#thevortex

I wanna briefly exraportale a theory I have concerning some of the local SF-Bay area theater companies. It seems that a lot of companies seem to (at times) exclusively support the work of some actors by casting them in their seasons over and over again as well as having them work for their company in other fields (administration, front of house, casting). I think while this is wonderful for talented actors looking to really ground themselves and stick with a particular company, but this however leads to a problem: the vortex effect. I call this the correct effect because it can often be degrateting to both the company and the artist. Each show looks the same, I get bored as an audience member and the actors aren’t stretching themselves beyond their bag of tricks. Essentially everyone becomes all consumed by themselves and it leads to stale, boring shows. Stale actors. A stale company. How do we combat this? Well, as actors I guess we shouldn’t get too invested in one company. We should be invested, rather, in a myriad, who trust our work and know it to be precise/thought provoking. At first, I thought it was only certain companies but then I realized that ALL theater companies to some extent have this dilemma. Actors just have to be resourceful and value their work beyond a single company (casting permitted). Companies should then be open to hiring a wider range of actors- yes your Resident artists, but also some fresh faces. Or maybe not. Who knows- maybe I should stop complaining.

#thevortex