backstage.com: I met Lucifer in a bar the other night, and he confessed that he likes to put bad ideas in the heads of smart actors. Curious, I asked why he did this. The author of all sin smiled. “Creative people annoy me. Just look at the so-called great works of art that claim to capture my image. You would be upset too.”
Lucifer had a point. The man in front of me wasn’t a horned monster with a red tail. He actually looked a little like Jeremy Irons.
We ordered another round. My new friend went on to explain that actors are especially open to suggestion because they’re such desperate beings. “Convincing them to get in their own way requires little more than a whisper in their ears.”
I was stunned. Actors are always cutting their own throats for no apparent reason. Could the devil himself be the root of all that self-destructive behavior?>
15 comments:
This is a cute little metaphor, but hopefully one that actors will take to heart. And, frankly, in some ways, it applies to designers and technicians as well. The theatre industry is all about connections and who knows who, and how well you work with people. If someone isn't good at working with people, if they talk trash about people behind their back, if they choose not to listen to parking directions.... they won't get the job. If someone think they're too good for a job, then they might just end up with no job at all. There isn't a devil making any of us do these things, but instead, our own selves.
I am realizing more and more often that connections are extremely important and that the theater industry is extremely small. Just over the summer, on many occations, the people in the cast of the production I was working on would be discussing a situation and almost every time there was at least one other cast member that knew one of the people involved in the story. People work with a lot of other people and these personnel are members of a small group that is the theater industry. This story should serve to those who read it as a pretty acturate depiction of what happens on a frequent basis. Never bad mouth or ostracize anyone. You never know when their imput will determine if you get your next job or not.
This is an entertaining story that takes in hand a real issue in our industry, and indeed in any industry. When you treat people less than respectfully, or don't listen to the advice given to you by someone going out on a limb for you, it's going to come back around. Its something that everyone needs to keep in mind when going out into the industry at the start of our careers. The impressions you make while you're young are the ones that will stick with you throughout your career, so you should make them good impressions.
actors are very interesting characters, and definitly very maluable and as we sophmores have discovered that terms like "actor-proof" are not just some goofy little terms. Yes they can be very creative but just as lucifer said it does not take a lot to manipulate actors. Currently we are dealing with just what the senior actors are capable of doing with our masks and it just goes to show that actors are truely capable of doing anything and being made to do anything and that is simply because of their training is meant to make them be able to become anything.
The other day I met Lucifer in a bar. After discussing his personal involvement with the United States Congress, our conversation turned to the entertainment industry. He confessed to me that he likes to put ideas in theatre designers'', managers, and technicians' heads. He told me that he likes to convince them that actors are all bumbling idiots who are inconsiderate of their time, money, work, and space, and that they, as the more highly-developed people in the theatre world, are immune to making the same mistakes they do.
I thought about all the times I'd heard technicians gossiping backstage about how the actors had screwed something up, and were then almost late for their next cue because they'd been too busy talking shit to pay attention. I considered all the times a technician had discounted to work that actors do.
"Wow," I said to Satan, "you really make us look like a bunch of assholes."
"Yep," he agreed.
I hardly think this metaphor is intended to only apply to actors. What about the young designer who is overheard talking shit about one of the other members of his design team (lets call him Jeff) who unknowingly finds himself being interviewed for his next job by Jeff’s boyfriend? What about the young designer who doesn’t apply for a job because she doesn’t think she has enough experience to be considered? Actors have to audition for jobs, and we have to interview for them. Each new employer puts our skills on the chopping block in a similar way. We both have the ability to completely blow a new opportunity simply by making a bad first impression. This metaphor applies to us just as much as it applies to actors, perhaps even more because we think about first impressions less. Reading into it as a condescending dig at the acting profession is a great mindset to have if you want to unknowingly hurt your career.
