I spend a lot of my time around actors. See I'm a wardrobe ninja so I'm usually helping them get ready and doing quick changes.
Actors are a lot like writers and it's because of working with actors every day that I become more confident as a writer.
The actors I work with are amazing. They stand up night after night and tell a story to the audience much like writers do. They bring a character to life just like writers. They use a lot of the same tools like motivation, research, back story(you don't see that part), accents, and quirks to bring a character to life.
Sometimes a director gives them a lot of direction and sometimes a director leaves more choices up to the actor. This is like editors. Everyone has a different style. Some editors will send you back a story with tons of changes while another editor might just ask questions to get a stronger story.
Actors also deal with rejection. In order to get a role actors audition and hope for a call back. Sometimes they don't get the role, that's like getting a rejection letter.
Some nights the audience loves the show and laughs in all the right places. Sometimes they don't, that is kinda like seeing that someone didn't like your book/story/ blog post.
Most the actors I know don't even read reviews of the show they are in but if they do they always conduct themselves professionally. There is the idea of having a tough skin but if you don't have tough skin don't let that stop you from putting yourself out there just don't seek out the reviews.
A performance is a real, living, changing, thing. Every night the words and actions are the same but there is a different audience. I also think that books are like that. Have you gone back and reread a book that you had to read in high school as an adult. Different parts stand out. Different passages speak to the same reader at different points in the readers life.
Do you work with inspiring people? How do the people you work with inspire your writing?
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6 comments:
We had a rule when I worked in theatre that we weren;t allowed to talk about or bring in a review during the run of the show.
I guess acting isn't for me. I'd have to read the reviews. haha
I loved reading this post, and learning something new about actors! Thank you!
My writing group is as far as I go for inspiring and The Man but other than that, just all of you here on the interwebs.
And yes, TWINS WIN!!! :)
What an inspiring group to work with! You're right--there are so many similarities!
Actors and Writers, good comparisons! I also find myself living in the story as I write, much as an actor does on stage.
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