Whose head is crowned with flames...

August was a special time in my family’s household. Both my mother and my father had their birthdays. The weather was at its second peak of perfection for the area. The first being autumn with its crisp air and changing leaves. And August signaled that autumn was coming.  More importantly as a child it was the time we took a family vacation up to Canada to Crystal Beach.

Crystal Beach was a magical place complete with an amusement park. Every year we kids would look forward to our trip. And every year it never occurred to us that this trip signaled the end of summer. School would begin in September and the summer fun was over. Learning and classes and homework would be on the schedule all too soon.

I went to a private Catholic university. It was so private and so Catholic that there were separate dorms for boys and girls. There was no visitation between the sexes. If a guy went to see a girl at her dorm he would have to check in at the front desk. Afterwards he would then wait for her in the lounge area. This was the only place the two sexes were allowed to be together. That’s how Catholic it was.

As part of the curriculum, every student had to take three philosophy classes and three religion classes on top of the usual university requirements and on top of the requirements for your major. I hated philosophy. It was so meaningless to me. It was just a bunch of people whinging on about “does life exist” and “to know an orange is to be that orange”. That last one was how a professor started the first day of class. I was like “Oh my god get me out of here”.

Needless to say I slept through most of my philosophy classes.

The religion classes however were a different story. I found them interesting. Okay honestly I found one teacher’s set of classes interesting. Dr. Sadkin taught us to dissect religion and to dissect the bible. We learned how to discern what would be our own personal truths through religion and its study. I’m not a very religions person. Spiritual yes, religious no. So I never thought these classes really applied to me and my life.

It wasn’t until years later that I realized even the classes you believe don’t apply to you and that you think you’ll never use in life can have some application. If you think outside of the box everything you learned in school is useable. It can be superimposed upon your life today to help make it easier to do anything from painting a wall to balancing your bank statement to raising children of your own.

At a private Catholic university, I learned that religion with its teachings and dogma can be applied to non-religious situations. In fact in our Theatre 101 class, at a private Catholic university, we had to write a paper comparing a religious ceremony to theatre, citing how they differ and how they’re alike.

My paper concluded that a religious ceremony and a theatrical production were one and the same. At times even the message was the same. That paper was written so long ago that I no longer have the stone tablets it was carved on...

Do you see where this is going?

At the basic level the Catholic religion can be boiled down to Ten Commandments. These teachings will help as a guide through any area of life. You just have to apply a little creativity and interpretation. This is something I learned to do at a private Catholic university.

So without further ado...

Ladies and gentlemen! The Ten Commandments of Professional Theatre:

Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s role, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s dressing room, nor his paycheck nor any thing that is thy neighbor’s.

This is the hardest of all commandments. Nearly everyone wants to be a star. Why else would there be reality shows, competitions and sex tapes. An actor should to be grateful for simply being involved in a production.

Based on the needs of the show, the actor has been selected to do a job. It’s the best one that fits both the actor and the production at that time. If an actor wants a different job he or she needs to hone those skills to get it. With experience and training come better roles, bigger dressing rooms and in the perfect world larger paychecks.

Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.

The director or choreographer or stage manager gives an actor a note. That actor explains why it wasn’t his fault. He or she then continues on to blame another actor, prop master, wardrobe crew, or anyone breathing for the screw up.

“TTNASU” (Take the Note and Shut Up).

If there truly is a problem bring it to the attention of those in charge. Let them suss out the situation. An actor may not know all the circumstances prior to the instance happening, therefore blame may be wrongly placed.

Thou shalt not steal focus.

If a play or musical is directed properly attention is placed on what actor/action is important for the audience, in order for the audience to follow the story or message. If that actor/action does not involve a particular actor, then he or she needs to give focus to what is important. It allows the story to unfold properly and the audience members to easily and quickly go on the journey the playwright has intended.

Thou shalt not date or sleep with thy fellow performers.

Ninety-five percent of the time romantic entanglements end. If it ends during the run of the show and it ends badly, that can spell disaster for the production. Remember, the fourth wall is just imaginary. Chemistry and energy flow between the audience members and the cast members over the footlights. No one wants to watch two romantic leads who personally hate each other. They may not know what’s going on but that energy, that tension can make it uncomfortable for the audience. Let’s not even get into cast morale.

Thou shalt not kill another’s dreams or aspirations.

Talent is subjective. What some may call worthless others may call pure genius. Therefore you are not the end all and be all purveyor of talent. Your opinion counts as merely your own. Keep it to yourself. Sometimes you will be pressed for critique by a fellow performer who you find lacking in talent. Rather than sparing their feelings by saying “Girl, you were up on that stage!” or being brutally honest with “Your voice is awful” give a concrete assessment. For example say “the high C at the end of the vocal run was under pitch”. It makes you seem like you were really invested in the performance and that you care enough to try and help.

