ABSTRACT
The authors spend a lot of time creating their characters, and they have learned that not all actors will read stage instructions or even be guided by them so they agonize over each word, making sure it drives the character on and creates the part that they have conjured out of their imagination. For the actor and director then to spend hours working on anything but that text does seem to be a little perverse, when the beautiful words and ideas are already there on the page, just waiting to be lifted off and used. Authors do not always know the best way for their work to be performed. There is a famous tale of Arthur Miller, after a rehearsal, congratulating one of the actors in his play All My Sons for completely capturing the character and thoughts of the part he had written. If the script seems rather serious, read it again, looking for the jokes.
