Sit like a laddie

**War dog** · 6th October 13, 08:37 AM

I am directing a play about the Great Lakes Storm of 1913 and there are two scenes in which four men are wearing Highland formal attire. In one scene they are standing and then dancing a Scottish country dance and that works very well.

it is the other scene that poses the problem. Our community theatre has a flat floor for the audience about three and a half feet lower than the stage floor. This means the viewing angle of a seated kilt wearer is problematic.

Usually, the sporran weight will give sufficient force to make the kilt sit low enough but not when the viewing angle is so low.

As I see it, there are few options. I can reblock the scene and have the men standing but that feels false in the situation being portrayed.

I know someone will chime in with, "Think of the extra tickets you will sell" and as one of the men is young, well built and generally looks like a Harlequin romance cover, that may be true. However, I don't use females in this way so I wouldn't do it for males either.

The men will wear dark underwear and try to sit like laddies but I wonder if anyone else has faced this problem and come up with a creative solution.

**The Wizard of BC** · 6th October 13, 10:27 AM

There have been ladies in skirts on stage for many many years. Take your guidance from them.

First teach your actors how to sit in a kilt. If they are new to the kilt have an older lady show them how to sit. (sorry but a 20 year old girl may be just as inexperienced as the guys)
Second block your scene so that chairs are not pointed directly at the audience. You can cant a chair 15 to 20 degrees without changing anything else and it will work.
The solution to your problem is not to focus on the up/down aspect of actors/audience but to focus on side-to-side line of sight.

**War dog** · 6th October 13, 11:17 AM

We have already angled the chairs but it is a really wide audience so that only masks the problem for part of the audience. It is definitely better but not perfect.

The problem with taking the example of older women is that they usually sit with ankles crossed, which works great for them but looks unnatural for males.

I am experimenting tonight with having them cross their knees while holding down the kilt. There may be no perfect solution but, hey, I thought I'd ask.

**sailortats** · 6th October 13, 11:34 AM

We have the same problem in my SAMS unit when we are honor guard at the USS San Francisco Memorial on Memorial Day. We are seated on the memorial itself which is about 2 feet higher than the audience that is seated in the parking lot. We face the audience directly and are up and down a couple of times throughout the service. It would seem there would be a problem but we have never heard of one. I guess it is not as big a deal as it might seem.

**Chas** · 6th October 13, 11:50 AM

Originally Posted by War dog

snip ... The men will wear dark underwear ...

I am quite sure that your audience has seen male underwear before.

**Nathan** · 6th October 13, 12:19 PM

in adddition to angling the chairs, your options are:
a) Knees together
b) Knees wide apart with the centre of the kilt between the legs pushed down immediately upon sitting and attention to ensuring that it stays down. This creates a faux biforcation and the knees only should be visible.

N

**Father Bill** · 6th October 13, 02:12 PM

Sit with just the edge of your butt on the edge of the chair. Use at least one hand to push down the aprons of the kilt. All the way. Slide your butt back into the chair (thus protecting the pleats) while pushing down on the apron and sporran. After a bit of practice it actually becomes quite natural.

**Spartan Tartan** · 7th October 13, 02:45 AM

It seems quite natural to sit with ankles crossed for men and women. I do it all the time...and not just kilted.

If the actors practice sitting with a mind toward modesty, they will figure it out. But, if they forget then oh well...it happens in life too--make adjutments and carry-on smartly.

**Tobus** · 7th October 13, 05:24 AM

I would think that the stage lighting would cast the area in question in shadow, in which case it may not matter as much as you might think. But yes, if the actors are trained to sit properly like any other kilted man would sit, I don't see any problem. One fluid motion to sit: sweep pleats with one hand, while the other pushes the apron between the legs while sitting. Audience height shouldn't make any difference here as long as they're doing it right.