Costume shoes can be slippery, especially when worn on angled stages. If an actor hasn't spent enough time rehearsing, she can easily be thrown off-balance. More slips and falls occur when the lights are out and actors have to move around near open trap doors, says McCann. Marking holes in the stage with fluorescent tape, he says, is an easy, foolproof solution. Reaching for the role Like professional sports, acting can be physically demanding, so sprains, strains and other musculoskeletal problems are rampant in the acting industry, says Dr. Alice Brandfonbrener, director and co-founder of the Medical Program for Performing Artists of the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago.
People get a lot of pulled muscles and muscle tension and back problems.
In one unusual example, a patient came to Brandfonbrener after fellow actors dropped him unintentionally. We see actors who do things onstage they may not be trained for. And some people aren't in the best shape, or have the endurance and agility they need. In addition, staged combat scenes can be a risky business. A fight coordinator usually choreographs most movements in actors' combat scenes, but a certain number of improvised punches, pushes, slaps, scrapes, and cuts are inevitable.