Actors have a uniquely important role in theater. While many elements come together to bring a script to life, it is actors who literally embody the text and give it voice in order to communicate its specific message to audiences.
Therefore, when you build your skills as an actor, you are better able to serve as the medium through which a playwright's message is communicated.
The way you live your life communicates a message as well. Just like theater, that message can have a powerful influence. The message of your life may inspire or denigrate, encourage or manipulate.
Consider for a moment what message you would like your life to send. What greater good are you hoping to serve? What quality would you like to see more of in the world as a result of your presence?
Now, can your life and your art send the same message? To the more immediate point, can your life message come through in the work you are presenting this semester?
Those may be difficult questions to answer but I suspect that if you can perform with these greater concerns in mind, you will not be so worried about vocal technique, you will bring more authentic intent to your performance, and you will find greater connection between your message as a singer and your message for the world.
After all, if Shakespeare is right and "All the world's a stage," the work we do in theater may just be an extended opportunity to hone our message for the everyday performance that exists beyond the footlights.
Keep practicing your message (in theater and in life). The world needs to hear it.
That's what it's all about, right? I mean that is the point of theatre I think. Every time I leave a show and feel like I need to talk about something, or feel like I need to think about some things, that means the actors, directors, playwrights (etc), have done their jobs. Or even when I watch a television show like Greys Anatomy, Breaking Bad, or even GIRLS, and afterwards it lingers in my mind through out the rest of the day, or week- then they've all done their jobs. It is an art form, it shouldn't conform to one thing or idea. I think it's all about being specific in our work as actors. Knowing what we want to say, and knowing what we are actually saying. We do what we do so that people can walk away and think, because when they think, they feel. They feel, they motivate. They motivate, they do. I think in terms of my final I just want to be present and do the best work I can. I can't think of the final outcome because it isn't about me impressing anyone. It's about me doing what I know, what I'm good at, and allowing that to ressonate, or not, with whoever is in the room watching.
ReplyDeleteLindsie kongsore
"The message of your life may inspire or denigrate, encourage or manipulate." I love this and I think it's important to remember as a growing artist. This also connects to what Sarah taught me and my classmates to always say yes. She meant this more as an actor, but I think it still applies with life in general. This is the time in my life where I'm creating the human/actor I want to be. I want to be a fun actor to work with and still live my life to it's fullest and be positive to my friends, peers, and family. I think it's important to just live your life and let your career follow. I mean you still have to work hard and put in an effort, but I also think the universe will help give what you ask. AMMII RIIGHHT??
ReplyDeleteOne of the many reasons I chose to pursue a career in the performing arts is simply the honor of being able to impact an audience or advocate for change through the art form. For me, the greatest part of being an actor is being able to make a difference or make an audience member feel something. Its so powerful for both the actors and the audience to feel the pain,joy,etc. thats happening on stage. Its a privilege to be able to make that come to life as an actor. And as artists I think that is what we are all striving to achieve. Even if we can only make a difference or move just one person, our art has a purpose or a reason to exist. It doesn't have to be big or dramatic, just a small as making one audience member think. And I think just that can make all the difference.
ReplyDeleteThis is a conversation that I have been having with myself all semester. How incredible. I think that not only CAN our life and art send the same message, I think that it is essential that it does. For the years I have been apart of the theater community, I have conversed with my fellow actors and inquired why they feel the need to act. Almost every single response revolves around wanting to make a difference in the community/world and the desire to shift audiences for the better. We spend thousands of hours studying this craft, making sacrifices and dedicating our lives to this art form. What is the point if we are not the compassionate, kind, hard-working, involved human beings we are asking our audiences to be? It almost feels hypocritical if we do not live our art. At times it is easier said than done, but I think that is why this art form is so stunning-- because it is asking me to be a kinder, more compassionate, unapologetic, stronger, more disciplined version of myself. That is why I love this art form. It exposes every deep and dark corner of my own self and asks me to face it directly. Our lives are our message and if we restrict ourselves to only sharing our light/kindness/compassion/dedication to the stage, we are doing ourselves and our community a disservice. Here's to being the change we are asking the world to make. Cheers.
