The theatre prompter: The invisible hero
- Journalistic Translation
- Jun 17, 2022
- 2 min read
Translated by: Ghada Mohamed Salah
Edited by: Mariam Abdelmonem Gamal
Closer than anyone to the play in-progress, witnessing the actors' every move, and lingering, in case any actor forgets his part. A prompter spends most of his time in the prompt box that’s located in the middle of the stage. However, it’s really rare to find prompters on stage nowadays. In the following article, we're going to explore together this unique profession.
Have you ever wondered why do actors keep looking at the box on stage? Usually, a prompter stands in the prompt box playing his significant role without anyone noticing, helping actors out with cues and lines whenever they need.
The on-stage wooden box
A red wooden box covering an opening facing the actors, making the audience wonder, the prompt box is located downstage, in the middle, and it's the residence of the theatre prompter. It is from which he leans on the stage to help out the actors. The decorations keep changing all the time, but they never change the prompt box's place.
The theatre prompter: Who’s this?
The prompter is the beating heart of the theatrical work, or the special maestro as Mohamed Zayan calls him. Without anyone noticing, the prompter helps out the actors with their lines whenever they forget. As he's in charge of dictating the actors their lines from the script.
source: https://www.total-croatia-news.com/zagreb-blog/19767-what-s-it-like-being-a-theatre-prompter-a-story
His role
According to Zayan; the prompter uses his hand more often than his voice; he's not reading from a newspaper like the media portrays him. On the contrary, he hardly depends on his voice. In fact, the prompter attends the rehearsals to study how every move is performed. He guides the actors through his ‘pen’, through tapping on the stage to draw the actors' attention whenever they stand on unassigned places. Furthermore, he keeps track of any changes in the script. He leaves just enough time to memorize the whole play before the show.
source: https://www.theatreartlife.com/acting-singing/the-theatre-prompter-a-unique-and-dying-profession/
The theatre prompter's disappearance
We all got used to seeing the box where the prompter plays a major role. However, since the widespread of comedy plays, actors lean more towards improvising instead of sticking to the script. This made the prompters' job become nearly extinct. You can try watching old plays that has a prompter directing the actors to witness how fascinating his job is.
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