By Francis Quamina Farrier

A GUN in the hand of an actor can prove to be a deadly weapon when certain basic rules are not observed. That was the tragic case recently when veteran Hollywood actor Alec Baldwin accidentally shot a colleague dead and injured another person on the movie set. Reports from the film set relate that the actor was distraught and at one point was seen doubling over in agony after the shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, whom Baldwin claims was a friend of his.

But how does that accidental shooting death thousands of miles away relate to Guyana since this country does not have an ongoing movie-production history? Most Guyanese who turn up to work on Guyana’s sparse film production projects are usually totally untrained and have little or no experience about movie production. Most stage actors in Guyana also have little or no professional training about the use of guns, yet there is a growing number of plays in which guns are used as props and are fired at other actors, some at point-blank range. What happened on that Alec Baldwin film production can happen here in Guyana if untrained performers fire guns at each other indiscriminately. There will certainly be those who argue that toy guns are used in stage productions. But since many toy guns are now manufactured to look like real guns, there is the possibility that the Alic Baldwin tragedy could possibly be repeated here.

In the Guyanese theatre of recent years, there have been more and more plays written in which guns are part of the action, and experienced dramatists and even some members of the audiences with that kind of experience, have been expressing concern at the way guns are being used in stage productions. Just observing how guns are used on stage give experienced dramatists the notion that the actors possess little or no professional training regarding the use of guns on stage. Every gun, including a toy gun, must be taken as a deadly weapon. One might ask why the concern, when guns that are used in theatre productions are usually toy guns? It should be known that most of the recently manufactured toy guns look very much like real guns and therein lies the possibility of a switch; accidentally or deliberately.

In the Alec Baldwin shooting tragedy, a live bullet was allegedly placed in a box with blank bullets which looked exactly like the live bullets. The gun which was given to Alec Baldwin was classified as a “cold gun,” meaning that it did not have any live ammunition in the chamber. That proved otherwise, resulting in a young woman being shot dead. Law enforcement is now investigating that tragedy.

There are basic rules regarding the use of guns on stage. One such rule for safety is that an actor whose character has to shoot another character should never point the weapon directly at the person to be shot, and certainly not at point-blank range;trained professionals never do that. Directors of plays are also expected to do their job in such a way as to make their productions safe for all involved.

Young actors attending a drama workshop held at the Theatre Guild Playhouse during the mid-1960s were trained meticulously about the use of guns in plays, among other things. “Never point the gun directly at the other actor; and certainly, never point your gun in the direction of the audience,” they were informed. Many actors of the present seem to break all the rules of guns in plays. Trinidadian Professor and playwright Dr. Errol Hill of the University of the West Indies, St. Augustus Campus in Trinidad, held a very useful theatre workshop at the Theatre Guild many years ago. Those who attended were well-trained in theatre craft, and safety was a large part of the training.

A gun used in a play, even though likely a toy gun, must always be regarded as a real gun in the mind of the actor, who should always think that the weapon in his hand can kill. That must be the mindset of the actor who has a gun in his or her hand when in a play, since a gun – even a toy gun – is nothing to ‘play’ around with. A gun in the hand of an actor must always be regarded as ‘hot’ and a weapon that can injure or even kill. Never take the shout “cold gun” without question, since, like the Alec Baldwin tragedy, that gun in your hand might actually be ‘hot’ and someone may be killed…by you.