This is not just an article for actors. The theatre industry, perhaps more than most industries, relies on connections. Sure, it's entirely possible to get a job that has been advertised based on your talent and expertise in a given field. But most jobs are heard about and attained through someone who knows someone who knows someone who has said some great things about you. Or someone you are meeting at a bar who looks at your resume and says "How was working with so and so."
you never want to bad mouth that person, even if you're arch nemeses. You don't know what the interviewers relationship with them is, and saying the wrong thing could hurt your chances at more than just the opportunity at hand. Stay honest, but stay kind. It's not wrong to say you had your differences, but never gossip.
As I've heard multiple times at CMU, there are five people in the theatre. Two are married, two are gay, and one is having an affair.
I don't think this article was exactly a "news flash" to anyone reading it. This article can a apply to anyone, in any career. It goes along with the saying "Don't burn your bridges". We meet a lot of people in our line of work, but after a while, we begin hearing the same names. We're going to meet people we love, people we like, and people we hope not to have to encounter again, but the fact remains that we probably will see these people again, over and over again. We all have faults and flaws, so why should I point them out to others? To make me look better? It won't work. I will just look like an ass hole and no one will trust me. My job is to make connections so I can always have a job! I don't want someone talking bad about me so I'm not going to talk bad about someone else. They may be my boss one day. If I am given the opportunity for an interview, I want to give the best first impression that I can. Being late, getting lost, or blaming others for my mistakes isn't going to fly with anyone. If I make a mistake, and I'm sure we all will, I will apologize for it and move on. If I don't get a second chance at that time, maybe I will get a second chance a year from now. So the saying goes, don't to burn your bridges..........Keeping the peace in annoying, difficult situations IS part of my job, so I may as well get practice at it during the interview!
We are our own worse enemies. As much as we don't want to think about it or admit it we all routinely cause unnecessary problems for ourselves. Knowing ourselves and how we work is important to keep ourselves from making these problems come to light. Everyone needs to remember this and do what they can to avoid the trap of being in their minds.
I really hope that the author of this article meant this to apply to more than just actors. It really isn't fair to make such a broad generalization. Yes, this happens often to actors, but many people are their own worst enemies and make poor professional decisions. Hopefully people can learn about these mistakes before they make them on bigger and more important professional feats. I wish this article had a different title, too, because it truly makes this article seem one-sided and shallow. Many people make mistakes like these, and it is not fair to place such a broad issue on a small group of people.
That is a really hilarious picture from Jonathan Bartlett. I like the way that the article utilized the metaphor, it made it very interesting to read.
There is a little Lucifer in all of us. Lucifer is that little voice that tells us "yes do" when we should be hearing "no don't".
The main principle/theme of this article doesn't only apply to actors/designers/managers as others have mentioned; it really applies to anyone in any line of work who is on the job hunt.
First off I love the style that this article is written in. It's very relaxing after the news reports that some of the other articles are formatted in (I like them too).
The point that the writer is making seems like a very good thing to keep in mind not only as an actor, but as someone who has to work with and around actors. And to some degree we all (regardless of profession) do dumb things that hurt us. For example I completely know that it's a great idea to do my weekly comments nice and early in the week yet here I am sitting at the computer a few hours before this comment is due. The lesson I get from this article is not that actors are dumb, but that we can all work a little harder to not make dumb choices that we know are made out of desperation or laziness.
Yes, duh. And this also applies to all of us in the theater industry, not just actors. We're all going to be very happy to have connections when the day comes and we need them, and maintaining those is just about as important as working on all other skills pertaining to our profession. In an industry so heavily based on collaboration and interaction, people will remember the rude things you said and the unprofessional mistakes you made, and they will tell everyone they know about it. So performers or not, we should all keep this Lucifer guy in mind as much as we can.
No doubt, especially for stage manager and production manager, whose job is all about communication with people. Never say something bad behind other's back, never do things we know we shouldn't do, never trifle with people...this is not only a correct way to be an actor, it's also the basic thing we need to know to be a human being. and as a stage manager, i really hate it, when i am misjudged because of the language issue. So anyway, theater is all about people. theater person is all about doing the right things.
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