Not that I haven’t seen this phenomenon before, but I had a front row seat for a Shakespeare play in late March, and couldn’t help noticing from that distance that the wet stuff was flying out of the actors’ mouths on a regular basis, especially if they were doing a shouting or intense scene. I was afraid some of it might land on me, but fortunately I was spared.
Is this something that just happens and everyone accepts it as part of the job? Do the cast members zip backstage as soon as they can and dry themselves off?
I was surprised to see the same thing at the only live play I’ve recently attended in person (yes, I’m an uncultured swine).
Unfortunately, the play was the Importance of Being Earnest, which involved the eating of cucumber sandwiches, which were repeatedly (and quite grossly) expactorated across the stage in a half-chewed state.
I also believe that part of it is probably just the excessively bright lighting. I’ve never acted or otherwise performed, but I’ve been told that most people would be amazed at how bright (and hot from the lights) it is on a stage. Although audience members don’t realize it, there is far better visibility on the stage than exists in normal life. If we went through our day-to-day interactions with that type of lighting on us, possibly you would see more spit coming from our mouths as well when we talk?
But if someone were spitting as they spoke, you’d probably feel it. Maybe we just make more of an effort to keep from spitting on those to whom we’re speaking since we don’t have to project.
This stuff was truly projectile even though it involved no sandwiches.
Having both acted on stage several times and seen several performances, it’s mostly the lights letting you see saliva that is there everytime you and I talk. If you ever have a chance, go up on a stage when show condition lights are on. It’s HOT AS FUCK and bright. It’s almost impossible to face towards the audience and not squink. Another factor is that fact that actors have to project. Not shout (well, sometimes they shout) but talk in a way so that their voice can reach all of the playhouse, and that may be involved in the saliva you see.
To compare, get a friend to sit portrait style in front of a bright bulb and ask him to talk, and you will see some saliva. Not as much as on stage, I suspect, but you might still be surpised at how much there is.
I love it when I get to feel like an authority on something on this board.
The answer to the question is yes, it is mostly something that is unavoidable and accepted as a fact of life. The reason is mostly because of the levels of diction and volume that actors must employ in order to be heard and understood. In plays like Shakespeare and Wilde’s works the problem gets worse because the diction is often exaggerated to help the audience further. Actors are basically told in voice and speech classes that if they aren’t spitting their diction isn’t good enough (to put it in super simplified terms.) This is compounded by the fact that acting is very physically exerting and so actors guzzle water offstage, so their mouths are rather wet anyway. You will find that this is also true of singers, next time you are at a rock concert notice how much the lead singer spits, it will make you never want to touch someone else’s mic again.
The reason you are seeing it is because the lights are indeed much much brighter than real life, they are also very hot , and fairly close to the actors. So actors sweat a whole lot onstage too.
Working in the theater you stop getting grossed out by bodily fluids pretty quickly.
I did theater in high school, and even with our minimal, low-budget stage lighting setup it was very hot and bright onstage.
A friend of mine who I was in a couple of plays with was blind, and some people were surprised that she was able to perform scenes where she had no cue but the lighting. My friend did have some ability to sense light in one eye, but aside from that even a blind person can FEEL it when those stage lights go on!
I haven’t been involved with theater except in high school. But I suspect the discussion of diction above is correct. There’s a particular emphasis (and you’ll hear it if you pay attention) to aspirated consonants. Ps, Ks, and Ts are all aspirated in English, meaning a little puff of air is released when the sound is articulated. Put your hand in front of your mouth say “pay bay pay bay” (or whatever.) You’ll feel that puff of air when you make /p/ sounds.
Not only are actors encouraged to aspirate these sounds more strongly, they also aspirate them when it’s not normally done in English - particularly at the ends of words. I can’t really figure out how to represent it in writing but it’s what you’d do if you were enunciating “ache” really well for someone who misheard it.
I suspect an extra lot of saliva ends up being spewed forth in those puffs of air.