ReplyDeleteI think amidst all of the training and rehearsing and performing, it's easy for me lose sight of my purpose. I need to be better about stepping back every now and then and thinking about what is important to me.
ReplyDeleteI still need to do some searching to figure out what my purpose is, both in my art and in my life. I know that inclusion of all kinds of people is really important to me, as well as showing the uncomfortable and sometimes ugly parts of life. Theatre is a wonderful safe space for people to watch others go through things that they've possibly been through, or for people to open themselves up to other people's experiences. That's the kind of theatre I want to be a part of, anyway.
I have learned so much over the past few years, and it has all been so helpful and I'm excited to learn more. One of the biggest things that has been brought to my attention, however, is that it all pretty much comes down to intention. You can rehearse and apply technique all day long, but at the end of the day, the main thing to focus on is what you really want as a character. Taking that a step farther, if we do shows that play into our purpose in life, it will be easier and more exciting to find a purpose within the show or the character.
I'm definitely going to have to give this some more thought as time goes on.
Thanks for a great semester!!
Prior to attending The U, I took a two year hiatus from performing and focused on training. During this time, when I was a full time student completing general education requirements at a community college and working whenever I wasn't in class, I was left with more inspiration and passion for theatre than ever before. I think this was because I didn't have the opportunity to perform, so I was hungrier than ever and desperate to get back into performing. I think that we as performers can take our life experiences as a human being and use it in our performances; one would be surprised how many people can relate to them. Performances, for the most part, showcase the final product. All of the hard work that was done behind the scenes is now ready to be shared with the public and there is nothing more rewarding than being able to experience the pay off of hard work, discipline, and commitment to something one is passionate about.
ReplyDeleteI decided to have a career in Theatre because of that special feeling when you get when you make someone cry or laugh. I love that feeling when you have created that special magic and distracted someone from a bad day. I totally believe that my life and my career send the same message. To make someones day better in anyway I can. Entertaining people and just being me I can make anyone have a better day. My family noticed that years ago when I was 6. They put me in Theatre and I have fallen in love with it. I love how they have they same message in live. That's why I chose Theatre! To be myself:) I love the saying "All the Worlds a Stage" It is true. I get reminded everyday. Everyday is rehearsal and a performance to be better either to my professor or colleagues or even to myself. Thank you for giving me this opportunity to pursue this with my singing!
ReplyDeleteI made the decision to do theater because I want the world to laugh more, and to think. Sure it's not as heavy as others, but the world could lighten up a little let's be honest. There's no greater joy than being able to make someone laugh, to see their smiling faces is all I need. Now the world isn't all fun and games, so I want people to know that even though the world sucks, we're all here together to laugh with you. Everyday I make it my goal to make someone smile or laugh, because we all need to.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure I've lived long enough to figure out what I want my message to the world to be. As I've moved through my late teens and early twenties I do find myself thinking of these questions more and more. As I said, I still don't know what I want to leave behind in this world. I hope at the very least that my work in theatre will leave the world a little kinder, and people a little happier. Luckily, that is essentially what theatre does. I switched my major to theatre because I realized that it is the only thing that I would still want to do had I won a billion dollars. It isn't a chore, I willingly and gladly throw myself into it. I suppose that some of my reasons for doing theatre are a bit selfish (I like what it does for me and how it makes me feel). I do love the joy of telling stories however, and making people laugh and feel. Theatre has made a difference for me in my life and if my work in it does something similar for even one other person, I suppose that is all I can ask.
ReplyDeleteThis is one of mu favorite posts, and honestly this is something I think about all the time. Acting is at its core, about being a human being. And how can we be sincere human being on stage if we are not doing that in real life. I don't think you can be a good actor if you are not being a good and sincere human being befor hand. So there might be all the talent and technique that we are taught during our time here but what is that technique if you don't know how to be authentic? So sincere and authentic is what I will strive to be above all.
