We have witnessed it frequently as of late, Broadway audience members vocally complaining about actors, with their ire focused “missing” shows (aka, having prior engagements or attending to a family emergency) and not stage dooring. Actors including Ben Platt, Laura Benanti, Shoshana Bean, and Jeremy Jordan have been the target of these attacking criticisms on social media. So much of what stage actors do is like the proverbial iceberg, below the surface and unseen to the naked eye, with live performance being just the tip of the iceberg. I think it’s time to rotate that narrative away from criticism for perceived slights and express our gratitude for the multitude of visible and hidden ways that theater actors emotionally sacrifice so that we may enjoy and grow from the art they share.
My dear theater actors, this is for you:
You audition a hundred times to receive ninety-nine rejections. (Imagine going for ten, twenty, fifty job interviews and receiving, even expecting to be rejected from every single one.)
You rehearse and receive notes (i.e. feedback about what they want you to do differently in your work) from directors, producers, and choreographers on your work. (Imagine receiving daily and regular criticism on your job from your bosses. Even if that criticism is constructive, it’s constant.)
You place all of your career hopes and dreams in a project, dedicate hundreds of hours and months of your life to the work only to have it vanish suddenly and sometimes without explanation. (Imagine putting all of your effort into a job you really believe in only to have it taken away suddenly and you are left without a job.)
You stand on the stage, exposed and completely vulnerable for our collective catharthis. (Imagine crying, expressing joy, dancing in front of hundreds or thousands of people.)
You make your work looks so easy because you are an Olympic-level athlete of the stage. (Imagine committing your entire life, inside and outside of work, to your career.)
You finish your job and at the end of your work day converse with people at the stage door. (Imagine clocking out and on your way out the door talking to someone for 15 minutes about your work and you just want to get home.)
You interact with audience members after the show who critique your performance. (Imagine having people tell you how you could have done your job better, people who have never actually done your job.)
You receive comments from folks in the industry, audience members, and critics on your looks, which have nothing at all to do with the work you do. (Imagine being told you are not pretty enough to do your job.)
You use your body and soul as your instrument, making every critique feel like a critique of your entire being. (Imagine every time you get critiqued at work, instead of critiquing your work, your boss critiques you as a whole person.)
You spend your time outside of performing, on your own time, to promote the show such that your time off becomes consumed by work. (Imagine being asked to do work for your job on your days off and after hours all the time.)
You spend any time you do have on your time off getting treatments (massage, acupuncture, physical therapy) just so that your body is prepared to go back to performing 8 shows in 6 days. (Imagine spending your time off just to get yourself ready to go back to work.)
You do this all and bring joy to millions and heal our hearts. All of this and still receive judgement for having other obligations outside of work. All of this and still receive criticism for being human. I want you to know that you are seen and you are appreciated.
Best,
Dr. Drama