The Actor's Ego

I was thrilled to see that the RSC had posted a link on their facebook page to an interview on the Guardian with Michael Boyd. Frankly, I'll read anything and everything about Michael Boyd. That man reached theatre god status when I saw the Histories cycle in 2008 which he directed. Plus he's brought the ensemble back to the RSC.

The interview is short, but telling. My favorite moment?

What is the biggest myth about theatre?
That it is more populated by egotists than any other profession.

Thank you Mr. Boyd! This has been a thought that's been rattling around in my head recently for a couple reasons. Mostly because I've recently watched the second season of Canadian TV show Slings and Arrows. The second season is the season in which the New Burbage Festival is performing Macbeth. So I could watch in the name of research. ;-) Anyway theatre people are dictated to love this show because it is about theatre people. Every theatre person has told another theatre person, "Oh, you must see Slings and Arrows!" But I began to feel a little annoyed with the show and its over-reliance on negative actor stereotypes. According to this show, people in the arts are all flaky, pleasure-driven egotists with no understanding of the real world. The second season is when Ellen finds herself undergoing a tax audit. Her constant insistence that "I'm just a poor actor! How can you expect me to understand taxes?!" gets a little grating.

If we are being fair, who really understands taxes anyway? And they are increasingly difficult and convoluted when you are an independent contractor. But the actors I know don't whine about them anymore than anyone else in the world, and we have to work harder to understand all the rules and regulations and how they apply to us. (On this note, I have a few friends that insist we can deduct makeup and costumes. We can't. One even says her tax preparer told her she could. He's wrong.)

But Slings and Arrows does get it right when they take on the magic of theatre, the wonder, what draws us all to it. “The theater is an empty box, and it is our task to fill it with fury, and ecstasy, and with revolution."


Are there egos in theatre? Absolutely. Divas? Yes. Difficult actors? Sure. But actors are also practical, selfless, hardworking, courageous, brave, generous, empathetic, smart, and curious. I had a guy on Facebook tell me that being an actor was my choice and since I chose that profession I didn't deserve health insurance. He was clearly under the false impression, as so many are, that actors are lazy leeches. I would challenge him to find a single day in his life where he has worked as hard as all my fellow actors in Macbeth have for the last month. This cast has thrown themselves into the challenges of this production, learning a bevy of new, demanding skills, without complaint. Capoeira, acrobatics, stage combat, physical theatre, etc. Wait until you see what we do with bamboo!

Uta Hagen wanted us to have respect for acting, and America certainly needs more of that. But how about a little respect for actors while we're at it?