From the desk of Roland Rocchiccioli – 4 September

Providing a definition for acting is impossible. It is too ephemeral; however, I do know the difference between acting and performing.

I RECALL with clarity the occasion we had to shoot a scene, several times, on The Footy Show. It happened during the Hank Bulger weekly, mini soap opera which featured Shane Crawford, Billy Brownless, Dermot Brereton, and several others. I played a character called Joffa.

On about the third take of the same scene, one of the leading characters said, “Oh damn, do we have to do it again? I pulled some really good faces that time!” I almost fell down from laughing. That is grotesque performing, and has nothing to do with acting. Pulling faces, mugging, and generally doing anything which attracts attention and might get a cheap laugh, is performing. In some instances, showing off! It has nothing to do with acting.

For the most part, good actors are reticent. They will take-up any suggestion in the rehearsal room, but they are reluctant to do anything which might be seen as coarse acting.

I recall the late Freddie Parslow, with whom I worked on many occasions, stared quizzically at another actor, whom he thought had gone too far in a particular scene, then said, “I am just wondering. Are you going to do it like that on the night?” The other actor laughed nervously, but was smart enough to realise what Freddy was implying. He did not do it again.

Acting is not a magical, mystical process – Lassie and child-star Shirley Temple did it, but it is bloody difficult to do it well. Certainly, it is not as easy as it might seem, or sound. Methodology varies for every actor; however some basics tenets are constant.

It is an exploration for an explanation. Making the audience believe. Taking them on the journey. Putting both feet firmly on the ground, looking the other person in the eye, and telling the truth.  Lifting the words off the page and giving them life is a talent. It is about understanding and inhabiting the character.

The Australian playwright, Ray Lawler, who penned The Summer of the Seventeenth Doll, once called it “dresses-up for grown-ups!”

It is a strange process. Is it interpretive or creative? I have watched an actor leave their dressing room and seen a king or queen enter on stage. If you asked they would not be able to explain how it happens.

I worked on Bill Kenwright’s West End production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat which starred the late Darryl Cotton as Joseph. Pharoah was played by Eddie Youngblood, a brilliant Elvis Presley impersonator.

In the new production which will open at Melbourne’s Regent Theatre, Shane Crawford has been cast as Pharoah.

A former AFL Hawthorn captain, Crawford is not an actor, a singer, or a dancer. He is personality performer, and not without some charm. His casting is a publicity stunt; a sound business proposition, designed to attract Crawford’s fans. Musical productions cost millions of dollars to mount, and producers need to employ every tactic to encourage an audience to buy a ticket.

While the disappointment of unemployed actors who have been denied the opportunity to audition for a good role is understandable, I empathise with the producers. They, too, need to protect their investment. It is too easy to lose money.

Be assured, the creative team will rehearse Crawford like a monkey on a stick.

Come opening night, he will deliver, in spades!

Roland can be contacted via [email protected].