“Sometimes we’d see the captain at the old playground yonder, often
keeping a silent vigil by the slide. We know who he’s thinking of, and
we never question if he’s been gone from camp for a bell or two.”
In my personal experience (which is, granted, not universal) I have never been an actor in a play that 100% went as it was supposed to the whole time. There is always an actor who skips a line, or forgets stage directions, or took a bit too long to change costumes and is now late for their appearances. But the thing about theater is that it’s a live performance- you can’t just apologize and redo the scene. You have to carry the characters through the important plot beats even if you have to ad-lib to do so. Do you get what I’m saying? A character in a play is not a fixed thing. A book will not change lines between readings. A movie will not change shots between rewatchs. But in theater, a character may act differently, speak differently, but they have to reach the same ending regardless. Characters in a play are trapped, not because things are already written- they do have some leeway- but because everything will conspire to drag them back on their predestined road. Do you understand? Do you understand what I’m saying?
Aeschylus, The Oresteia / Anne Carson, H of H Playbook / Hadestown, Road to Hell (Reprise) / John Darnielle, Wolf in White Van / Richard Siken, The Worm King’s Lullaby
ALT
