Acting is a Service Profession

“If I have been of service, if I have glimpsed more of the nature and essence of ultimate good, if I am inspired to reach wider horizons of thought and action, if I am at peace with myself, it has been a successful day.”

–Alex Noble

I’ve written a lot in the last week or so about being a professional and what that means for an actor. I know that it is something I strive for everyday and I hope that you are the same way. We may never truly get to the iconic image I’ve created in my articles, but we can always try a little harder than the day before. In the last article about the difference between an amateur and a professional, I asked for some comments about what you thought some differences were. Since the only person to oblige so far has been the quite loyal Thomas, he gets a nice little spotlight in today’s article:

I would add, “The amateur thinks the audience is there for him. The professional knows he is there for the audience.”

Bravo

Thomas

He brings up an interesting point that I’ve been holding off on for a while now, but this is too good a jumping off point not to take. No one really thinks about acting as a service-oriented career. The normal view is far more self-serving. Ask any actor why they want to be an actor and you’ll get a lot of answers that usually have the word passion in them. We say things like “I’m passionate about the stage;” a vague answer. “I’m passionate about film;” an even vaguer response. “I’m passionate about acting;” a silly answer. The reason we have a hard time discovering what our “passion” truly is, is simply that we’ve never taken the time to define what acting is.

Like all humans, actors look at their world through very selfish eyes. We like to talk about what we do as actors and what is required of us. What we never seem to grasp is that we are simply a medium through which someone else speaks to a group of someone-elses. We, as a group, are a means of conveyance.

Face it, we’re like animated microphones. We’re breathing puppets.

That’s a really simplistic way of looking at it, but hopefully you see my point. Actors are a way for a playwright to convince a large group of people of something that may or may not be worth convincing them of. We are there to make the audience laugh. To make them cry. To make them think. To make them not cough for two hours.

I’ve always said that we must come back to the script as our foundation. If you are confused, or lost, return to the words because as an actor, you are meant to serve two masters; the playwright and the audience. We owe the playwright the duty of respecting his words. We owe the audience the conveyance of a message. That message may be to laugh and have a good time, to leave your troubles at the door. That message may be more serious and Brechtian than frivolous Molière, but we owe them the message either way.

The audience does not come to a show to see you perform; they come to see a story. If you are Count Claudio, they want to see you fall in love with Hero. If you are Willy Loman, they want to watch your fantasy world crumble. They couldn’t care less if Daniel Roach had a bad day; they care whether or not I gave them the playwright’s message. I said before in the Art of the Curtain Call, that your bows at the end of the show are not for you. Taking you bow is not a chance to bask in the limelight and the clapping of the crowd, it’s a time of thankfulness. Your bow to the audience is a thank you; an acceptance of their gratitude and giving a little of your own. We thank them for staying and we thank them for not having thrown things.

Your position is not one of ego, but of humble service.

I know, as every actor does, that we don’t see it this way all the time. We’re human. It’s hard to outrun your ego all the time, but keep these things in mind the next time you hit the stage. Play your part for the service of others, I swear to you that their applause will mean much more than ever before. Make your role live for them. Be silly for them. Be specific for them. SinBodly! for them and they will applaud for you.

While you’re thinking about it, hop on over to Thomas’ blog and read some of his great writings and musings at BadassBard. He tells stories. It’s what he does.

Want to Share? Bookmark this Post to: