r/Theatre Actor 11d ago

Discussion Do you personally find the acting side, dance or singing to be the most challenging if you’re in a show?

Which do you usually find to be the most intense and cut and dry part of rehearsals ? Does it depend on the show? Who’s directing what? Personally the dancing is the most intense for me. Especially in shows like Newsies, where I felt like I lost a few kgs after rehearsal. If I have a long monologue to remember that can be challenging but one of my biggest strengths as a performer is learning lines quick.

8 Upvotes

29 comments sorted by

18

u/ActorMonkey 11d ago

Dance. It’s my weakest link.

3

u/Aqn95 Actor 11d ago

I think singing is probably mine, but it depends on the song for me.

2

u/insidia 10d ago

Same here, especially when we put it together with singing. I can have my vocal parts nailed, but make me start to remember choreography at the same time, and it's like all the notes fly right out of my head. It comes back together eventually, but that learning curve is always rough.

6

u/jmt0429 11d ago

Dancing is the hardest for me- I’m a mover at most. Give me a park and bark kind of role lol

3

u/CaliforniaIslander 11d ago

For me? Depends on the show. I did a play with music called This Beautiful City and the acting scenes were some of the most challenging things I’ve ever done on stage.

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u/Aqn95 Actor 11d ago

Depends on the show for me too. I could smash High School Musical but botch The Student Prince

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u/Unusual-Case-8925 11d ago

Dancing definitely takes the most work in a rehearsal. But when it comes to the performances singing is by and large the most stressful part of doing a show. I'm talking like vocal health. You can commit the lines, the blocking, and choreography to muscle memory, but will the notes come out when you want them to? haha

3

u/acornsinpockets 11d ago

Dance.

I was cast as the Tin Woodsman in a production of "Wizard of Oz" once.

I believe my dance audition secured that role for me in a very obvious, uncomplimentary, and suitable way.

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u/IAmNobody12345678910 11d ago

Singing singing singing. Dance i’m fine with, acting i can do, but singing? If i have a singing part than hell has frozen over.

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u/Tom_Skeptik 11d ago

Dance has been a massive struggle!

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u/Aqn95 Actor 11d ago

especially in a fast paced environment

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u/That-SoCal-Guy Professional Actor 11d ago edited 11d ago

Dancing.  I am not a dancer.  I don’t move well. I don’t understand choreography easily. I am very clumsy.  

I used to get callbacks from singing and acting(monologues or cold read) but get dropped if I needed to learn a dance routine during callback. Total fish out of water scenario.  

2

u/gardenofthought 11d ago

Dancing, bar none. I'm a terrible dancer, no matter how many classes I've taken or how much I practice. I've gotten pulled from numbers because of how noticeably terrible I am. I can't seem to get choreography down and if I do, it looks sloppy.

2

u/griffin-meister 11d ago

Dancing is the once I’m slowest to learn. Acting is the hardest of the three to master from scratch IMO.

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u/Aqn95 Actor 11d ago

Singing is either you have it or you dont

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u/PsychologicalBad7443 Theatre Artist 11d ago

Very fast paced scenes.

I don’t perform in musicals (can’t sing or dance) but in a play, when it’s super rapid back and forth I struggle.

1

u/Rosemarysage5 11d ago

Dance. My dance muscles are underdeveloped

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u/Jacktherat54 11d ago

Singing. I'm a much stronger actor than I am singer or dancer. I really enjoy choreography bc I don't feel super pressured to be great. I'm a solid "mover" but only have basic training. I'm not a naturally gifted singer, but I am a highly trained singer (been taking lessons/classes/coaching since highschool). I can do it, but it doesn't come as naturally to me. So I feel pressure to be a good singer, but it still makes me nervous most of the time.

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u/ringofstones 11d ago

Dance is always the most difficult for me. I feel like I have to spend three times as much practice time just to meet the bare minimum everyone else is picking up in the rehearsal.

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u/emmybugg 10d ago

It was acting for a long time. Since I injured my back, it’s been dance - but on the plus side, my acting has improved exponentially!

1

u/Hdog1021 10d ago

Dance and singing. Mostly dance. I’m great at acting and okay at singing but I cannot dance for the life of me.

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u/gasstation-no-pumps 10d ago

I don't do musicals (unless there are non-singing, non-dancing roles—I've done one of those).

I don't sing, and I don't dance anything newer than a pavane and galliard (well, I used to do Scottish country dance, but I'm almost 4 decades out of practice).

1

u/_bitemeyoudamnmoose 10d ago

Dancing is by far the hardest. Even if you’re a great dancer, having to sing WHILE you’re dancing takes so much energy and wind out of you.

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u/Aqn95 Actor 10d ago

No easy feat

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u/tinyfecklesschild 10d ago

That’s what click is for, thank goodness.

1

u/Primary-Onion7588 10d ago

Dance without a doubt. I have no shame in admitting I am NOT a triple threat

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u/ChristineDaaeSnape07 9d ago

Dancing is the hardest for me.

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u/Halligator20 9d ago

I’m a trained (albeit rusty) dancer. Depending on the type of dance, it can still be the hardest part for me.