You cannot even compare a live performance to a movie. The bond between the actors and the audience during a play and the excitement that they share towards each other is impossible to create in a movie theatre. For the actors playing on stage the audience is just like a metronome. When the audience laughs, the actor knows she/he should take a pause before going to the next line. If the audience is too invisible than the actors knows that she/he should play it “louder” in order to reach everyone’s reaction in the audience.
The energy bond between the actors and audience can be interrupted so easily just by any noise. I’ll never forget how while watching the Dearly Departed suddenly someone’s cellphones went off. I watched so carefully the reaction of the actors’ faces and noticed the how for a second, just for a second one actress needed to take an extra breath so she could go on with her line. She swallowed visibly as she regained her composure. This made me very aware of how involved the audience must be in helping the play succeed.
Because they cannot be involved in the play, a movie audience has no problem eating, talking, texting and disturbing the rest of the audience. In a live performance, people even wait until the intermission to go to the toilet.
The movie shows me the smallest details of each scene. There is no room for my imagination. In a live performance, the background, the props, and the action can be expressive; my mind fills in the things they leave unsaid. A simple window frame makes a wall. The arrangement of furniture creates a room. A door can stand alone, and be the boundary for the action. It doesn’t have to be real or realistic; it just has to stimulate my imagination. It allows me to get lost in the dialog. It lets me focus on the interaction of the characters. The power and the emotion of the acting is more important than cinematography, and is more powerful.
As I watched “Dearly Departed”, I was amazed by the teamwork on the stage. As each actor played his or her part, they performed a complex dance a little bit like watching a team sport. Each part was different, but the dance lost its rhythm and its beauty if the parts were not played properly. What was even more amazing was watching three actors play two completely different characters. In doing this, they stayed true to the characters; I was barely aware of them being the same person. I had to look at the program to be certain.
When a movie ends, I get up and leave. There is no way to get involved with the characters. I cannot cheer them. The most I may do is comment to a companion that I did, or did not enjoy the movie. When a live performance touches me, I can express my appreciation to the actors through my applause, and the actors will soak in the approval like sunbathing at the beach. The more I approve, the longer I clap, and the more the actors know that they touched me with their art.
