Have you ever thought about the vital role played by the Prompt at the theatre? Sue Twilley, some time Prompt at Scunthorpe Little Theatre Club, below gives us an insight into this unseen aspect of theatre productions.
When I see an audience arriving at the theatre to see a play, I often wonder how many of them know exactly what goes on backstage, behind the scenes.
There are so many people that are the ‘glue’ that hold everything together – the Stage Manager, the Deputy Stage Manager, Assistant Stage Manager, Lighting, Sound, Properties, Costumes to name just a few. These are the people who make each show such a huge success, but you will be very lucky if you ever see any of them.
One of the jobs that I love at the theatre is the role of Prompt. A lot of people don’t like this role, with some describing it as a ‘thankless task’, but I really enjoy it.
As prompt when I’m needed for a show, I aim to be at the rehearsals from the very beginning. Even during blocking and line read throughs, I can begin to build an idea of how each character reacts, speaks, and interacts with the other cast members.
My beautifully pristine copy of the script soon becomes covered in what some might describe as hieroglyphics. These are in fact highlighted areas where action takes place, and marks to indicate pauses between lines and sentences, with annotations in the margins.
As the weeks go by, the markings in my prompt script become less, and my job becomes slowly redundant. This is always a very positive result, because it means that, not only have I marked all the pauses where they should be, but more importantly the cast know their lines.
This is an absolute joy, being able to watch first hand as the characters develop over the weeks leading up to show week.
I have often described myself as a ‘comfort blanket’ for the cast, in that they know their lines, but it’s comforting for them to know that I’m there, ready with my script should they need me.
During show week, I can be found backstage, in my Corner. It can be quite lonely being a prompt, sitting in the dark, with just the light from my book light to illuminate my copy of the script. The temperature backstage can vary from quite cold to very warm, but the backstage crew are great at keeping me supplied with cups of tea and bottled water, even going as far as bringing me the occasional biscuit or some chocolates during the interval.
So, there I sit, Wednesday night through to Saturday night, quiet as a mouse, and the only time that you, the audience, will hear my voice is if a cast member forgets their line. Fortunately for me, my role as prompt is mostly a doddle, because I’m surrounded by so much talent at The Scunthorpe Little Theatre Club that my services are rarely called upon.
If you ever get asked to prompt for a show, please consider it and don’t immediately dismiss it out of hand. It is a role that does require your full attention at all times, but the reward is that you get to see the cast perform each night knowing that you have played a small part in helping them to become word perfect.