MAY
17

Three Simple Rules to Theatre

By Jon Jory 

Jon Jory is the author of six plays with Pioneer Drama Service.  He also has written two textbooks of tips for actors and directors, respectively.   

Editor’s note:  Today’s article from theatre legend Jon Jory reflects largely on stories about his father, Victor Jory, and his mother, Jean Inness, both actors of considerable repute.

Victor Jory played hundreds of stage, film, and television roles over his nearly 60-year career but was best known for his roles as Oberon in A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1935) and the sinister Jonas Wilkerson in Gone with the Wind (1939).  He also played the lead role in the 78-episode police drama Manhunt from 1959 to 1961.

Jon Jory’s mother, Jean Inness, had a more than 50-year career as a stage, film, and television actress.  She found success mostly in television, appearing in a number of well-known shows including Gunsmoke, The Andy Griffith Show, Bonanza, The Twilight Zone, and medical drama Dr. Kildare, in which she played the recurring role of Nurse Beatrice Fain.

Dear Actors,

We learn from our mistakes, but it’s easier to learn from other people’s mistakes!  Please, if you want to succeed as an actor, follow these three simple rules to theatre:

1. Learn the lines early.  My father, Victor Jory, and mother, Jean Inness, were both actors who went into the first rehearsal with their lines learned.  Dad put it quite simply, “You really don’t get much done until you know the lines, so you’re putting off the actual acting and just wasting time.”
   
   Despite this acknowledgment of what had to be done, he hated learning lines.  Maybe you do, too.  He was usually in a foul mood when he was doing it.  As it was my job to cue him, it was sort of a battlefield experience for me.  He told me to be tough, though, because he was always determined to be “word perfect.”  Other actors who weren’t “word perfect” were subjected to his glare, and his glare was memorable.  He had distinctive, dark eyes and a stern stare that had often led him to being typecast as a villain.  You definitely didn’t want those dark eyes boring down on you.
   
   And seeing as Dad landed roles on endless television shows and 130 movies, I guess it worked out for him.  How’d he do it?  How’d he learn his lines?  Well, sort of...  exponentially.  He’d memorize the first line in the script, I’d cue him, and he’d say it.  Then, he’d learn the second sentence, I’d give the cue, and he’d deliver both the first and second sentences of dialogue.  It’s effective, if not necessarily easy.  And it’s better than being on the receiving end of your director’s cold glare.
   
   
2. Write your blocking into the script.  Don’t say you’ll “remember it,” because you won’t.  My father hated actors who didn’t write down blocking notes.  Remember that stare?  Those coal-black eyes?  Look at them!  You did not want that glare!
   
   Learning your lines ahead of time and writing down blocking notes were what my father called “professionalism.”  But you and I know it’s just common sense.  We never, ever have enough rehearsal time, and we really, deeply don’t want to disappoint our director or the other actors.  Right?
   
   
3. Don’t hide from the acting.  Act full-out all the time.  My father said that when an actor goes all-out all the time, they make their mistakes early and have time to correct them.  And, he would add, it’s impossible to do good work without making mistakes.
   
   In 1973, I was directing my father and mother in Eugene O’Neill’s Long Day’s Journey Into Night at Actors Theatre of Louisville when he turned to actor Tom Atkins, playing the eldest son with impeccable accuracy, and said, “Tom, why don’t you make some mistakes so we can all get better.  You’re killing me here.”  Remember, mistakes you make teach you how to be better.  Don’t waste time holding back.  Act now.  Act always.
   
   And here’s a bonus lesson for you since you’re paying attention:
   
   
4. Always be on time.  If you think my father’s glare was intimidating, I’m not even going to tell you how sharp-tongued he could be with actors who were late to rehearsal.  Let’s just say they didn’t enjoy it.  Again, it’s all about the professionalism.  When it comes to call time for any audition, rehearsal, or performance, if you’re early you’re on time.  If you’re on time you’re late.

Putting on a successful production is a feeling like no other, but first you have to spend time on a lot of tedious and seemingly boring steps.  Avoiding these steps or taking shortcuts is a mistake.