Entries in the "Rule" category

There are 44 Rules of Stage Conduct in Lessons in Acting. Rule number 31 is “Passionate Kissing”.

RULE 31—Passionate kissing. This should never be hurried, unless many repetitions are given. The lover puts his arm (the arm nearest the lady), about her shoulders, obliquely down the back and under her arm a little higher than the waist. His other arm encircles her waist. Her hand (the one farthest from him) is about his neck. Her head falls back upon his shoulder, the face being upturned to his, and the mouth ready. If the love and passion are REAL, he does not kiss often, but long. He approaches her rosy lips with gentleness, yet firmness, and the kiss has no force of contact but pressure in its continuance. It is not necessary to practice this much.

Here for once Edgerly and I are at odds. This should be practised as often as possible, if need be with random strangers. Do not make the mistake of trying it with a pet animal, however, such as a King Charles spaniel who might become over-excited and ruin your best corduroys. Instead, inflatable counterparts are available that can readily be purchased from high street shops: these will permit you to practise all you like at no risk apart from that of unexpected deflation.

Every day I post a new Attitude or Rule of Stage Conduct on this blog. Get the book for more thespian weirdness. An ideal birthday gift for the slightly dazed.

There are 44 Rules of Stage Conduct in Lessons in Acting. Rule number 30 is “Ordinary Kissing by One Party”.

RULE 30—Ordinary kissing by one party. The other stands passive. The arm nearest the lady should circle the waist, the free hand should grasp the hand of the lady (preferably her nearest hand), and the act should then be performed. It is not necessary that the kissing should be actual . Closeness without actual contact is often accomplished and the audience none the wiser.

It is not necessary that the kissing should be actual. This point cannot be emphasised often enough. Hygiene and general decency demand it. Rubber prophylactic lip covers, available from suppliers of surgical accessories, may found useful. These will create the illusion of intimacy while protecting both parties from unwonted perturbation.

Every day I post a new Attitude or Rule of Stage Conduct on this blog. Get the book for more thespian weirdness. An ideal birthday gift for the slightly dazed.

There are 44 Rules of Stage Conduct in Lessons in Acting. Rule number 29 is “Ordinary Kissing by both parties”.

RULE 29—Ordinary Kissing by both parties. They may meet without touching hands, or each take right hands as in shaking, or may clasp four hands, and kiss. In clasping four hands, each person takes the other’s left hand in his right.

It’s getting steamy in here, isn’t it? If only Sir Richard Burton hadn’t published an English language edition of the Kama Sutra a few years earlier, Lessons in Acting might have become the reading matter of choice for the feverish Victorian masturbator. An opportunity missed!

Every day I post a new Attitude or Rule of Stage Conduct on this blog. Get the book for more thespian weirdness. An ideal birthday gift for the slightly dazed.

There are 44 Rules of Stage Conduct in Lessons in Acting. Rule number 28 is “The Lover’s Passionate Embrace”.

RULE 28—The Lover’s Passionate Embrace. Both parties are nearly sidewise to the audience. The lady throws both her arms about the neck of her lover. He throws both of his about her waist. The bodies are pressed closely together. It is unnecessary to practice this much.

“Unnecessary”? Some people just want to take all the joy out of life.

Every day I post a new Attitude or Rule of Stage Conduct on this blog. Get the book for more thespian weirdness. An ideal birthday gift for the slightly dazed.

There are 44 Rules of Stage Conduct in Lessons in Acting. Rule number 27 is “The Lover’s Ordinary Embrace”.

RULE 27—The Lover’s Ordinary Embrace. Let the lover stand in opposition, the hip projecting on the side nearest his lady. This prevents awkward leaning. He will then place the arm that is nearest the lady (and of course farthest from the audience) around her waist, or above the shoulder and down the back obliquely and around the waist. The free hand should gently encase the lady’s hand, preferably the one farthest from the lover. Both parties nearly face the audience.

