What are Stage Manners?

Stage Manners

An actor, performer or musician should have a good command of what is known as “Stage Manners”.

While it isn’t possible to explain everything involved in the subject in this blog post, these basics should suffice:

The performer’s purpose is basically that of communication.

A. To communicate, you muse be visual – you must be seen.

B. To communicate, you must be aware that there is an audience to be communicated to.

C. A degree of affinity with or for the audience must be physically expressed. (For instance, you can’t treat the audience with contempt). A perpetual smile is not necessary - friendly or respectful works just as well.

If you look over the ABC’s above, you will see the basics of stage manners. However, there are some traditional rules.

1. You accept applause. This is the audience’s contribution. You don’t cut it off. You can acknowledge it with bows or other physical actions, but you accept it, you don’t dodge it.
2. Never turn your back on your audience. You turn in such a way that you turn facing the audience. You don’t turn the other way around where you show your back to the audience. An exception is an actor in a stage play where they may be required to turn away from the audience in order to leave the stage through an up-stage door.
3. Never express embarrassment or stage fright, even when you feel it. Force yourself into the physical appearance and expression of poise.
4. If you goof, ride over it. Don’t break off, call attention to it or look helpless or foolish. Just ride over it and go on.
5. If you don’t know what to do with your hands or feet, don’t do anything with them. Avoid twisting your feet, legs, hands or arms around. Don’t fiddle with props or your costume. Be positive in motion.
6. During breaks or silent periods, remember that you are still on stage and that stage manners still apply.
7. Always appear to be in control of the place and the audience.
8. Never allow your poise to be shattered by a sudden surprise. Ride over it and handle it.
9. A performer dominates their audience:

• By their communication,
• By their craft,
• By their technical perfection,
• By their stage manners.

This doesn’t mean that you can’t clown, joke, act superior or even seem austere. These are the arts of presence. But even in doing these, stage manners must be observed.

If, as a small child, you were always cautioned about your manners and resented it, you should get a clear idea of what manners are:

In a culture, manners are lubrication that ease the frictions of social contacts.

On the stage, stage manners are the means of smoothing the problems of interchange between the performer and their audience.

The hallmark of the professional performer, next to their craft and expertise, is flawless stage manners.

Exercise:

Stand in front of a full-length mirror, or videotape yourself performing this exercise. Assume the postures of your act:

• Accept applause gracefully.
• Bow gracefully.
• Smile pleasantly.
• Laugh.
• Be dignified.
• Demonstrate poise.
• Assume the posture required for a non-applauding audience.
• Ride out boos.
• Demand more applause.
• Do the posture to end your performance after applause.
• Accept a standing ovation.
• Deplore not having more time to give an encore.
• Appear at the start for a first part of a performance.
• Assume the posture and poise needed on stage during a one-minute break between numbers.
• Accept a plaque.
• Accept flowers.
• Ride over a bad goof.
• Be respectful to the audience.
• Kid the audience out of it.

Do each one of the nine rules all without saying a word. Do it with physical motions or lack of them.

When you can do all these things and look right to yourself and feel easy about them, you will have and be confident of your stage manners.