FROM THE STAGE TO THE SCREEN The Exegesis of Adaptation in Acting

The acting profession has experienced some positive developments in recent times. While many trained theatre artists are trying to eke a living off stage productions, the emergent Home video Industry and private Television stations provide avenues and opportunities for the exhibition of professionalism in acting. In this paper, we shall take a critical look at the nature of acting and its demands on a prospective actor. This we shall do through an analysis of the peculiarities of stage and screen acting. The essence is to create the awareness that the medium affects the approach.The professional training of the Nigerian actor is stage-oriented, and the development of TV drama and Home video films pose a great challenge. The stage actor has to be conscious of the demands of adapting to screen (TV/Film) acting in order to perform with believability.