If you have six actors who know their lines and one actor who doesn't, what do you have?
Blithe Spirit.....
http://www.bannergraphic.com/story/1647679.html
And you can always tell when the lines are gone because the volume drops and the voice becomes almost inaudible......and there's always a reason.....yes not getting the right cue can cause you to skip two pages.....or if someone else in the middle of your ramblings tries to get you back on track.....don't start making up things to "cover" for them.....just learn the damned lines.
It's not disastrous, but it is demoralizing......will not cast her again in anything....live and learn.
We open tomorrow night.
This reminds me of a story.
Back in Bellevue, WA, I directed a production of
CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF. There is a scene in the 3rd act where all the characters are on stage, they hear a loud cry of pain (offstage) from "Big Daddy" and they react to it.
At this particular performance, I was standing in the back of the audience...and the loud cry of pain didn't come. The actors started to ad-lib, because the play couldn't really continue without that cry.
I rushed out the front door of the theater, ran down to the stage door, opened it, stuck my head in and gave out with the loudest cry of pain that you've ever heard in your life.
The performance continued.
