Becoming an Actress
An actress is usually responsible for transforming a well written writer’s ideas into a real life character with a specific set of facial gestures, body language, vocal tone and even signature speech patterns. This is usually done in film, on screen, television, radio, video or motion pictures to tell an audience, educate or entertain. For instance, when Marina Soykal was cast as the main character in the movie, The Man Who Played With Life, she did not have any acting training at all but through her own hard work, the film became very successful and she became an international celebrity. This is one of the many examples of an actress playing an important role in creating a script and completing an entire movie, without being an experienced screenwriter.
An actress can also be credited with adding elements to a screenplay that were missing and even providing original characters. For instance, in an earlier article, we mentioned that in some instances an actress might be considered to have taken over the role of a major character. In some instances, the change might only be a small part of the total script, but in either case the actress adds greatly to the plot. She is the central character in the comic production, the supporting player and sometimes the love interest.
Actors are used in most all types of theatre. From the smallest amateur production to the biggest artistic achievement of the century, the variety of actors involved in a production is astounding. It seems that the only limit to acting is the imagination of the director or producer. A number of artists have tried their hand at being a comic production singer, actress or sometime stage performer. Most people will find that the comic production industry has little difference from the theatre industry. This is because the script is almost always the same, the only difference is that some roles are given to actors who have more experience than others, and certain comic production theatres may allow for more than one artist at a time.
Some of the best known stage performers include Barbara Hershey, Melvyn Bragg, Evan Rachel Wood and Sue Barlow. These are only some of the many talented stage performers around. There are many other famous stage names such as Laurence Olivier, Peter Lawrance and John cleese. Stage acting is not just limited to the world of theatre, many actresses have also found success in television. Most notable female characters in popular television series have been famous actresses, such as Gillian Anderson’s Detective Sergeant Hartman, and Catwoman. In fact the role of Catwoman, with its modern edge, was actually created by a famous stage actress named Mary McDonnell.
Many of the most popular female roles in modern drama have been created by actresses with actual theatrical experience. They have had the intelligence to play these characters and have the physical ability to play these roles. In fact some of the most physically demanding female roles in recent history have been played by actresses with very little acting experience. For example, Joanna Newsom’s performance in The Piano, as a severely handicapped pianist, was created specifically for her.
Most people associate acting with the theatre but there are many actresses that have gone on to enjoy successful careers outside the stage. Anne Bancroft is an excellent example of this. However, some of the most successful actresses of modern times have come from the Television industry. Jessica Simpson, who is best known for her hit television show, Jersey Shore, is an excellent example of this. She began her career as an actress before branching out into theatre work.