The Art of Prompting

I was musing on the role of a Prompt the other day and feel that it's a very misunderstood role. It's one that We tend to give to a New Member and then not tell them how to do it - so that other New Members, or indeed the uninitiated Members, don't fully appreciate what a Prompt is. They think that a Prompt is only there to feed them lines during a performance should they, heaven forbid, Forget Their Lines. No. No, no, no, no, no. Wrong.
A Prompt is there to facilitate swift rehearsals and to assist in the following of the script during rehearsals. More your Script Supervisor really. During an actual Performance the Rules of Prompting are these:
1. NEVER prompt.
2. ONLY prompt in an Emergency.
3. NEVER prompt.
However, during rehearsals a Prompt should be following the script, giving lines when requested *note* and marking on their script where people mess up. Thus, a good Prompt will note when an actor is consistently messing up a line and can quietly point this out to them. Generally I find that when learning lines there can be Sticking Points and a good Prompt will assist you to overcome them. Often you think you are sailing through a piece and actually you've missed a Vital Plot Point - the good Prompt will tell you this. Or maybe you're paraphrasing a little which sometimes is OK but sometimes the playwright used a particular word for particular effect - some words are funnier than others for example. The good Prompt will tell you this too. Marvelous marvelous people the Good Prompts.
Bad Prompt stories include the time when a really tragic pause During Performance (SHOCK HORROR - see rules above) was interrupted by the Bad Prompt (shall remain nameless) giving the next line, very loudly.
Good Prompt stories include the time when an actor forgot to ask someone to marry them and decided to leave the stage - Good Prompt recognised this was an Emergency (see rules above) and managed to save the day (and the play) without alerting the audience.
We used to have an Excellent Prompt. Really The Best... but she went and moved to Canada. She liked being a Prompt so that she could be involved in the production but not have to learn lines (although to be honest by the end of the play she could probably quote more of it than most of the actors) and not have to Be On Stage. Rehearsals are fun, and the Prompt can be very much involved in that process. Interested in being a Prompt? Contact us through the website.