I guess I should clarify the "spontaneity" that bothers me is the rehearsed breaking of the fourth wall. Things like breaking character that happens at the same place every night, a planted audience cell phone going off, stuff like that. Stuff that seems like it's the actor who's being spontaneous, not the character.
Some shows, like What the Constitution Means to Me, blur the line between the actor and the character. I saw Derren Brown's Secret at the Atlantic, and that show, like most magic shows, blurs that line as well. (I actually don't think that show does any more pretending than any magic show, which almost by definition is full of misdirection and misleading behavior.) But in a show that has a clear dividing line, I personally don't think the show should pretend it's the actor talking when it's actually a character. (I realize others will not agree.) |
