Love the Art in Yourself: Empowering Actors to Honestly, Comfortably, and Successfully Embody their Characters

As an actor, I have performed in more than twenty plays and worked with ten different directors over the years. The outcomes of these performances have varied, and so has the effectiveness of the different approaches I have experienced. As an early career director, I am working to find my own creative voice as well as my personal style of directing and communicating with actors. The purpose of this process is to address the relationship between the actor and the director and how this can best serve a production from the rehearsal process and into performances. A director’s initial role is to create a concept for the show that will hold the entire piece together through the production process. They must then be able to execute this in a way that cultivates trust within the entire team. Over the course of my research, I found that there is not one key technique or approach that will work on all actors. Rather, it is important to take into consideration every individual’s personal strengths and work together toward a common vision for each character and show