ReplyDeleteI love what you wrote about how the way you live your life sends a message as well. I don't know how successful I am at doing that but I hope that I am spreading some goodness and love out there into this world. I think one of the most important and vital things we have to do as human beings in our lifetime is to connect with and to love one another. I think a life void of friendships, family, love is a life not worth living.
ReplyDeleteI suppose my life and work can send that message because theatre is so much about connections with others and with the world.
I often feel like my reasons for acting are kind of of selfish because I mostly do it because I love the way that it makes me feel, it makes my life more complete, and its one of the few things that I will gladly work on for hours on end and not feel bored.
But at the end of the day, I hope that through my creation of art, that someone will find something cathartic in it, something to relate to and be able to say, "I'm not alone", "someone else has felt that before". And I hope that I can be a part of the plays/ movies/ tv shows that enrich people's lives as much as they have mine.
GO CUBS GO
I love thinking about what meaning MY life will send. At this point in my training i think its super important to start thinking about what it is i want to do with my degree and what that will take. Where I should go, how i should do it, how much money i need, etc.. But focusing on a purpose and having a meaning to what i am doing will influence my future, and as i keep moving forward my career will follow. In some ways all i know right now is that i love art, and i want to make sure it happens. I want to see theatre and art that tells stories like mine, because i didn't see alot of that when i was younger. If i had to say my life message, right now it would probably be that i want people to feel brave and inspired. I'm hoping that as i continue working and training i will be able to find more of a solid message my life can have, and maybe i'll find that through telling other people's stories for a while.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a wee tot, I remember my dad trying to explain his version of the meaning of life. And while I don’t remember the exact wording, the basic gist of it all was that everyone on the earth has something to offer to benefit their fellow man. It may be as varied as providing medical care or building homes or making art. But everyone has inherent potential to make the world a better place. A greater good I am hoping to serve is helping to inspire/hold people accountable for doing their part to take care of all living creatures on the earth. I would be honored if my presence had inspired even a single person to act in compassion.
ReplyDeleteI mean there’d be very little point to doing this if nobody ever got anything out of it. And while I firmly believe in the separation of the art and the artist, I think art is more than capable of advancing your own life‘s message. However, art is a consumed product, and no two audience members are ever going to have and perceive the same experience. That’s kind of the beauty of it, that it’s on the viewer to layer their own meaning on a piece.
Playing Richard the Duke of Gloucester, I have had several moments in rehearsal where I’ve found a softness in his own insecurities and desires that makes him feel a bit more human to me than the sometimes superficial characterizations prevalent in the mainstream. While I may not play that softness in the presentation of our scene work, that sort of complex humanity still lies in the shadow of piece, and I would hope that individuals watching would still recognize parts Richard as a distorted reflection of their own hopes and dreams. The moment you start to empathize with a kind of vile person, the more well equipped you are to try to love and nurture all people.
While those massive questions fill me with a sprinkle of existential dread, I think they help deepen the work we've been doing and talking about this past week in lessons and masterclasses that have to do with not only thinking through the songs as the character, but personalizing even further by putting my actual self in those circumstances. Putting oneself very personally into the circumstances presented to tell the story could potentially lead to an excess of internal feeling, but may result in lacking with regard to sharing the story - as it is not my story that is important, but theirs (the audience), right? However, thinking more in terms of "What's my message?"/"What greater good am I hoping to serve?"/"What quality would I like to see more of in the world as a result of my presence?" really serves the sharing and selflessness of this craft. In this final stretch to juries, I will think more about my message and less about the technicalities that often trip me up in performance situations.
