I agree with some here that it depends on the play and its running time.
When I directed
Arsenic and Old Lace, we had two intermissions. The play is long enough that it needs two breaks for the audience to stretch its legs. (Last year I saw a community-theatre production of
Arsenic that only had an intermission after Act II, and the resulting "Act I" was sooooo long that I got very restless well before the intermission, while the remaining "Act II" - originally Act III - seemed bizarrely short by comparison, which threw the play's proportions out of balance.)
Before I directed
Inherit the Wind, I only knew the play from its reading edition, which indicates a three-act division. I thought that the play was short enough to play in two acts, with the intermission placed between the two scenes of what was originally Act II. When I licensed the play and received my acting editions, I was pleasantly surprised to see that the authors had already made that change.
When I directed
Stage Door, I thought that the show would run way too long for our audience if played in its original three acts. Besides, both of the original act-curtains are rather weak, while there is a terrifically suspenseful, dramatic break at the end of Act II, Scene 1, so that is where I placed my single intermission for that show.
But here's a question I hadn't thought of before. Is the act division of a copyrighted play as published in its acting edition protected by the copyright? That is, do producers need permission to change the placement of intermission breaks, as they would to change language, delete material, etc.? I added an intermission when I directed
Driving Miss Daisy, which is written to be played in one long act (though divided into about two dozen brief scenes); should I have cleared that with the publisher before doing so? Some published full-length one-act plays do have indications from their authors saying something like, "If an intermission is desired, it should be placed after Scene 5," which would indicate that authors do care about such things. Hmm ...
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Jeff Grove
Theatre Teacher, Aesthetics Department Chair
Stanton College Preparatory School
Jacksonville FL
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Original Message:
Sent: 09-18-2019 13:57
From: Christopher Hamilton
Subject: Intermission
Where do you all put an intermission in a 3 Act play? We are doing The Man Who Came to Dinner this December, and I'm having a hard time deciding where/when to put our intermission. The most logical spot seems to be after Act 2, but that is 73 pages into the 93 page script, which seems a bit long (or is it?). Having intermission after Act 1 seems too early, and having 2 intermissions seems excessive. Thoughts?
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Christopher Hamilton
Drama Teacher
Kennewick WA
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