Tuesday, March 25, 2014
Why Do Los Angeles Actors Do Theater in Los Angeles?
HowlRound: When Joseph Campbell spoke of the power of myth he didn’t have LA stage actors in mind. Yet a powerful and prevailing myth has spread for years in theater centers throughout the country about why actors do theater in Los Angeles. The legend claims that LA actors are somehow less serious and do theater only to be seen by casting directors in “the Industry” and not for the art of the work. This is simply not true. The idea that actors in Los Angeles only do theater for the purpose of showcasing themselves with the hope of being cast in television or film is not only an insulting and disrespectful myth, it is a lie.
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2 comments:
I was definitely surprised by this article. I, like the people they aim this article towards, believe LA to be movie/television centric and theatre to be a vehicle to show potential to casting agents. This article makes me examine why i think this way. When famous film actors perform in theatre in other cities like New York or Chicago i take it much more seriously than if i hear about theatre being performed in LA. I think the west coast has the stigma of not being taking as seriously for many reasons such as the west coast being younger than theaters in the east. I think the chief reason i tend to take it less seriously is because i see LA as superficial, which I'm sure it is no more or less superficial than other major cities. I guess i will have to reconsider my judgements about the west coast.
OH man the contradictions in this article. First actors are selfless in their want to make theater and then theater is the most self satisfying thing in the world. Making art gets a pat on the back. WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH MOVIES?? I see movies as an even more selfless art form. It's wider reaching, but in general, it is not an actors sport. In movies, actors give up control of their performance for the artistic vision of a collective hundreds of people. Yes, performing in a tiny little hole in the wall theater will make you poor, but I don't see the benefit in that. Actors get pleasure from those performances, but what real impact is it making on the world? I don't feel sympathy or extreme support for those people. They're making decisions just like everyone else. Good for them. I'm not gonna pat them on the back for starving. And I'm certainly not going to scrutinize any actor for wanting to be in film.
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