Acting Citizen: Some Challenges of Acting Guys and Dolls

By James Knudsen

Last month’s column ended with a cliff-hanger of sorts – would the show go on? To recap, a production of “Guys and Dolls,” which I am working on, was originally scheduled to open on January 13, 2022, but due to the ongoing pandemic, and positive cases among the cast, opening was postponed until January 22. Have things gone on without incident?
    Of course not! It’s theatre! We opened with an understudy playing the role of Adelaide. Also, our Nathan Detroit was masked because he was still 24 hours short of the ten days without symptoms. I think that was the reason. And we were short one of the male ensemble actors due to a positive COVID test.
    The absence of one actor may not seem like much, but the male portion of the ensemble consists of only five actors, who in addition to performing the various roles – gamblers, waiters, dancers, city employees – also provide the muscle for moving set pieces on and off stage, all while using their voices to make our chorus sound bigger and better than it would be if they had to rely solely on the author. The absence of one actor makes a huge difference.
    The ensuing weeks have seen cast members return, only to have another be sidelined with a positive result. A lead actor had to leave the show after the second week. The role was filled by an actor familiar with the show who stepped into it with two rehearsals. And that role will be filled by yet another actor starting tonight (February 26).
    It wasn’t until the fifteenth performance that a complete cast took to the stage. At time of writing we have 12 shows left, and it is anyone’s guess what other adjustments may be required before we close, March 13, 2022.

Everyone involved in this production from the oldest – he’s in his mid-70s and remembers the company’s first production of “Guys and Dolls,” back in 1974 – to the youngest, who has not yet been identified, but is surely in high school – everyone agrees that of all the shows they’ve been involved with, this one has been forced to overcome the most obstacles, setbacks, and challenges.
    And yet, everyone is happy. The camaraderie and mood backstage is one of performers enjoying what they are doing. Smiles and suppressed laughter are seen everywhere I look.
    Upstairs in the dressing room, stories of past shows – harrowing mistakes onstage that were handled adroitly by some combination of quick thinking by the actor and/or crew, or performances with pitifully small audiences – are recalled with a chuckle. Except for actors arriving each night masked, you’d hardly know what’s been necessary to keep the show on track.
    We will find out in the coming years what lessons the world of theatre has learned from this pandemic. Perhaps thought will go into performance spaces that are better equipped to deal with airborne viruses and social distancing. Theatre via Zoom is not the answer. People need to be in the same room with actors, and we the actors need the audience there with us!

I’m the third guy from the right

Copyright © 2022 by James Knudsen