Tranisition from Stage to Screen

Many stage actors dream of transitioning to film and television. Landing a movie role is an epic accomplishment, and nearly impossible for those living outside Manhattan or Los Angeles.

Many thespians are surprised and saddened when they discover Hollywood’s auditioning process is vastly different to their theatrical roots. Yet, in this digital age of high definition cam-corders and cheap editing software, many stage actors and directors are making the leap to film by creating their own cinematic works of art.

The cast and crew of the low-budget comedy Never Say Macbeth began as a group of theater professionals. I interviewed the film’s producers Tammy Caplan and Joe Tyler Gold to learn more about their transition from stage to screen.

What was the theatrical background of your cast and crew?

We specifically looked for actors with experience with both Shakespeare and stage combat. Most of the cast are members of some of the most award-winning theatre companies in Los Angeles. (Circle X Theatre and Pacific Resident Theatre.) Some of our cast have appeared on Broadway including Linnea Liu Dakin (State Fair), Sam Zeller (Peter Pan), and Mark Deklin (The Lion King). Mark was also one of our fight choreographers, and recently did the fight choreography for the Broadway production of Cyrano de Bergerac with Kevin Kline.

What challenges did the actors face in the transition from the stage to film?

Well, we made this transition a little easier by rehearsing with the cast for a month prior to shooting. This helped everyone come together as an ensemble and allowed the cast the freedom to play and develop their characters without the pressure of cameras and crew. It also gave the actors time to learn the fight choreography that the film required.

Many of the actors were experienced with film and television work, as well, so the cast adjusted to film acting quite easily. It can be challenging when you are just trying to act a scene with your partner, and you are being told to hit a very specific mark, or raise your arm a certain way.

Also, we shot the entire film in twelve days – this is very fast for a feature film. In order to accomplish that, some of our scenes had to be shot with very few takes. It was helpful that the actors were very well prepared. Their theatre backgrounds came in handy.

Nothing beats the immediate response of an audience – hearing the laughter, the gasps, and the applause. But it is also very freeing to be able to act in an environment where the only real requirement is to connect with your scene partner. If he or she can hear you, the microphone will pick it up. Very subtle things will be caught by the camera. And if you make a mistake, you can do another take, so sometimes it is easier to take risks. There’s no critics watching you while you work. There might be a lot of people in the room, but they are all your side.

In film, the set you are working on is frequently far more authentic than you might find on stage. On the other hand, we did quite a bit of green screen work in Never Say Macbeth, where you are working with nothing except a bare room, and you have to use your imagination. Often in film, you shoot out of order, so it can be difficult to get a flow with your character’s arc. You are constantly asking yourself, “What just happened? Where am I coming from?” Sometimes, when shooting a close-up, your scene partner may be getting into makeup or wardrobe while you are forced to act alone, or with the script supervisor!

Where do we start? There are so many obstacles to contend with when making a low-budget film. We weren’t paying our cast and crew much, frequently nothing at all, so they would leave for auditions, jobs, and other obligations. Due to our tiny budget, we had to find creative solutions to a variety of problems. We couldn’t afford to rent a restaurant, so our art director, Shauna Schurman, transformed the junk-filled backyard of the theatre into an outdoor Los Angeles bistro. One scene required an actor to have acupuncture needles stuck into his foot. Unable to afford a real acupuncturist, we hired a student who was thrilled with the prospect of having someone to practice on.

Because of our small budget, we ended up doing a lot of things ourselves and surprisingly, we learned things about making a movie that we never expected. It was like a crash course in all phases of filmmaking from pre-production to marketing and distribution.