Current Events

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/actor-vienna-accidentally-stabs-real-knife-stage-front-live-audience-article-1.357011

An Austrian actor accidentally stabbed himself in the neck with a real knife during a suicide scene instead of using the collapsable prop knife. This scenario is similar to when Maxine died during her death scene on page 339 because although the character was supposed to die, the actor almost died, or did die in Maxine's case. Apparently this is something that happens often because real weapons get mistaken as props on set and can result in injury or death. It is difficult to tell if the actor is good at acting or if they are actually hurt, so in the case of the Austrian actor, they didnt realize anything was wrong until he didn't get up after the curtain call. In Middlesex, Maxine's mother could only tell Maxine was dying because she knew her so well, but the audience thought she was just a great actor. This is a very tough situation because the props can be replaced with actual weapons and it can appear as negligence when its really a planned murder.