Amateur Theatre Assumptions… What’s True and What’s False?

The world of amateur theatre is an interesting one and many people that have never stepped foot inside it tend to have some fairly strong assumptions about it. In this blog post we are going to look at 19 different assumptions and give you our honest verdict on whether the assumption has any weight, or whether it is complete rubbish.

1. "You Must Have an Amazing Memory!"

One of the biggest assumptions that people have about performers is that because we can remember an entire script, we must have amazing memories, however this is not the case. It takes months of learning, not to mention panicking, to be ready to put down the book. Think of it this way, every hobby out there has lots of information and because you’ve been doing it for a while, you know the ins and outs of it. It’s the same with theatre. Practice makes perfect.

Verdict: FALSE

2. "You’re Always Watching Plays and Musicals"

Now, this is partially true… everyone in theatre is a fan of theatre and loves going to see shows. However, we are also quite often too busy to go and watch theatre. Between rehearsals, tech, show weeks, plus trying to maintain a social life, there isn’t much room for much else. But yes, the majority of people involved in theatre, do like to go and see lots of theatre when they can.

Verdict: PARTIALLY TRUE

3. "You Must Be Super Confident"

Many people would assume that because we are willing to stand on stage in a very vulnerable state and pour our hearts and soul on the stage for an audience that we are confident people. Sometimes this is the case, and people are genuinely uber confident and don’t care at all, but a lot of the people are nervous wrecks before they go onstage and can be quite introverted offstage.

There is also a sadder truth to this when it comes to the mental state of performers. According to the equity website “Six percent of individuals are thought to be experiencing anxiety in any given week. In comparison, data for reporting anxiety symptoms includes 24% in dancers, 32% in opera singers, 52% in acting students, 60% in actors 90% of rock musicians”. The statistics show that people involved in the arts are actually more likely to have anxiety than people not. (Source: Equity)

Verdict: MOSTLY FALSE

4. "You’re Just Pretending, It’s Not That Hard"

Anyone that thinks it’s easy to go onstage and perform… just come and try it. For some people it comes very naturally, but for the majority it is a lot of hard work, rehearsals, line learning, character development, tech runs, band calls, vocal rest, and so much more. If you don’t take it seriously then it’s probably not that hard, but people in the arts are quite serious about their work.

Verdict: SO FALSE

5. "It’s Just a Fun Hobby"

Yes, theatre is a lot of fun. It is also a lot of hard work, very stressful and it can be quite emotionally draining. Performers put a bit of themselves into every performance, and it can be quite demanding on a person, especially when it comes to being in emotive shows. But the camaraderie, the feeling of being on stage, oh and the after-show parties… They are all fun and make the hobby totally worth it.

Verdict: MOSTLY TRUE

6. "You Must Be Good at Singing, Dancing AND Acting"

HA! We wish. What that is called is a triple-threat, and boy do most of us wish that we were one of these. Most of us are good at one of these, can pull off a second and fall flat when it comes to the third. There are also those annoying ones that then also play instrument… We are all collectively jealous of those people.

Verdict: 1000% FALSE

7. "You’re All a Bit... Eccentric?"

This is going to be a hard one to argue, but let’s give it a go. Yes, there are massive personalities involved in theatre, but theatre is for anyone, and in amateur societies you have a whole range of personalities. We have performers who are nurses, lawyers, builders and teachers involved, people that outside of theatre, you wouldn’t think twice that they go out and get dressed up as a Victorian clown riding on a donkey… (never seen that before, but it’d be cool right?). So to sum up, a lot of us are eccentric, but there are also ‘normal’ people as well…

Verdict: KINDA TRUE

8. "You Must Get Terribly Upset When a Show Ends"

Yes and no (seems to be the common theme here, doesn’t it…?). Whilst a lot of us have those post-show blues, it only lasts a little while until you are onto the next project. We all have had that one show that hit harder than most, less so because of the onstage stuff, but the backstage antics and friendships. There is also the argument that we are all relieved when we don’t have to fit into an uncomfortable costume, don layers of makeup and leave the theatre at ungodly hours, so for some of us the end of a show comes as a great relief… but no, most of us miss the show and are a little upset.