ReplyDeleteThinking about your purpose in life is a hard thing to do. It's easy to say that you have affected lives and changed at least one person's perspective, but you never know for sure. I am not the witness of my own actions, I am the bearer. So from the get-go, trying to put into words what I hope to succeed in this life, is arduous. I want more than anything to influence people and influence change. I want to give people hope for this world, and enlighten them to pay attention to the moments of pure bliss. We all know life can be dreadful at times but every good memory will outweigh the bad ones. I want to spread joy and laughter to the places where it may be lacking. I want to connect all walks of life to each other, and to open the minds of what is the result of historical prejudice.
ReplyDeleteNow, in terms of my message being portrayed through my work and my art, I guess right now all I can do is hope. I am confident that through the journey of mastering my craft, I will discover a lot about where my true purpose lies. Sometimes I wonder if the journey of the art can force my message in life to be portrayed, because hopefully I am as authentically me in each of my characters, right? Something I will be pondering for a while, thank you.
Hi Ireland.
DeleteThe question of what is the meaning of this life you are living; what’s your purpose, always irks me in so many different directions. On one hand there is a certain light that dwindles in the eyes of an actor who is so set and so passionate about their message that when they are able to express what they hope the world can see, its magnificent. On the other hand, however, you can have those who only have a spark and are searching for that answer themselves. The confusion, and the “reality check” of it all can be jarring for both the questioner and questioned. For me, I fall into the later of the two. Through this whole semester the question that lingers over and over has been “what’s my purpose. What is this message I’m trying to convey to the world?” And it has honestly been the most frustrating battle. Because I become so infuriated and deflated with myself for not knowing.
ReplyDeleteI started in theatre because there is something so beautiful about these people who are not afraid to expose themselves completely to tell the truth about life. And I want to do that. I want to be one of these people who lay themselves out to say, “Hey! This is reality. These things do happen, and you should pay attention to them”. But, I also love the theatrical storytelling aspect that allows you to escape the reality and live somewhere where life isn’t so dwelling and terrible. Where everything is filled with joy and love. The happy ending, we all seek. I think one of my favorite things though is when you are an audience member and you are watching a show, whether it be a musical or straight play, and you just find that one character. The one character where you see so many aspects of yourself and for once you don’t feel so alone, because you have them. Someone who understands maybe the joy you have in this situation, or the heartache in another. That’s what I really love. That’s what I hope I can accomplish. To be that character on stage who makes someone in the audience feel less alone with their emotions.
In theatre, there is so many ways to get this across, and for me, I prefer to do it through straight acting rather than song. But that’s what’s also great about theatre, is the exploration and freedom to try it different ways. And I think that’s the number one thing I need to remember when I’m up there performing a song. It shouldn’t matter whether I’m good or not. It should just matter whether I’m doing the character justice by sending their message. That is, and will be, the biggest challenge for me thus far in this class. My ultimate goal is to just let go of the fear and have fun.
What a great topic to end the semester on. Have a great break. See you in 2018.
Thank you for this. This is an excellent reminder for myself right before finals. I'm super into theatre that overtly stands for social justice and often wish I had more chances to do it. But I can stand for social justice and other important issues to me in both my life and my acting without participating in, say, a play that directly talks about race or gender. Theatre, for me, is all about inspiring empathy in others. And I don't think I have to be targeting specific social issues in order to create change. I think the root of most change is empathy, and as long as I can focus on that in my acting, then I'll create enough change for myself to be happy.
ReplyDeleteI agree wholeheartedly. This is my driving force for pursuing acting, and a medium to help affect positive change in the world. Acting, like no other artform, allows us the opportunity to viscerallu experience a story outside of ourself, helping to inspire empathy and understanding. Our job is to entertain, sure, but more importantly our job is to continually remind one another what it is to be human, and that we're all in the same boat.
ReplyDeleteSomething Chris has really tried to instill in us is the idea that we need to have passions outside of the theatre. To a certain extent, I understand what he's saying, but I also feel like there is no way for me to separate my life from my art. They are combined and they will always be combined. I don't stop being an artist or an actor because I'm not in a theatre, but everything I do in my life informs my art and my acting. When I'm not acting I like to dance and sing- they bring me joy, but they're still tied into my theatre brain.
