My Journey Through The Music Center MARK TAPER FORUM

Actors, Writers, Directors & More

While an opera needs music to make the words come alive and a ballet needs dance to make the music really speak, the words in a play stand alone. No music or dance is needed to make it complete, just the actors to speak the words and perform the scenes.

Of course, simpler does not mean easier. Writers spend hours and hours alone with their imagination to make words appear on the paper. It takes passion, dedication and talent to write plays. William Shakespeare was one of the most famous playwrights. Most of the plays performed at the Taper are written by writers who are living today.

Once a play is written, it needs actors to perform it and a director to guide it. The director helps the actors understand what the writer was trying to say and makes decisions on how to best tell the story. The director works with set designers, costume designers and stagehands to translate their ideas into the elements of the production you see on stage.

During the performance, the actors are the only people involved with the making of a play that you actually get to see.

Acting for the stage is different from acting in the movies in one very big way. In a movie, you can keep saying the same line over and over until you get it right. In a play, you have only one chance to get it right. An actor does not have a chance to fix it if he or she makes a mistake. They just go right on with the show.

A play is one of the most exciting performances you can see. Find out what it’s like to be right there in the same room with the actors as they perform live.