Did any male out there ever play a female role in a community theater?

Question:What was the role. How munch work gone in after rehearsals to practice? What advice to give?

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: What was the role. How munch work gone in after rehearsals to practice? What advice to give?

My guess is that you are participating in an old English pantomime or possibly a melodrama. I used to do these every Christmas, they're great.

Now, obviously I've never been a man playing a woman, but I have been a woman playing a man (I played Aladdin). It helped to pick a physical characteristic and stick with it (ie: I used to put my fists on my hips and stand with my feet shoulder width apart a la Peter Pan, helped me feel a bit more "boyish").

Its a huge amount of fun. In fact, the more you look like a man playing a woman, the funnier it tends to be. In these types of roles you are not out to convince the audience you are actually a woman; otherwise you would be playing a drag queen.

There isn't too much work outside of rehearsal, apart from memorzing your lines and it depends on how much work you feel like doing to get into the groove. I'm assuming this is community theatre, so I have no doubts that you will have plenty of rehearsal time.

A good idea: get your costume (or something similar to it) as soon as you can. You will be surprised how much donning a dress and a bra with fake boobs will change the way you walk, talk and move. I doubt they will put you in heels (which is a bad idea anyway as men are not physically capable of walking in them!). Also, pick an effeminate hand prop (say a hanky or a pair of gloves or jewellery, possibly a wig). This will all help you build the phsyical characterization, the lines will follow.

Break a leg!

I played the Mother in "The Great Western Melodrama." The same work goes into rehearsals like any other show. Just give yourself to the character.