ReplyDeleteTonight I had a really wonderful experience of being able to perform my senior project for a group of family and friends. This piece, while primarily focused around a condition I do not have, was very autobiographical in a way. I was nervous to tell some of my life's stories to everyone, but my personal stories were the ones which were the most successful.
Huh, I've been sitting at my computer pondering how to start my response to this and I don't know where to begin. There is so much that I want to do with my life and so much that I believe that I am capable of doing, but the question is am I doing it right now? Can I honestly say that I have given my all in regards to my work and this program? My answer right now is no. I have been allowing myself to make excuses for why I've been slacking in areas, which needs to stop. Life is meant for more than half-thought excuses, lies, and mistakes; at least that is not what I want out of my life.
ReplyDeleteI dedicated my life to telling stories through theatre so that others wouldn't feel so alone in the world. Anyone having a hard time or experiencing a hard time would see these stories and know that it would be ok one day, that the pain would subside. I put a piece of myself in each of the characters that I take on and dig deep into the message, but this semester I haven't really done the work that I usually do in order to be prepared.
However, I am not going to excuse my behavior. I am going to learn from it and let it make me stronger. To not make excuses for backing down from what I want from life, let it help me make even more of a difference and change the world for the better. I believe that the work that I have done even in the last week to try and catch up on what I haven't done this semester has invoked that person that I want to be and know that I can make all this work worth it by just focusing on each story. That's why we choose theatre, to tell stories and hope that maybe one day it will be enough to make this world better.
When I was in high school I remember there was a passage from Joseph Campbell's The Power of Myth about story telling that struck me. I can't recall exactly what it was now but it was along the lines of that the world has drifted further into apathy and disconnection (my memory could absolutely be twisting, and embellishing this but) because we have lost our cultural relationship with myth and story. That our shared social moral compasses our calibrated through watching heroes and villains, or learning from the mistakes of a fatally flawed character. I think about that passage quite a bit these days, and I'm not sure I want to reread the book in case I've gotten in wrong. We are at such a privilege to be the agents of myth, and we are so lucky to be the living breathing stories in our work. I've gotten as much validation, and solace from a character in a story as I have from my real, actual, living friends. In the Catcher in the Rye, Holden believes when you finish a good book it should feel as though you've lost a friend. I think that's something I might be interested in helping people feel.
ReplyDeleteMy goals and intention for my own life directly feed into my work as an artist. My art is separate from my own experiences but the two influence each other, how can they not? So, of course the message I hope to send daily as a person must live somewhere in the characters I portray. When someone’s art has purpose, audiences respond passionately. When an aspect of the human experience is woven into someone’s work, it sticks with people. My greatest hope is that when people come to see me perform, they leave feeling a bit different. Because that means I’ve invested in the performance and have let the intensity of myself shine through a character. That’s vulnerability. That’s commitment. To me, anyways. But this truly is the purpose, this is why I pursue this career; to express my own message, my own intention, through art.
ReplyDeleteI've been sitting here looking at this bright screen for the past 30 minutes, contemplating all of the deep questions you just presented us with. I've been finding myself having to really meditate on this blog post and I'm not sure I have all of the answers. While I think I have a great understanding with my purpose as a human being and actor, I find myself still so eager and hungry to learn and move forward in this craft and in life. I don't have all of the answers right now (that strikes a certain anxiety in me) and I also know that it's fine not to have everything figured out right now.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely believe that my life as well as my craft can and should have the same positive message. There is a balance to learn. (I am having a hard time gathering my thoughts and putting them into words, so I apologize if things aren't making sense.)
