Senior actor Nam Myung Ryul strongly criticized Son Seok Gu’s remark about performing fake acting on theater stage
Son Seok Gu’s comment on theater stage acting draws attention as it was intensely criticized by veteran actor Nam Myung Ryul.
On July 14th, Nam Myung Ryul made a post on his Facebook account, saying “Hahaha, I can only laugh. That arrogance”. Sharing the link to an article containing Son Seok Gu’s recent interview with reporters, he said, “I just want to say that I’m not a rich person, nor someone outstanding.”
He then added a comment, saying “Seriously, even if you have to whisper with raw acting, you should think about acting in a way that allows 350 audiences to hear it well. If you didn’t have that concern when doing theater performances, then you should take back the word that you were going to do theater acting only”
Nam Myung Ryul criticized, “Just say, ‘After trying it (theater acting), I found that media acting suits me better’. There are several actors who can fill 350 seats of the theater even when they whisper lines“, adding “If all acting is about portraying fictional characters, then it is absurd to define what real acting is.”
The remark Nam Myung Ryul pointed out was said by Son Seok Gu at the press conference for the play “Army on the Tree” held at the LG Arts Center in Gangseo-gu, Seoul on June 27th.
At that time, Son Seok Gu confessed, “In the script, it said ‘whispering love’, but in that case, they should have given us microphones. Being asked to not whisper for real on the stage made me feel like I was doing fake acting”, adding “That’s why I quit theater and turned to media acting, like dramas and movies”. He added, “When I came back to the stage, I wanted to experiment and see whether my acting style could work in theater.”
During the press conference, Lee Do Yeop, another actor from “Army on the Tree” cast, also mentioned the use of microphones in the play.
Lee Do Yeop said, “There are four ways for actors to make sounds on stage, but ‘whispering’ is not usually used because it can’t be heard well”, adding “Using microphones allows actors to express more delicate emotions even when they whisper and viewers to hear the lines better”. He added, “As an actor who has performed on many theater stages, I actually recommend using microphones. I think it’s not something strange for us to get help from technology in this modern era.”
“Army on the Tree”, known as Son Seok Gu’s first comeback to the theater in 9 years, is performed in a 320-seat small theater. Unlike other small theater plays, actors of “Army on the Tree” perform on the stage wearing microphones.
“Army on the Tree” is a play based on the true story of two soldiers who climb up a huge tree to escape enemy attacks in Okinawa during World War II and spend two years there. Telling the story of a veteran soldier dispatched to an island by a national order and a young man who assists the military to protect their island, “Army on the Tree” conveys the message that our lives are ongoing wars that never end through conflicts and understanding created in extreme situations.
Born in 1959, Nam Myung Ryul is a veteran actor who has appeared in numerous plays, dramas, and movies. His representative works are dramas “Doctor Stranger”, “Misaeng”, “Yong Pal”, “Coffee Prince”, “Hospital Playlist”, “Doctor Cha”, etc., and movies “All about my wife”, Emergency Declaration”, etc.
Source: Wikitree