This is certainly the most erotic piece of writing in all literature. The Kama Sutra? Pah! The Story of O? Phooey! In four incisive sentences Edgerly shows how one can write thrillingly about sex without once using the words “throbbing”, “tumescent” or “lard”.

Every day I post a new Attitude or Rule of Stage Conduct on this blog. Get the book for more thespian weirdness. An ideal birthday gift for the slightly dazed.

There are 44 Rules of Stage Conduct in Lessons in Acting. Rule number 26 is “Single Arm Embracing”.

RULE 26—Single Arm Embracing. This is employed where one person embraces the other. The arm farthest from the audience should be used to encircle the other person, and may be placed over the shoulder, or about the waist. The milder embraces require the arm to encircle the waist; the more affectionate embraces the neck and waist.

One might wonder how how even the most affectionate embrace encompasses simultaneously both the neck and waist of the other party. Is it actor or boa constrictor that Edgerly has in mind?

Every day I post a new Attitude or Rule of Stage Conduct on this blog. Get the book for more thespian weirdness. An ideal birthday gift for the slightly dazed.

There are 44 Rules of Stage Conduct in Lessons in Acting. Rule number 25 is “Full Arm Embracing”.

RULE 25—Full Arm Embracing. Two persons coming together in the full arm embrace should each raise the right arm and lower the left. This prevents awkward accidents.

This may be the most valuable lesson in the entire corpus of actor education. Anyone who sincerely aspires to a professional stage career should have it by heart. Without it, the portrayal of any form of embrace is fraught with tremendous peril.

Every day I post a new Attitude or Rule of Stage Conduct on this blog. Get the book for more thespian weirdness. An ideal birthday gift for the slightly dazed.

There are 44 Rules of Stage Conduct in Lessons in Acting. Rule number 24 is “Death in a Chair”.

RULE 24—Death in a Chair. In dying in a chair the best effect is produced by throwing the head straight backward, the face being upward, then allowing the head to settle into an oblique-backward position, in opposition to the inclination of the torso.

Edgerly has much to say on the subject of dying on stage, which he seems to consider the highest part of the craft. He goes so far as to say that he “declared many years ago that he would never write a book on Acting until he had witnessed ten actual deaths”, a statement that perfectly exemplifies the peculiar mixture of bullshit and non sequitur that is his stock in trade.

Every day I post a new Attitude or Rule of Stage Conduct on this blog. Get the book for more thespian weirdness. An ideal birthday gift for the slightly dazed.

There are 44 Rules of Stage Conduct in Lessons in Acting. Rule number 23 is “Falling in Chair”.

RULE 23—Falling in Chair. Never fall, unsupported, directly backward into a chair. It is awkward and unsafe. The fall should either be sideways or oblique-backward. In either case the hand should always touch the back of the chair first. This partially supports the body and steadies the chair.

Celebrated daredevil star Jackie Chan tried many painful times before he was able to perform a fall into a chair without following the wise safety guidance contained in this rule. Some hilarious out-takes of his performance can be found on Youtube, probably.

Every day I post a new Attitude or Rule of Stage Conduct on this blog. Get the book for more thespian weirdness. An ideal birthday gift for the slightly dazed.

There are 44 Rules of Stage Conduct in Lessons in Acting. Rule number 22 is “Walking to Place”.

RULE 22— Walking to Place. Take a position and look at the place on the stage to which you wish to walk; then shut the eyes and walk so exactly as to be able to reach the place in a given number of steps.

Some have questioned the need to shut the eyes while obeying this rule. “Come on”, they say, “no one shuts their eyes while walking in real life, why should we do so on stage?”.

Theatre is not real life, of course, and by following Edgerly’s methods you are guaranteed to ensure the audience never confuses the two. If anyone watching the stage ever forgets they are watching a performance, they are liable to become excessively absorbed in the drama. This is a catastrophe which the Edgerly-trained actor is most highly skilled at averting.

Every day I post a new Attitude or Rule of Stage Conduct on this blog. Get the book for more thespian weirdness. An ideal birthday gift for the slightly dazed.