Actors from Marginalized Communities
I recently saw a post from a major acting studio online. They did a survey of their students about working with directors and the students replied that they feel harassed and disrespected by directors more often than not. And these are not beginner actors. Some of these actors work all the time. They feel they are ordered around by a director, that they are not heard and that they are treated like cattle. And on top of that, they feel they have little power to fix the situation out of fear of not being hired again.
NO ONE SHOULD HAVE THIS MUCH POWER.
I’d like to take this opportunity to say to these not so nice directors who obviously have confidence issues, I get you know what you want. I understand that you have a vision in your head, but just because you are the director does not give you the right to be on some power trip and be an asshat. This is especially true when it comes to working with actors from marginalized communities that you are not from. They know more about their community than you do. So why not listen to them a bit?
What do you have to lose? Your ego trip. That’s all.
I remember I was on a set working with an actor on a small scene. He had two lines which could have just been throw away lines but we worked together and made it more. I remember him saying how much he appreciated that, like I was doing him a favor. First off, I love working with actors and whether an actor has two lines or two hundred lines, those lines matter and I want to work with him/her/them on the character. Second of all, that’s my job and I should do it. And third, it makes the film better.
When it comes to major roles, I always sit with each actor or if need be I talk to them on the phone for hours…going over the script, discussing the lines, asking how they feel about the dialog, the character and letting them bring their ideas and background to the table.
It makes me so happy when an actor cares enough to have these conversations and aren’t phoning it in.
Isn’t that what we all want from our actors? Excitement about our projects? Don’t squash that. You are just spiting yourself.