Non-speaking artists are known as supporting artists. The distinction between them, walk-ons and small parts is often extremely fine, but naturally very important to the people concerned as it has a bearing on the fees paid and the status of the artist.
Definition of a Supporting Artist
A supporting artist (SA) is someone who, in conjunction with others, is given general directions, e.g. ‘mill about’ or ‘act angry’, but no individual direction and has no set words. A crowd of fans at a football match might all be supporting artists. They might applaud and cheer as the mood takes them, but are not instructed beforehand on what to say, and do not perform any specific prearranged actions on cue.
There are three grades of walk-on, 1, 2, and 3. To give some idea we’ll go back to the football crowd. Out of this crowd one person might be singled out to wave a flag on cue. He would then be upgraded to walk-on 1 or 2. So would the policeman who points a warning finger at the flag waver. If the policeman were given some unimportant, unscripted words to say, he would be upgraded to walk-on 3. So would the flag-waver, if he was told to utter some appropriate epithets at the policeman. If, of course, the words are subsequently scripted, then the walk-on is given a contract as a small part.
Where to Obtain Supporting Artists and Walk-Ons
Supporting artists and walk-ons are employed by agencies. There are agencies that specialise in certain types: for example, there is one which caters for stunt men, heavies and fall guys in general, and will produce a fine range of villainous-looking characters at a moment’s notice.
It can be a fairly heady business, ordering vast quantities of people, and one must be careful not to get carried away by the experience and over-order. You must also be careful not to make mistakes because although supporting artists are not costly individually, en masse the price can be formidable, especially if overtime work is incurred.
Suitable transport must be arranged and clear instructions on rendezvous points given.
1. A supporting artist is a human prop
2. If he or she performs an action or says a few unscripted words he or she then becomes a WALK-ON
