The Perspective of An Actor as A Writer

It’s an annual tradition at the Kinder High School for the Performing and Visual Arts to put on a grand, all-school musical production every fall, with the intention of bringing people from every craft together to bring out the best they have to offer. Now, while the intention is school-wide inclusion, rarely do others outside of the school’s Theater, Vocal, and Instrumental departments take it upon themselves to show up to auditions. However, with my presence in the cast of HSPVA’s most recent production, 9 to 5: The Musical, I am the only member of the Creative Writing sect in the entire show. This has become a favorite discussion topic of mine lately, though my aim is not to boast about my unique circumstances. Rather, I hope to inspire fellow young writers to further their own plot and take a chance on this medium of artistic expression.

The main thing to consider when performing in any sort of production is to remember that you are there to tell someone else’s story, whether it be your director’s, writer’s, or your character’s. Having said as much, a writer’s own abilities can be applicable and even helpful to the art of performance. Having a proper understanding of story structure allows you to better understand the scene and setting you are in, and how to naturally progress through a scene with your co-stars.

I’m sure that myself and many others enjoy a compelling narrative, but a strong narrative is held together by its unique and well-developed ensemble. A big focus of mine when participating in character work as I have been doing more frequently has been to always look at what’s not there. What information we aren’t given about our role is often the most intriguing. For instance, I’m playing a laid-back, lazy teenage son of a working mother and widow. But what my role description doesn’t tell me is, “What are my relationships with others?” “What do I stand for?” and “What do I love and fear the most?” I’m still processing grief from the recent and sudden passing of my father, I’ve grown much closer to my mother because of it, my only remaining family who I’m terrified at the thought of losing, and I have an ultimate goal of finding a state of relaxation, whether it comes from skateboarding or cannabis. 

I would be remiss were I to provide advice without a concluding message; It may seem like common rhetoric, but it is invaluable to step out of your comfort zone. I’ve never not been nervous at an audition before, but each time, whether I got the part or I didn’t, I feel a great sense of pride and excitement for myself and the amazing people who I got to work with. Fear’s the reason we do many things in life, because it makes us feel alive. Personally, I love that I get to put life into characters on stage, and being on stage puts life into me. If I could change or motivate the perspective of even a single person with my own, it will have been worth it to me.