I thought once that I wanted to be a playwright, so I chose to follow that course for a few years. I even succeeded at studying with Edward Albee and getting a play workshopped under his guidance at the University of Houston. It ended up being staged at theatres in Houston, Chicago and Denver, with different casts and director each time (The Chicago production was beyond amazing). It got almost universally rave reviews in all three cities. Despite all that, I'm not a playwright today.
Why?
Well, I think that writing isn't something you choose to do; it chooses you and won't let go. A real writer writes because he or she can't NOT write. A blank page to them is a like a blank canvas to a painter or a moment of silence to a musician. It begs to filled; it demands it. A writer can't imagine doing being anything else.
Well, I'm not a playwright today because I didn't have that compulsion; that inner demon demanding that I sacrifice myself to it's whims and desires.
I say all this because I think that you can substitute the words "acting" and "actor" for the words "writing" and "writer" in the above paragraph that begins "I think that writing acting isn't something that...."
It seems to me that you've got that inner demon; or, rather, that it has you.
I wish a demon like that would grab ahold of me... and I don't even care what it would demand from me - teacher, writer, artist, IT manager, ditch digger, panhandler, anything... I'll accept any inner drive at all, just to have one.
I know that it is sometimes hard to deal with, but cherish that little monster and continue giving it everything it demands.
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Date: 2003-04-17 05:50 pm (UTC)Why?
Well, I think that writing isn't something you choose to do; it chooses you and won't let go. A real writer writes because he or she can't NOT write. A blank page to them is a like a blank canvas to a painter or a moment of silence to a musician. It begs to filled; it demands it. A writer can't imagine
doingbeing anything else.Well, I'm not a playwright today because I didn't have that compulsion; that inner demon demanding that I sacrifice myself to it's whims and desires.
I say all this because I think that you can substitute the words "acting" and "actor" for the words "writing" and "writer" in the above paragraph that begins "I think that
writingacting isn't something that...."It seems to me that you've got that inner demon; or, rather, that it has you.
I wish a demon like that would grab ahold of me... and I don't even care what it would demand from me - teacher, writer, artist, IT manager, ditch digger, panhandler, anything... I'll accept any inner drive at all, just to have one.
I know that it is sometimes hard to deal with, but cherish that little monster and continue giving it everything it demands.
As if you had a choice.