08/04/2024
During his acting career, Michael Goldfarb spent a lot of time watching from the wings, waiting to go on for his single scene. In this episode he talks about The Scottish Play.
Preparation for a performance on stage goes beyond just memorising lines, learning blocking and hoping it will be alright on the night. A diligent actor studies the history of the period of the play, learns about the intentions of the playwright, and absorbs from older colleagues knowledge of how the play has been done in the past.
In his less than stellar career as an actor, Michael Goldfarb went through this process many times. He recalls meeting John Gielgud at the theatre door and understudying in a play where a huge Styrofoam mountain was the star of the show.
In this essay: theatrical superstition says you shouldn’t mention the play Macbeth, by name. But how else to speak of the play on which Michael finally got his equity card?
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