Less is more in most cases but especially in this contrast because the actor is not performing for you. He is performing for the camera. It’s a more medium art so more of the story is told visually than through dialogue. The camera can get up close and personal with the actor and the objects he interacts with.

A theater actor who enters the world of screen need only be dialed back a bit. It’s simply a matter of making their efforts more camera friendly. On the contrary, a film actor who attempts theater for the first time is not quite an easy fix. Imagine that you are a director. Wouldn’t you consider it easier to get someone to calm down than to get someone with no energy at all to do anything? I’m not being biased here. Name a few of your favorite film actors who you consider being one of the better actors and you will find that they have a strong theater background. I can almost guarantee it.

The warriors clinch. The referee tells them to break – I mean cut.

Cut is the saving grace for many film actors and a huge reason why they are intimidated by theater. Let’s face it. There’s no escaping the human element in anything that man touches. Mistakes are a part of life and storytelling is no exception to the rule. The controlled environment of film allows many takes to get it right. It’s a luxury that can spoil an actor. Frustrating isn’t strong enough a word to express the angst of working with someone who has failed to prepare for a shoot by not knowing their lines. This happens more often than one would think and is not the mark of a true professional. Still there is no such thing as bad footage, they say, and a good director and editor can make even the bad look good. The magic of cinema is awesome.

There is no such thing as cut in theater. You get no do-over. No tech geek can cover up your mistakes and show you at your best. The director is more than likely sitting in the audience watching the show like everyone else. Direction is given during rehearsals. Other than a stage manager or the like assisting backstage, stage actors are on their own… relying on talent, discipline, other actors and their own wit. That’s the beauty of it. It forces the talent to use their instrument (the body and mind). You are walking a tightrope without a safety net. Knowledge of craft takes on more importance.

Now that’s not to say that serious craftwork isn’t applied in film. It is a different type of discipline to produce a quality result. For instance, you may be required to do a simple task twenty times. That may sound like no big deal but it’s more complicated than that. Thanks to a little thing called continuity, you must do it the same exact way every time like you are doing it for the first time. This makes life easier for the smart tech people in post-production who put all the chaos in order. Let’s see you enter a room and sit in a chair the same exact way every time like the first time ten times. You got it? Great. Now do it again because we need it from another angle. Yes, it can be a long day.

And down goes film! Stage goes to a neutral corner. The referee starts counting. The crowd cheers.

There are few experiences that rival the thrill of taking a bow to a standing ovation. Well, sex and chocolate of course, but you’d be hard pressed to name more. Appreciative patrons will approach you and compliment your work. They may even ask you to sign their playbill or take a photo with you. There’s a strong possibility that they may remember your performance for the rest of their lives. Maybe even dream about you. Congratulations, storyteller. Thanks to your hard work and commitment you have now become a part of someone’s world. It’s exhilarating and humbling to do this before hundreds of people a night, depending on the size of the venue.

Don’t look now. Film gets up off the canvas swinging haymakers. What a comeback!

I’m not going to lie. The first time I saw myself onscreen I fell in love. I do realize this may be a problem but don’t judge me. It’s like sex and chocolate with the one you love. The ego can be fed with your name in the credits and your physical image on the big screen. In this medium your work can be seen by more than hundreds. You can be seen around the world with the right marketing. Now that’s a big venue!

This fight has turned into an all-out brawl!

Stage may clearly be by far the better boxer, but film is a knock-out artist and will get a bigger purse for this fight. Why? The reason is quite simple. You will make more money in film than in theater. Stage can only be in one place at a time. Film is everywhere at once. Numbers don’t lie.

The final bell rings. After twelve rounds of boxing we now turn to the judge’s scorecards. And the winner is…

You! Isn’t it nice to have options? If you are an avid movie watcher, continue but treat yourself to some theater every now and again. There’s an element of human connection in live theater that film and television can’t replicate even with all the bells and whistles of technology.

If you are an actor I strongly encourage you to do both. You will earn your bones and develop as an artist training for theater. It will only make your instrument more complete for the world stage of film. There are room for more stories and storytellers in both mediums.

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Robert Brotha Blaze Murray

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