Why We Do What We Do

Why DO intelligent people decide that a life of part-time waiting tables is worth the part-time, few between jobs in the entertainment industry? They are rational people, they understand the likelihood of them making a living acting is incredibly slim. So why do they do it?

Because they are storytellers. And they can't not be. And that, my friends, is a double negative, meaning that they HAVE to be storytellers.

Yes, there are writers, but that's just where it begins in the scheme of things of putting a story, book, screenplay to film.

Some storytellers start off as readers. They read a story and they think, this story NEEDS to be told to millions of people. And they gather more storytellers together to get the story made. They're the producers.
Some storytellers are behind the scenes. Some storytellers describe what the place looks like, and what things are there. They are production designers.
Some storytellers create visual images so that you're all sharing in the same story and being affected by it. Those are the directors.
Some storytellers inhabit the being of the protagonists and antagonists of the story. They make those characters real. They are the actors.

But WHY are there storytellers? Because we all feel the need to create things that AFFECT others. We all do it. When we're feeling sad, we'll confide in our friends the terrible day we're having. And because our friends empathize with us, we affect them.
Actors do the same thing, but on a bigger level. We are creators too, but more than that, we use our bodies, our being, to AFFECT. Because we want you to FEEL.

Some of us are comedians and we want you to FEEL joy. We make you laugh. To forget about your troubles, your losses, your life. We want you to feel good.

You with me here?

There are some people out here who don't know this yet. Who might not be the creative type. Who are acting because they want to be famous. There's absolutely nothing wrong with this. They always find out within a few years that they do not have what it takes (the need to affect others) and so, head back to where they grew up and do the things they had wanted to do all along.

There are some people who never made it out here, who also need to AFFECT people and make them feel. They're our teachers. Think of your favorite one. You have one. Probably more than one. And those teachers made you think differently, made you learn new things. And you've never forgotten them.

Actors want to make you feel. Whether it's sympathy, anger, fear, or love, all these feelings are great, because it reminds us that we're human. And that everyone is human. And feeling love and empathy towards people we don't know on a screen might make us feel love and empathy towards people we don't know in real life.

We are all human. And we all need to feel love. Let actors remind you of that every single day. You feel love, and you ARE loved.

Every single day.