I Feel Silly for Asking This...

[fenderlove]

I haven't been in a theatre production in a long time, so I can't remember if there's a specific term for using the wrong hand to pick up a prop. It's not "crossing," is it?

Also, for you theatre aficionados, are there a lot of differences between British theatre and American theatre in terms of how performances are produced (terminology for the stage, financing, etc.)? I'm Googling for answers, but I'm not finding much.

And, finally, a question for English and British peoples: Are there a lot of young people (very early twenties) in your soap operas? American soaps seem to be boiling over with relatively young actors now, but what about yours? Are there stigmas attached to being in a soap opera in terms of getting acting work later? I have the feeling, given some of the British soaps I've seen, that there might not be any stigma attached because those soaps seems to be better quality in terms of acting than most of the American ones I've seen.

Comments

[velvetwhip.livejournal.com]

It's been a looong time, but "crossing" is moving from one end of the stage to the other.


Gabrielle

[gillo]

I've never known a specific term for that mistake.

I don't know the American terminology; I suspect there are differences, but I have no idea what. If you need to check out specific terms, just ask.

British soaps are generally about much less affluent people than what I've seen of US soaps - the characters have a wide range of age-groups, and are often in the show for a long while - there is one actor who has been in Coronation Street over fifty years. He was a young thing when he started! There are definitely a fair number of young actors, but also a good range of older actors. (Sir Ian McKellan had a short stint in one soap about five years ago!) Yes, there are stigmas, especially if an actor plays a popular or notorious character, but decent actors quite often do cross over - some of the Downton Abbey crew have been in soaps. Most of our soaps feature areas with quite strong regional accents too.

[shapinglight]

There are soaps and soaps. There's one, for instance, called Hollyoaks which features almost entirely young actors. It goes out at 6.30 in the evening and frequently features same sex kissing etc.