Things that go Gurgle

One of the never ending pleasures about reading for ABC Radio is the high standard of material you are given to perform. An unpleasant side effect is that, with the pressure on and efficient earphones clamped onto your ears, you hear every noise in great detail.

So, if for instance, you are in the middle of a suspenseful moment which has been building up for some pages and you hear your stomach rumble under it, all is certainly lost and you have to start again. It sounds like a tsunami and is quite alarming considering we spend most of our lives blissfully unaware of these routine digestive processes.

I have tried everything - no breakfast, huge breakfast and all stages in between. Nothing works and, as Andre our Sound Engineer was quick to point out, I am not the only one. All the actors in the booth have this trouble and he thinks it is because actors are there to perform and so...every part of them does. That is very generous of him considering he has to patch up the endless retakes.

Is there a scientist out there who can make a potion that will stop this? We might call it the 'Performers Friend.' The ABC shop would stock it and export it all over the world. And I would order several dozen bottles.

To see Paul Newman and James Dean not handling performance pressure, click here.




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