Actors' Rule of Dumb

Chicago Tribune ^ | 12-14-2003 | Julia Gorin

[jays911]

There comes a time in every stand-up comedian's life when she has to take the plunge into acting class if she hopes to rise to comedy's highest heights, something that usually can be achieved only through roles in film and TV. For a politically conservative comic who doubles as a columnist for newspapers and Web sites, the decision to enter the flighty world of acting comes with that much more trepidation. Once I made the decision, though, I took the recommendation of other comedians and chose a two-year course with Ray Romano's former teacher.

On the first day of class I noticed a small, framed sign on the mantel that read, "Sanity is the breeding ground for the unimaginative." In keeping with that sentiment, our teacher passed around a garbage pail and instructed us to throw out our left brains, the hemisphere ostensibly responsible for logic and reason. Thus, only the creative/emotional side would remain available to us. We were to become "emotionally bright" actors who didn't "intellectualize" our reactions but responded based on pure, uncensored and unrestrained emotion.

[jays911]

good article. the equation is, simply, great actor equals political idiot, and fair actor, sound political thinker. not an ironclad rule, but it is interesting to ponder.

[Stephen Ritter]

I guess that I must be an idiot.

You see, I am an actor. I've portrayed "Hamlet", "Macbeth", the Prologue in "Henry V", Artie Shaughnessy in John Guare's "House of Blue Leaves", and the ghost of John Barrymore in Paul Rudnick's "I Hate Hamlet", among many others. And yet, I remain stubbornly and undauntedly conservative.

I truly believe that the way to act is to emote. That is, to draw out the emotion of the audience. However, if an actor has to leave one hemisphere of his brain at the stage door, acting is not worth it, no matter the financial benefits of the profession.

This may explain why I am not a "great" actor. However, I consider myself a sound political thinker.

I agree that it is interesting to ponder, though!

[Larry Lucido]

Welcome to FR!

[Stephen Ritter]

Thanks!!