Wipe Your Feet at the Door

Stage actors have to work well with others.  That is an absolute.  Nowhere more than the theater do actors have to work as a team.  If you are making a movie you might shoot for 10 minutes and then stay in your dressing room for hours waiting for your next shot.  If you make a mistake, it is re-shot, no one has to save you.  Stage actors spend weeks in rehearsal and sometimes years in production, there is no room for bad behavior here.  That does not mean it doesn't happen, but well trained stage actors know the rules and will try to put their personal "stuff" aside and work well with the director, other actors, and the crew.

Why is teamwork so much more important on the stage?  Other than the fact that bad, disrespectful, behavior is something that should never be tolerated, on the stage you may need the actor who you have disrespected.  That actor may just have to save your ass if you drop a prop, forget a line, something breaks, the list goes on and on.  One of the reasons we love live theater is that it is such a challenge.  One never knows what is going to happen on stage at any given moment.  Working as a team the actors bring a show to life and meet all challenges.

The following suggestions are from "A Practical Handbook for the Actor" by Melissa Bruder, etal.

Though conflict is the essence of drama, it is the bane of productivity; therefore keep the following virtues ever before you:

1:  Humility, so that when someone corrects you, you will not be offended
2:  Generosity, so that when someone errs, you do not condemn, but forgive.
3:  Consideration, so that when someone believes something, you do not denounce that belief.
4:  Tact, so that when you believe something, you know the proper place, manner, and time to         
 present  that belief.
5:  NEVER direct another actor or even tell another actor that they are wrong.  You may not like the choices but it is not your business to direct.  Only the director may do that.  "Backstage" directing is so destructive to a production that I cannot stress enough the importance of not doing it.
6:  NEVER be a diva.  You are just not that important and there are tons of good actors out there who would love to take your place.  If you make a fuss because you can't get exactly what you want, you only create resentment among the cast and crew.
7 :  Wipe your feet at the door coming into the theater and leaving the theater.  Any "stuff" that is going on in your life has to be put aside the minute you enter the theater so that you can concentrate on the production.  Emotional stuff that happens on stage should be left on stage.  Don't take your role home with you and act it out on your family and friends.
8:  ALWAYS obey to the letter the stage manager and the crew.  They are there to make you look good on stage and they get none of the glory.  They also know much more about the technical workings of the stage, props, etc than you do and you want them on your side at all times.

Production can be fun and rewarding if everyone involved just remembers the Golden Rule so make sure that you are one of the truly professional actors who follow these guidelines.