Dear Ms. ou Mr. Donna,
To you, jouer la comédie is a solo activity. toi expect everyone to praise toi and be at your every beck and call, regardless of your actual skill ou talent in the area of performance. So let me tell toi one thing right now: toi are not unique.
Are toi surprised that I would dare to call toi something as offensive as "ordinary"? But it's true, and I have proof. I know this is true, because we have met before. I met toi first in middle school, as the girl who was always used to getting the lead and then was suddenly cast as the understudy. She contemplated quitting, when she decided instead that she would get much plus sympathy playing the martyr, and hanging around and sulking during rehearsals, taking every chance she got to remind the actress who "stole" her role that the only reason she had it is because she sucked up to the director.
I met toi again in my first few years of high school as the senior who auditioned for Javert in Les Miserables and when he was cast as Enjolras, a perfectly interesting and respectable character, subsequently threw down his script and quit, leaving the director to cast someone else. He called his replacement "talentless," and while the replacement may not have been able to hit every pitch, he worked harder than the quitter ever did to get his part right. Subsequently, the replacement did a much better portrayal of the passionate student than the quitter ever could have.
I met toi a third time in my junior an as the temperamental new guy, gay and proud, and that's why everyone hated him. Because Lord knows, the entire population of the drama department was homophobic. The seconde anyone tried to give him constructive criticism, he immediately dismissed it as "haters" who despised him for being amazing. Whenever he worked in groups with others, he refused to listen to any other ideas and forced everyone to do things his way, which wasn't always the best way.
I met toi once more, my first an of college. toi were the sweet girl who delighted in impressing new freshman. But when one of the protégés she had taken under her wing got the part instead of her, she immediately started badmouthing the freshman behind her back to her peers.
But par the time I reached the end of my sophomore an of college, toi were nowhere in sight. Would toi like to know why? Well, I have a few theories. toi realized that your behavior garnered toi very few real friends. toi discovered that someone was actually better at performance than toi were. toi found that talent only gets toi half way, and that "acting" isn't as natural as toi previously thought. toi learned that a "drama major" doesn't mean you'll only act, but you'll have to work in fields you're unfamiliar with, and gained new respect for directors, designers, stage crew and playwrights. All in all, eventually toi realized that toi weren't better than everyone else. That being the thirteen-year-old lead in the middle school play doesn't mean you'll be a movie star. That toi couldn't become a étoile, star automatically just because toi had talent. That there are others out there who want to work with you, not compete against you.
In the end, toi realized that jouer la comédie is not a solo endeavor. It's about ensemble, a word that your drama teachers have been shouting at toi for years that toi finally understand.
The mark of a great actor is his humility. Remember that.
To you, jouer la comédie is a solo activity. toi expect everyone to praise toi and be at your every beck and call, regardless of your actual skill ou talent in the area of performance. So let me tell toi one thing right now: toi are not unique.
Are toi surprised that I would dare to call toi something as offensive as "ordinary"? But it's true, and I have proof. I know this is true, because we have met before. I met toi first in middle school, as the girl who was always used to getting the lead and then was suddenly cast as the understudy. She contemplated quitting, when she decided instead that she would get much plus sympathy playing the martyr, and hanging around and sulking during rehearsals, taking every chance she got to remind the actress who "stole" her role that the only reason she had it is because she sucked up to the director.
I met toi again in my first few years of high school as the senior who auditioned for Javert in Les Miserables and when he was cast as Enjolras, a perfectly interesting and respectable character, subsequently threw down his script and quit, leaving the director to cast someone else. He called his replacement "talentless," and while the replacement may not have been able to hit every pitch, he worked harder than the quitter ever did to get his part right. Subsequently, the replacement did a much better portrayal of the passionate student than the quitter ever could have.
I met toi a third time in my junior an as the temperamental new guy, gay and proud, and that's why everyone hated him. Because Lord knows, the entire population of the drama department was homophobic. The seconde anyone tried to give him constructive criticism, he immediately dismissed it as "haters" who despised him for being amazing. Whenever he worked in groups with others, he refused to listen to any other ideas and forced everyone to do things his way, which wasn't always the best way.
I met toi once more, my first an of college. toi were the sweet girl who delighted in impressing new freshman. But when one of the protégés she had taken under her wing got the part instead of her, she immediately started badmouthing the freshman behind her back to her peers.
But par the time I reached the end of my sophomore an of college, toi were nowhere in sight. Would toi like to know why? Well, I have a few theories. toi realized that your behavior garnered toi very few real friends. toi discovered that someone was actually better at performance than toi were. toi found that talent only gets toi half way, and that "acting" isn't as natural as toi previously thought. toi learned that a "drama major" doesn't mean you'll only act, but you'll have to work in fields you're unfamiliar with, and gained new respect for directors, designers, stage crew and playwrights. All in all, eventually toi realized that toi weren't better than everyone else. That being the thirteen-year-old lead in the middle school play doesn't mean you'll be a movie star. That toi couldn't become a étoile, star automatically just because toi had talent. That there are others out there who want to work with you, not compete against you.
In the end, toi realized that jouer la comédie is not a solo endeavor. It's about ensemble, a word that your drama teachers have been shouting at toi for years that toi finally understand.
The mark of a great actor is his humility. Remember that.