This semester has been something else. Coming into a brand new program, with brand new classmates, facing many trials and tribulations outside of school and with my family, moving into a home for the first time in 4 years, studying and mostly trying my hardest academically... to say the least it has been a roller coaster ride I'm happy to be on and I believe it will show in my work wrapping up this semester AND moving forward with my life. For me, this isn't just another semester of school I'll forget about in the upcoming weeks. Everything I experienced and learned and failed and grew will stick with me for the rest of my life because I learned so much about myself, about this craft and what it means to have to find a balance between actor, student, human being. I think I'm finding a balance right now and it will be interesting to see how it will show in my work and how it will continue to influence my work moving forward in this program and in life.
While I may not be able to answer all of your questions and articulate them into beautiful sentences I fully understand what you're asking us. For right now all I can say is how excited and eager I am to move forward and EVOLVE as a human being and artist. I am excited to see how my life experience and stories will shape my craft how I still continue to find a balance and find a greater and deeper meaning and correlation to it all.
I must also find my voice when it comes to singing and learn to not just always laugh it off. I have a voice, it might be far from perfect and I might have insecurities to continue to work through but it deserves to be heard just like anyone else and I OWE IT TO MYSELF to fight for that no matter how hard I am on myself. I'm excited to continue to think about your questions moving on into finals and next semester.
Thank you for pushing me and teaching me.
I guess the thought that this blog post sparked in my mind was this: It is impossible to play a believable character if you don't know who you are. You have to be secure with yourself, you have to be be an honest, genuine person--you cannot be pretending to be someone else in your every day life and expect to put another character on top of that because you won't have any truth or human honesty grounding you. To me this is the foundation of theatre. Because the ultimate goal is to tell the truth about humanity--how can you do that if you are not human?
ReplyDeleteThis comes at a time in my life that feels especially relevant. I firmly believe that you are defined by your actions, an idea that I think is especially salient in theatre.
ReplyDeleteThere are the baseline points of it: as an actor am I choosing to do my work, am I choosing to do the best I can whenever I can, am I intent on improving myself every day? These choices speak volumes of an individual and there is no way one can define one's message or spread it without setting a foundation through their actions.
The past semester I don't believe I have held as steadfast to these tenants as I can and ought to. I would be lying if I said I wouldn't like to go back and do it differently, do it more consciously and with more discipline. If I'm being honest I would go redo the last two and a half years if I could. But I cannot. The only thing I can do is learn from the many missteps I've taken and try and plant my feet firmly back on the path to growth.
The way I have been treating my school, my art, and my life definitely reflects itself in my work. This semester I'm certain it will not be the best of reflections. But at any rate it will be an honest one, one that I will have to own up to and make a choice of whether or not I want to improve.
I don't know what my message is yet. I haven't learned to handle my life in such a way that I can even begin to find it. But through classes like this, pushing me to do better, to share my voice among the myriad out there, I have hope.
I'll close with a quote from an author who has been a guiding light to me for some years now:
"People have to talk about something just to keep their voice boxes in working order so they'll have good voice boxes in case there's ever anything really meaningful to say" - Kurt Vonnegut
Thank you for pushing me to keep my voice box in working order.
This is something that I struggled with a lot over The summer. What do you do when your life and your art are sending opposite messages? I really found that I had to follow the bucket of money vs. bucket of shit mantra in order to get through it. And I fear that sometimes that will be the case. Not all art is meant to be provicotibe, but I do believe it has its place. For example; Newsies may seem frivilous to some but it brings such joy, and a distraction from our tulmutilus times. And sometimes that’s how I need to live my life. I think sometimes I get too concentrated on making meaning out of my life or making sure I do the right Things to make sure future me is happy and successful and sometimes I jus it need to take better care of myself in the present.
ReplyDeleteBut of course I think it’s incredibly valuable to make meaningful art that changes the world, and I hope to.
I had the pleasure of seeing Cece Otto’s senior project yesterday and I was reminded of how much I love art that moves people. At one point I looked over and saw at least three other people crying at the same time as I was, there is something so cathartic about going through an experience like that in the dark with strangers!
Anyway ramble done.