Verdict: YEAH THIS IS TRUE

9. "You All Want to Be Famous One Day"

This all depends on when you got into theatre. If you grew up in the theatre, you probably wanted to be an actor and be on Broadway or in Hollywood films, but if you joined later and it was just to try something new and have fun, then perhaps you never dreamed of your name in lights. What we can say is that for the majority of us, we just want to put on the best show we can and entertain whoever is in the audience. What comes as a result of that is just an added bonus.

Verdict: TRUE TO AN EXTENT

10. "You Must All Get Along"

HA HA! I wish this was true, but in reality, just like any group of people, personalities clash, and some people just don’t get along. Theatre can be quite a dramatic place, and things can get quite heightened. But we put all of that aside and do what is best for the show. Those that do get along become very close and those that don’t, just stay out of each other’s way.

Verdict: NOTHING TO SAY BUT FALSE

11. "The Same People Always Get the Lead Roles"

This is something we hear all the time, however sometimes it can just be the perception that makes it look like that. Every society has different people of different ages and gender. If you really struggle to get young male performers interested, then when young male roles come about, the panel probably won’t have much choice, and if you do, there is probably one person there who is better for the role. The main thing to note is that all auditions should be held fairly and the role should go to the best person, if that person is the same as the last show, then it shouldn’t go against them, because after all, the audience want the best show. You don’t care if Daniel Day-Lewis is cast in lots of films, because the end product is good, so why should it matter in theatre…?

Verdict: FALSE

12. "You Get Paid, Right?"

Nope… in amateur theatre, the best we can hope for is a profit share or perhaps our petrol covered and even that is rare. We do this for the love of it, not for the money… because there isn’t any!

Verdict: WE WISH THIS WASN’T FALSE

13. "You Only Do It for the Applause"

Again, nope. There are so many reasons that people do theatre, and very rarely is it for any form of self-gratification. Some people do it to make friends, some people do it to try something new and learn a skill, some people do it because they love making other people smile. Theatre is something that people involved with give more than take.

Verdict: FALSE

14. "You Must Have Done Drama School"

Some have, most haven’t. If you look at an amateur theatre society, there are people from all walks of life, most of whom might have done it as a kid, or some that picked it up later in life. Yes you have the odd smattering of ex drama school kids that decided the life wasn’t for them but still wanted to perform, but they weirdly are the outliers in am-dram.

Verdict: MOSTLY FALSE

15. "You Must Be Really Good at Accents"

This is another one of those, some are, some are most definitely not. Most of us can do generic accents like American or Cockney, but for some people when you present them with things like Newfoundland or Northern Irish, you could throw a dart at a map, and it will probably sound like that more than what they attempted. However, some people are experts at accents and most people in theatre have a good ear for accents so could be good if they decided they wanted to learn one.

Verdict: 50/50

16. "You Must Always Want a Big Part"

This is personal preference. Not every person that does theatre dreams of being front and centre delivering monologues. Some people are just happy to be a part of it. The saying “There are no small parts, only small actors” is a good saying for this situation. Leading parts are great, but every person on that stage is just as important, because they are all creating the illusion for the audience. All that being said, of course a lot of people want to be the leading actor…

Verdict: 50/50

17. "You all end up dating everyone"

Showmances are definitely a thing; you spend hundreds of hours with your fellow performers, most of the time quite intimately, being vulnerable and open, not to mention having lots of things in common with these people. It’s basically a hotpot of emotions and sometimes those emotions develop outside of the theatre. It is quite common for performers to date each other, however the idea that we all date everyone is quite far-fetched.

Verdict: FALSE FOR THE MOST PART

18. "Theatre Groups Are Really Cliquey"

This is probably the most common assumptions, and it comes up nearly all the time. It might look like theatre is very cliquey, however I would argue that it is just that, an appearance. It’s like any group of people that have worked together for years and have lots of memories, it will seem daunting to go into, but theatre is one of the most welcoming families you will ever find. There is nothing theatre people love more than taking a newbie under their wing and showing them the ropes. If you join and can get past that initial phase, then you will quickly become a part of the family. We all remember being that new person at some point.

Verdict: FALSE

And there you have it, some assumptions confirmed, some squashed and some left up for debate. The best thing about theatre is that everywhere is different, and they all do things their own way, so some places might be a hotpot for showmances, some might have lots of ex-drama students and somewhere might be filled with triple-threats. The best thing to do if you want the answer to your assumptions… join in.