Breaking The Fourth Wall

The fourth wall is a performance convention in theatre that refers to an invisible, imaginary wall between actors and the audience. And I broke the fourth wall in a big way at the Carl Cherry Center for the Arts in Carmel California on July 20, 2013. It happened when I was touring in the one-woman stage musical, Bernhardt On Broadway, the precursor to the movie musical. The show was just under two hours long and I performed it with an intermission.

After the intermission, with everyone settled in their seats, I continued my performance. It was not long before someone in the audience started to speak with me. Unusual – but I maintained my character and interacted with him. Before long there were seven or eight people who were holding a conversation with me as I channeled Sarah Bernhardt! The audience did not experience me as an actor. They found the performance so compelling they experienced me as Sarah Bernhardt, the great French tragedienne of the 19th and early 20th centuries! That really was a personal “wow”!

After about ten minutes the spontaneous discussion finally came to a conclusion. I put my right hand to my cheek and uttered in French, “Mon Dieu,” which translates into English as “My God.” “Where was I?” I queried, and someone in the audience told me. I then continued on and completed the performance.

What a thrill to draw an audience in when you are not simply playing a role but have become the character you are portraying!