Part I
Of course, it was Shakespeare who said, “all the world’s a stage...” and by golly, he was right! We are always performing. We use a different set of communication strategies when we speak to our mom than we do when we speak to our boyfriend or girlfriend, for instance (well let’s hope so anyway!). We aren't lying. We aren’t pretending (hopefully). We are simply bringing out that part of our personality, along with the ways that personality speaks and behaves, for a particular situation or person. Fundamentally, that is all that acting is, but actors do it on a stage in a theatre in front of total strangers, and for some bizarre reason they enjoy it. And whether you are an actor or just a person who interacts with others (an " inter-acter"), you are in your heart of hearts a performer.
Activity
Theatre in Life #1
In two or three sentences, describe how you communicate differently with a parent as opposed to a friend. Why are there differences? Are you "performing"? Are you "acting"? Why or why not?
Part II:But alas! Not all of our performances are good or for the right reasons. Robbing a bank requires performance. So does beating a child. These are not considered "good" performances or actions in most societies. Luckily, one nifty thing that you can do is alter the performances you do in your life. You can rewrite the script! While this is not really a self-help course in psychology, if you think of your everyday interactions as performances, this can help you more easily change the scripts or texts of the performance. And we all want to do that. Don’t we?
Imagine that you are a father or mother with a bunch of snivelling little ones all around you. It has been a rough day, and your kids keep complaining and whining about this and that. You keep having to wipe their noses and clean up their messes and change their diapers, and finally one of your kids let’s you have it. They scream at you about how unfair it is to have to set the table of all things; it’s awful, their life is a tragedy for all the world to see, Hamlet didn’t have it so bad! And that’s it. That is it. You’ve had it. And your normal (performative) choice (or text/ script) is to yell and scream and send them to their room without supper and ground them until they are 52 years old.
However, since this can be seen as a performance (and some performances takes practice!), you have other “performative" choices you can make (and choices are what actors—and interacters—make all the time, by the way).
Activity
Theatre in Life #2In a sentence or two, describe what other, socially and culturally “ better” performance choices might be made with your child if you were in the situation described above. It is true that some of these performances may be difficult and some may require some “practice,” but go ahead and make some better choices. Remember: deep down you are an actor—which parts of your personality will you bring out for this situation? What will your script or text be? How much work will it take to change this script?
Part III:There are many other examples of how we can change our scripts: an alcoholic changes her life by writing a new script that does not contain booze. A compulsive liar changes his life by, perhaps, just shutting up. There are lots of examples. When they are viewed as performances that need changing, change can more easily come.
Of course, it was Shakespeare who said, “all the world’s a stage...” and by golly, he was right! We are always performing. We use a different set of communication strategies when we speak to our mom than we do when we speak to our boyfriend or girlfriend, for instance (well let’s hope so anyway!). We aren't lying. We aren’t pretending (hopefully). We are simply bringing out that part of our personality, along with the ways that personality speaks and behaves, for a particular situation or person. Fundamentally, that is all that acting is, but actors do it on a stage in a theatre in front of total strangers, and for some bizarre reason they enjoy it. And whether you are an actor or just a person who interacts with others (an " inter-acter"), you are in your heart of hearts a performer.
Activity
Theatre in Life #1
In two or three sentences, describe how you communicate differently with a parent as opposed to a friend. Why are there differences? Are you "performing"? Are you "acting"? Why or why not?
Part II:But alas! Not all of our performances are good or for the right reasons. Robbing a bank requires performance. So does beating a child. These are not considered "good" performances or actions in most societies. Luckily, one nifty thing that you can do is alter the performances you do in your life. You can rewrite the script! While this is not really a self-help course in psychology, if you think of your everyday interactions as performances, this can help you more easily change the scripts or texts of the performance. And we all want to do that. Don’t we?
Imagine that you are a father or mother with a bunch of snivelling little ones all around you. It has been a rough day, and your kids keep complaining and whining about this and that. You keep having to wipe their noses and clean up their messes and change their diapers, and finally one of your kids let’s you have it. They scream at you about how unfair it is to have to set the table of all things; it’s awful, their life is a tragedy for all the world to see, Hamlet didn’t have it so bad! And that’s it. That is it. You’ve had it. And your normal (performative) choice (or text/ script) is to yell and scream and send them to their room without supper and ground them until they are 52 years old.
However, since this can be seen as a performance (and some performances takes practice!), you have other “performative" choices you can make (and choices are what actors—and interacters—make all the time, by the way).
Activity
Theatre in Life #2In a sentence or two, describe what other, socially and culturally “ better” performance choices might be made with your child if you were in the situation described above. It is true that some of these performances may be difficult and some may require some “practice,” but go ahead and make some better choices. Remember: deep down you are an actor—which parts of your personality will you bring out for this situation? What will your script or text be? How much work will it take to change this script?
Part III:There are many other examples of how we can change our scripts: an alcoholic changes her life by writing a new script that does not contain booze. A compulsive liar changes his life by, perhaps, just shutting up. There are lots of examples. When they are viewed as performances that need changing, change can more easily come.
