Actor Emmanuel Abankwa has a bone to pick with screen actors who have tried stage acting but didn’t find it an enjoyable endeavor.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with NEWS-ONE, the man who has featured in over 100 stage performances in the last 16 years has described such actors as a bunch of “lazy actors”.

According to him, “Every good actor enjoys stage acting than screen acting. As result, if there is any screen actor out there who does not like stage that person must be a lazy actor or the person is not a complete good actor.

“Yes if you are lazy you can’t be a stage actor. It is a process. If you didn’t ‘taste’ the stage, you would think that movie made you a star but if you taste stage you will know that it is sweeter than screens. Some actors prefer screen acting because it is easy.”

“May be they won’t rehearse during screen acting. They would be at the hotel chilling. Sometimes they don’t even learn their lines at home. During the shoot they just memorise their lines. If they say action then they start acting; it’s lazy work,” he added.

Emmanuel, however, denied that such laziness on the part of screen actors also played a role in the alleged decline in Ghana’s movie industry against the rising stage acting industry. He believes that the movie industry lacks distribution networks and if that problem is solved, it would contribute immensely in helping the industry back on its feet.

Meanwhile, he believes every accomplished actor must like stage acting.

“Stage acting is more enjoying. Why because when you are acting for screen you have the luxury of correcting yourself and the editor picking the best ones that you did and then put it out there but with stage you have to rehearse and rehearse. On the day of the performance, anything you put out there is live and not edited. The most exciting thing is getting the direct reaction from the audience. You give them and you get your reaction. So whether it is a mistake…you must be creative about it so the audience must not see,” he emphasized.

Though he still appears in movie, he does more stage acting. His latest and upcoming play is titled ‘Ama 2’, which he is also directing.

The play which was produced by Yadah Productions is a story of Ama Martha, a homey and virtuous lady who is often taken for granted, especially by her husband Asamoah. But for how long can she tolerate her husband? Or is she really slow and boring like a 2G internet speed? The play explores the theme of marriage, and this will come off on October 7 at the National Theatre in Accra.

The production which is being held in collaboration with Fidelity Bank and National Theatre, according to Emmanuel, is to touch lives in a positive way