CMU School of Drama


Friday, October 03, 2014

Hello Broadway, I’m 40 and I Must Be Going…

The Clyde Fitch Report: It’s clear to me now that I have just turned 40: I no longer know what I want to be when I grow up. For me, a neurotic alpha male with seemingly unquenchable alpha male desires which include, but are not limited to, success, conquest, victory and, most immaturely, linear narratives, I feel as if I’m in free-fall, kept aloft only by the most tentative of parachutes.

2 comments:

K G said...

I think this applies to more than just acting. Yes, it is prevalent in the performing community, as people often want to cast younger. But, in all fields, success is starting to come earlier for many. There is emphasis put on working hard to get where you want to be at an unusually young age. And people who do that are glorified. What we don't see it where those people do end up when they are 40. Do they still have the same passion? Or have they burnt out? Are they unsure of what to do with themselves because they feel as though they have achieved everything they can? I watch some of my friends sometimes, the ones who have the jobs of 40+ year olds at 20 something, and I do admire them, but I also wonder what they will do for the rest of their lives.

Sydney Remson said...

When you're young, I think it's quite easy to forget just how young you are. As a college student, you can look at the future and think that at some point in your 30s or 40s maybe, you're going to end up in the career path that is exactly what you expect now and that will be your life. But I'm not even halfway to 40, and your life or career does not just end then. It's much more likely that you will end up exploring many possible careers, that you likely never expected to find your way to. In context with the article, this connects very much so to being an actor, as you consider your prime to be in your 20s-30s, but there is much more to come after that, whether it be in acting or in something else. If you happen to make it to the average life expectancy, there is a lot of time in your life to do a lot of things.