why theatre
Actors get asked this question all the time. Or, I would assume so. I've been asked it, so it most likely extends to working actors as well:
"why do you do what you do?"
Or:
"what's the point of acting?"
Also a favorite:
"when are you going to focus on getting a real job?"
These are all fun questions that I believe every artist ought to be able to answer for themselves. Personally, I believe that if you are unable to answer these questions about your profession then it is time to consider a switch.
The cast of our theatre club's production of scenes from "The Crucible" and "Twelfth Night."
When the going gets tough, I find myself asking these questions too. For instance, our production of "Sophanes Theatre Lab Presents: What You Will, Witches & Improv!" was a fully student-produced, acted, and designed showcase of two scenes from classical theatre masterpieces. I directed the trial scene from Arthur Miller's The Crucible, and a great friend of mine directed the last act in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night.
I can only speak from my experience, so do with that what you will (pun intended). Halfway through tech week, I was completely overwhelmed. The show was almost to where it wanted to be, but we were running out of time. That night was difficult, and that day I came really close to quitting. Obviously, quitting is not an option when people are depending on you and the show must go on. In dire straights, I asked myself the questions:
"Why do I do what I do?"
The easy answer: i love it.
And it's true, I do. Sure, it may kick my butt sometimes and I may have days when the last thing I want to do is figure out how to say "Upon his bad life to make all this true" (Richard II, 1.1) in a way that works within the meter, but still. Because the positives continue to outweigh the negatives, I will keep doing theatre. Will the negatives ever outweigh the positives? Who knows. Maybe.
Question 2: What's the point of acting?
This is an interesting one because it is easy enough to bristle and come up with a snarky remark. I know the first time someone asked me this in an off-hand manner I felt like a poodle who had just been insulted. My inner-voice was screaming how dare you insult my craft! Don't you see that art is important? Without art life would be horrible!
Thankfully, I didn't say these things out loud. And while they may be true, I have come to realize that I don't need to defend my work when somebody calls me out. It's clear to me now that most people don't actually mean to trivialize our work, or to lessen its importance in any way. I mean, come on. Having a job in theatre is weird! It's not a 9 to 5, 401Ks aren't standard, and job stability is more of a theory than a tangible entity. As an actor, you don't go to work intending to make money and provide for yourself and your family. At least, you try not to. Obviously, life can be really awful and sometimes you have to grin and bear it to make ends meet, but the goal (at least for me) is to play for work for the rest of my life. Hopefully, most of those scheduled playtimes will have a paycheck.
And here's the more poetic answer: I act because there is nothing more alluring to me than a clean script. I want to crack open that book, dissolve it in hydrofluoric acid, and then reassemble it. The idea of having unexplored relationships, line deliveries, heights of emotion, and [insert delightfully theatrical noun] is a frightening one. I act because it is the storytelling avenue that I prefer, at the moment. Finally, I act because it's appallingly delightful.
Finally: "when are you going to focus on getting a real job?"
The Oxford Dictionary defines the word job as "a paid position of regular employment." Now, before all you naysayers snap your fingers and stew in your self-righteousness, let me tell you else the word is defined: "a responsibility or duty." Mind you, both definitions come from The Oxford Dictionary. For me, it's that simple.
We, as humans, have a limited time on this earth to make our mark. I choose storytelling (acting as my preferred form, but that could be film, music, etc.) because it's something I love, and it's what I can contribute to society. I go so far to say that it is my duty to spend the remaining time I have spending all of my energy to change the world. If that means that maybe one person leaves a performance with a little less ignorance, a more sensitive heart, or with firms abs from laughing, I will be a happy camper.
So that is why I do theatre.
Ask me again during tech.
The final rehearsal of The Crucible. What a night.
