WATCH: Tramell Tlllman Talks The Difference Between Film And Theater

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Tramell Tillman talks about the difference in performing in front of a crowd versus for movies.

Transcript

00:00One thing I've noticed is that a lot of seasoned actors,

00:05they also, on screen, you know,

00:08they also season their chops with Broadway and everything,

00:12and they kind of go back to theater.

00:14I wanted to ask you, what is the allure of Broadway,

00:17and what has that taught you as an actor as well, too?

00:23There's nothing like live theater.

00:25There's nothing like it.

00:26I think Phylicia Rashad had said this quote,

00:31film gets you the fame, television gets you the money,

00:36theater gets you the street cred.

00:39With a good editor, anybody can look like a great actor

00:44on film and television, you know what I mean?

00:47But in theater, you can't fake it.

00:51You can try to hide, but people are gonna know

00:55whether or not you can carry a full theater

01:00and you can capture people's attention,

01:03two, three, four, you know, 3,000 seat theaters, you know,

01:08and not just Broadway, just theater in general.

01:12It's also, I find, more collaborative in theater.

01:17You know, we're all telling this story together.

01:19We have to lean on each other in this space,

01:23and we have the luxury of telling the story

01:26over and over and over again,

01:27whereas film and television, your rehearsal are the takes.

01:33And you may build a close relationship

01:36with your fellow cast members,

01:38but it just depends on whether or not

01:39they're called that day, you know, in film and television.

01:42Theater is a bit different, and they're different mediums.

01:46But theater definitely has taught me

01:48about being in the moment.

01:50It has taught me more about spontaneity,

01:58thinking on your feet, problem solving,

02:01and the gift that is theater that can unite people

02:07in a live space, in a shared space.

02:12I remember when I did a production of A Christmas Carol

02:16at the Clarence Brown Theater in Knoxville, Tennessee,

02:19one of the productions, or one of the shows, I should say,

02:24was the day of the Sandy Hook shooting.

02:28I was playing Bob Cratchit.

02:30I remember coming into the theater,

02:31and I sat in my dressing room, and I was looking at CNN,

02:35and I saw these bodies carried off in stretchers,

02:39and I just wept for 30 minutes.

02:42And somehow I had to muster up the strength

02:44to be able to go on stage and be exuberant

02:48and optimistic about life when I was witnessing

02:51the tragedies of what was happening

02:53to this community in Sandy Hook.

02:56And I remember the moment of Christmas yet to come,

03:00and Tiny Tim doesn't make it to Christmas,

03:03and I watched my fellow co-star walk away

03:10with Timmy's grave, and I kept thinking about Sandy Hook.

03:16I came on stage, and I could see out of my eye

03:20the actor playing Scrooge, David Quartermire, weeping.

03:24I had never seen him weep like that.

03:28And we had done this show several times before.

03:31I was talking to Johanna Dunphy,

03:33who played Mrs. Cratchit, and I had tears in my eyes,

03:38and she had tears in my eyes.

03:40And in that moment, no one eulogized to the audience,

03:46no one projected or said anything,

03:49but you could hear a pin drop in that entire theater.

03:53And it was as if in this moment,

03:55we are taking a collective breath and a pause

04:02for the families and the community

04:05that endured that tragedy.

04:08And it was in that moment that I knew the power of theater.

04:13I understood it, I got it.

04:14That theater, the collective bodies has a healing power.

04:21And it started to shift at that moment

04:24to be a form of ministry for me.

04:27And yes, we do unite in film.

04:32You know, we go see a big movie, Mission Impossible.

04:34Everyone's gonna go corral and see the movie, you know,

04:37and we'll cheer and shout and scream and cry,

04:41whatever the emotions are, and then we leave.

04:46And we can do that around television as well.

04:50But theater, it is the sole purpose in that way.

04:54And it's just beautiful.

04:58That's the gift of theater.

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