My First Shot
A reminder that instructions are there for a reason…
So my last blog was a tad emotional. This time around, I’m taking you back to the start.
If you’ve been a regular reader, then you may recall my tale of events that unfolded on my first day of a professional tour. But there’s another interesting tale that took place prior to the first day on the tour – the dress rehearsal.
On this tour of Germany, in was part of a four-person tour performing three plays of differing stages of English language. The third was for the advanced speakers, an adaptation of a classic novel. In our case, it was Oliver Twist.
I took the challenge of no less than seven characters, the main ones being Fagin and Monks. Of the minor characters, I also played Mr Giles, the butler of Mrs Maylie, in whose house Oliver is apprehended as part of a failed burglary. The apprehension takes place due to Mr Giles shooting Oliver in the arm with a firearm.
The production company wanted a realistic sound effect, so instead of a track from a CD, I was to utilise a blank gun.
Now I had never used a gun of this nature before (I’m sure you’ll be pleased to hear) and this was far from the toy guns with shot paper you’d have as a youth.
I was entrusted to look after the gun. It was placed in its own case, away from other props, and I was given explicit instructions on how to use it.
Simply put, after setting up the blank cartridge before the play began, when it came to the moment of the gunshot, I was to load, hold away from me, cover my ear on the side I was holding it and fire.
Remember that sequence.
At the time of our rehearsals, there were two other casts also working on their productions and, at the end of a three week period, each cast had their own day to perform their dress rehearsals in front of the other casts and crew. A wonderful atmosphere where everyone wanted each other to succeed.
We were second of the three days, and after the first two shows went well, it came time for Oliver Twist. At the halfway point of an overlong show (which was edited hugely during the first week of tour), we came to the moment of Oliver being shot.
This was nerve wracking as it was the first time we’d actually done the gunshot. None of us knew exactly how loud it was going to be. All we knew was to brace ourselves and cover our ears.
Jo, the actor playing Oliver, walked offstage, holding her fingers in her ears, bracing herself for the shot. Maria, getting ready to enter as Mrs Maylie, was on the other side of the backstage area doing the same. Tom, who at this point of the show played Sykes, was onstage giving the cue line and waiting.
I picked up the pistol, loaded, held away from me (and everyone else) and fired……
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Did you notice something I forgot to do?…
Yep. In my nervous state at getting the sequence correct, I forgot part of it. I didn’t cover my ear.
Now it was going to be a loud sound anyway, as I would not be able to use both hands to cover both ears. As I was using my right hand to shoot, I was told to cover my right ear with my left hand.
The moment I pulled the trigger, instead of just hearing a big bang, I felt a piercing squeal engulf my head. The worlds worst case of tinnitus instantaneously took over the right side of my head, as I almost fell back from the power of the shot.
As a true professional, I managed to put the gun back in its case, all the while holding my ear worried it was about to bleed. Maria rushed over to check I was okay, while Jo staggered back onstage carrying on the scene with Tom, neither knowing what had happened.
Thankfully, neither did the audience. I made my entrance as Mr Giles as if nothing had gone wrong. Because that’s what an actor does – they carry on. The audience don’t know if something has gone wrong, and my colleagues and peers watching had no idea that my ears felt and sounded like the opening scene from Apocalypse Now.
Thankfully my hearing restored itself fairly rapidly and I never EVER got that gunshot sequence wrong again.
