Camera is Subtle, But Stage Demands More: Kuljeet Singh

The common thing between theatre and cinema is acting. As a performer I have learnt it quite early in my life that these two would require different approaches because of the frame you find yourself in. A frame of theatre is much bigger and larger. There are some two hundred people looking at you, so you cannot afford to underplay. You have to slightly overdo things. I am not saying exaggerate, but slightly more than what camera would capture. Perhaps the distance between you and the last person in the audience would be some thirty metres or slightly more than that. If you were to underplay, you won’t be able to communicate with them.

In film when there is a camera, even the blink of an eye can communicate immensely. The movement of your eye, the direction of this movement - everything gets captured. You cannot lie on camera. Even overdoing ever so slightly would render your performance fake.

Acting is common to both, if you are able to learn the path between the two, you’ll be able to swim through. If not, then I can think of several theatre actors who are awful film actors.