Veteran Ghanaian actor Fred Amugi has revealed that his decades-long career in the creative industry is deeply rooted in his background in stage acting.
Speaking on the Afternoon Show with Godwin Namboh on TV3 on February 24, he said his journey began in 1969 on the theatre stage.
“It all started in 1969 on the stage. The stage is what I will say shaped me into what or how people see me now,” he explained.
The actor emphasised that performing on stage requires constant alertness and mental readiness.
“The stage makes you alert all the time. You can’t afford to mess up with your lines, so it opens your mind all the time. You’re live on stage and your audience is there with you, so it motivates you all the time to do your best,” he said.
Amugi also noted that he never leaves a production feeling completely satisfied, as he continuously strives for improvement.
“I don’t remember in my last production, telling myself I’m satisfied. I would be telling myself that if I was given another chance, I would do better and that’s what kept me going,” he shared.
He further addressed a common challenge for stage actors: forgetting lines.
“If you have never forgotten your lines before as a stage performer, then you haven’t been through the stage because it happens to everyone. You can forget your lines, go back to try and remember while the audience will be thinking it’s deliberate,” Amugi explained.
