Once, long ago, there was a young man who worked in theatre. He started at the age of twenty and kept at it until he was thirty-two, still no further ahead than when he started. Fortunately for him he was able to stop before he got bitter and lost his love and appreciation for the art form.
One of the more beautiful things about theatre is it's potential to create magic out of nothing. I don't mean the elaborate sets of a Broadway style mega production when I say magic. I'm talking about an empty space, which can be filled with whatever the human spirit can imagine and recreate through the power of performance.
It's the magic given to an actor at any level of development, amateur to professional, to become someone else. With or without costume and makeup the gift of being allowed to create a character is a magical experience for both the actor and the people watching.
As an actor there is nothing more liberating than experiencing, for the first time, the sense of being someone other than one's self. The freedom that this allows is immense. One is able to give vent to emotions and ideas that might normally have been locked up inside, but thanks to words and ideas penned by someone else they are allowed to take flight.
As an audience member witnessing this transformation there's the magic of make believe made real before your eyes. Going to theatre is like one giant game of "Let's Pretend". They'll pretend to be lovers; he'll be a king; he is the villain we get to boo; and she is the ingénue we all get to fall in love with. It's a fantasy world brought to life for your own personal enjoyment.
Of course there is also that realization that this is "Live". It's the world of no second takes; only one view of the scene, no multiple cameras; nothing can be tweaked and saved in the editing room. Theatre is the original, What You See Is What You Get.
As a former theatre actor I have obviously a certain amount of prejudice against film acting. It is a different craft from what is done on stage in a number of ways, but what has always bothered me is how little a performance is controlled by the actor.
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