As a casting director, workshop teacher, and audition coach, I firmly believe that actors must respect the text and not deviate from it. Any role begins with the written word, and, although it may seem more laborious than not to be “word-perfect,” actors can actually free themselves up to deliver full and rich performances if they take the time to learn a role exactly as written. Even without full memorization of a scene (or scenes) for an audition, actors can train their eyes to read the precise words on the page, and not add, delete, or transpose words.
I’ve just returned from auditions in London, and while there, I taught two workshops. There were many talented actors in each group, and yet my urgings regarding sticking to the text exactly as written seemed, to them, to be revelatory. One can compare a script to a musical score: Just as a musician wouldn’t deviate from the notes, actors shouldn’t change words to suit their own way of saying things.
When actors change words in a scene, they alter the rhythm of not just their lines, but of the entire scene. Adding words, removing them, or switching the order of them will disrupt the flow, and can sometimes change the writer’s intent
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