Everybody hurts. Most times. An actor's job is to hurt more and to do it in public. By showing people that feeling feelings is something we can do without recrimination we grow as humans. Humans being. That's what an actor must be. Just like a Trout in a river. Ready, lithe, alert. A vigilant actor is ready at the drop of a hat to practice her craft. If an actor witnesses a car accident and someone is thrown through the window and is decapitated then that actor's job is to cry. But not only that. She must also clock these feelings so she can recreate them later. Acting is recreating feelings to make the audience believe you're clever. To hurt is human. To do it so other people like you is acting.
- Calm Munro, Acting Guide
Oh Calm,
ReplyDeleteI finally feel like someone understands me. When I witnessed the senseless murder of a mouse yesterday at work, I could no longer function. My fellow Starbuck employees sneered, snickered, nay, winced at the flow of emotion I needed to release. Why, why, why can't they understand the great burden we actors must carry so that the world may have permission to feel?