Second Most Important Lesson

I was doing a production of Barefoot in the Park in 2004 (maybe 2003). And we were blocking a scene where my character is supposed to be seducing her husband. So I asked the director if I could take my shirt off. And he said, "Why?" And I said, "Well because Jane Fonda did in the movie." And he replied,



"If the audience wants to see Jane Fonda they can rent the movie. They're paying to see you."



Wow. That hit me. As an actress, you should never try to copy someone else's performance. If the audience is expecting Jane Fonda in BITP, they should just go watch the movie. Or Julie Andrews in The Sound of Music, or anyone else. They've come to see a live performance, with entirely different actors and an entirely different director on a stage, not a movie set. It won't be the same, it can't be the same, nor should it be the same. That's the beauty of live theater. It's always different from production to production, company to company and even night to night. It's live.

But most importantly: It's you. You, whoever you are, bring so many different qualities to the table than [insert famous actress' name here]. You're not her, and therefore can't portray the character like her. You have different life experiences, are coming at the script from a different place inyour life. And why should you just want to copy? a) Where's the fun in that? b) Where's the growth in that? Oh, you can copy someone famous' performance. Grrrrreeeeat. That doesn't take talent. Be creative. Be yourself.

I can't tell you how many times while I was doing The Crucible, that people told me "Oh, you'll be a great Abigail! You look just like Winona Rider."

Uhm. Wow. Smack in the face much? So I have no talent of my own, I just happen to look like someone who played this character once? Thanks. For nothing. I went on to make the character my own, and politely told those people to eff off. Those are the type of audience members who wouldn't understand the art of theater anyway.