Honor thy creative team and backstage crew. 

One person does not a show make. Not even in a one person show. There are a plethora of people who help contribute to what happens on stage including but not limited to the director, musical director, conductor, stage manager, sound tech, lighting tech, wardrobe, the running crew, the props crew, the ushers, the box office team and so forth and so on. The actor is not more or less important than any other person involved in creating or running a show. Everyone has an important role to play and should be treated as such.

Remember your day off and keep it holy. 

Because of the nature of performing, it’s typical to only have one day off a week. The singular day off should not be used to do the things that could have been done any other day of the week like grocery shopping, banking and running general errands. Use the day off to recharge your batteries, spend quality time with loved ones or go to church if that’s your thing. Broaden your mind, renew your spirit and rest your physical being.

It’s important to remember that not every Actor is privileged with being employed. When the “day of rest” happens, don’t proclaim it on social media thanking the universe and saying how much you’ve looked forward to/earned the day.  Because those actors not currently employed could see it as being ungrateful. And then negative energy is created and the focus of it is you.

Besides if you truly were that exhausted and in need of a break from the world, you wouldn’t be on social media anyway.

Thou shalt not take thy employment in vain.

If an actor is lucky enough and prepared enough and right enough to garner a contract it’s a special thing. It’s sacred. Treating landing a contract, no matter how large or small the contract or the role, like an everyday occurrence is ungrateful.

In case you missed the news, only about 2% of Actors Equity members are working at any given time as performers. Two percent. Any actor getting a contract has joined an elite few. These actors aren’t elite in talent or looks. They’re simply blessed that someone somewhere wanted to hire them to do something other than their day job. This should always be revered.

Thou shalt not make any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is not how thou looks in real life. 

An Actor worth his salt will tell you there are three things that can stall or kill your career. The first is not being prepared. This covers everything from an audition to a call back to a table read. Homework must be done. Without it an actor leaves a bad impression.

The second is a bad attitude. The actor and creatives have to work in a room together for eight hours a day six days a week during rehearsal. The people behind the table do not want to be confined in a hot sweaty space with someone who is negative, elitist, or an egoist.

The third thing that can stall or kill a career, and in some cases the most important and easiest to fix, is a headshot that does not represent what you look like when you walk through the door.

If an actor has been called in based on his or her headshot, the people behind the table believe this actor matches what they envisioned in their minds for the part. From the hair color, cut and style, to the clothing and over all feel of the picture. An actor has a hefty barrier to overcome if the real doesn’t match the headshot. After battling illness, nerves, clothing decisions, material decisions and prep, getting to the audition on time, getting mentally prepared, blocking out all the “chatter” around the audition site, blocking all the mental “chatter”, an actor does not need an additional thing to combat once that audition room door is open.

A headshot is a calling card, a still commercial for the product you are selling. If the people behind the table want to buy what you’re selling make sure that product is what walks through the door.

There shall be no others before me.

When I joined the Drama Club in high school I had no idea so many family traditions would end. My life was now filled with stage crew, rehearsal and shows. Then because of Drama club I auditioned and was cast in a summer performing troupe for children, The Experience Players.

The Experience Players toured New York State during the month of August. This meant no Crystal Beach. No last hurrah before school. My family still went. They just went without me. I was living the life of an Actor.

To live a life in the Theatre is all encompassing especially when you’re young, just starting out or just getting back into it. As a working actor, you will fore go many a family tradition, party, reunion, and all types of celebrations and holidays, including religious ones. All because you are a working actor.

Being a working actor means going to auditions, taking classes, networking, going to the gym, seeing shows, supporting fellow artists and generally trying to move a career forward. On top of all that an actor needs time to decompress with hobbies and recharge with “me time”.  We may think we can do it all. The reality is there are only twenty-four hours in any given day. An actor must make choices as to what to do and what not to do.

Anyone starting out on a career path in the Performing Arts, wanting to make the life long trek to their personal Mecca needs to be ready to make a huge commitment. An Actor needs to initially forsake all else: money, security, material things and even family. He or she needs lots of energy and drive.

Mostly an actor needs a thick skin, a keen mind and a hearty sense of humor. Without all of these things, pursuing a career in Theatre is like choosing to walk across the desert without any water. It can be deadly. It can kill your mind, your body and your soul.

Hopefully before all is lost in the black pit of despair, someone somewhere will say to the actor as I say now...

“Turn back o' man forswear thy foolish ways...”