The Great Acting Blog: “The Driven Actor”

The Great Acting Blog: “The Driven Actor”

One of the objections to producing your own work is that many actors just want to be actors. They want to be left free of the additional worry and distraction that comes with directing and producing, they want to be able to concentrate on their performance only. And there’s plenty to be said for that. Having to make myriad decisions, motivating others, planning and organising, the stress which accompanies the twists and turns of the production, the disappointments, the frustrations, all are extra aggro we can do without. It’s far more preferable to sit in a corner somewhere, with coffee and cigar, nose firmly entrenched in script.

So why do it then?

As with so much artistic endeavour, the motor for it is not always rational. The primary reason for moving into production for the actor is that they have a vision of how they want things to be done, and the desire to realise that vision becomes so strong that it cannot be resisted. In many ways it’s a response to other movies and plays – “why don’t they do it like this”. This extends to the script, to the visuals and most certainly to the acting.

So, if an actor spent his down time writing a script for himself to do but failed to produce it because he was not willing to go through the stresses of production, then it’s probably best that that script stays un-produced.  However, if the actor  overcomes the obstacles because he is driven to realise his vision, then I’d be very excited to see the results.

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