Emily Metcalf, TVT board member and blog manager, weighs in on the cohesive relationship between theatre and introversion.
It’s more common than you’d think: the elderly woman next door, happy in her garden… the friend who hides in a corner at parties… the girl who never answers her phone, but always texts back readily…
Put them on stage, and who knows what alter ego might emerge! The stage does not demand a life-of-the party personality; it simply requires that you have a range of human emotions at your disposal.
Introverts fit quite seamlessly into the theatrical world. Consider the following:
- Introverts spend more time observing than participating in social situations, which makes them experts on conversational pauses, intricate expressions, and subtle body language. As long as they have the courage to put into practice what they have unintentionally studied their entire lives, introverts can flourish in front of an audience.
Melissa Gordon, introvert, and TVT veteran. Stage manager (and Vicki) for Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and Countess of Burmingham in The Unsinkable Molly Brown (among other roles), says: “Theatre let’s me open up and be creative, and puts me in an environment where I can easily make friends and know I am not going to be judged.”
- Portraying a character, done right, has little to do with the actor or actress. In the end, after studying lines, pondering your character’s backstory and motivation, and eventually completing the transformation with hair and makeup, you are no longer you! If you’ve ever wished you could step outside your inhibitions for a moment, and just be– no matter who’s watching– playing a character is as close as it gets.
- Most introverts avoid large crowds (like…. say…. an audience) because large groups of people drain their energy. However, as an actor, you aren’t concerned with what people are thinking of you, because these mannerisms and quirks belong to the character. You are simply the storytelling instrument. And, many people don’t realize until they’ve actually performed, for the most part, you can’t see the audience. Stage lighting combined with a darkened theater gives the front row a hazy blur, and beyond that, you can barely see outlines of heads. It’s not nearly as unnerving as you may fear. Many directors will tell you to imagine the audience as simply one person included in an intimate conversation, which is right up an introvert’s alley.
Sometimes, introverts get to play introverts. Not too much of a stretch, there! Here’s Jon Lauer and Heather Moss in The Curious Savage.
- According to the Myers-Briggs Foundation, introverts prefer to spend their time in the company of ideas and images, whereas extroverts prefer to spend their time in the world of people and things. Theatre just happens to be the perfect marriage of these realms: ideas and images made substantial in the world of people and things.
- Theatre creates a safe space. Truly. When the director does his or her job, the rehearsal space is a friendly environment in which the actors can blossom and connect. Shedding your shell is inevitable in the busy-ness of working toward a common goal. Perhaps it’s a little awkward at first, having to fall in love with someone you’ve just met, or faking best friend chemistry with someone you hardly like, but magic happens over time. Theatre makes comrades of us all.
Marlis Nielsen, a self-proclaimed introvert who excels both on and off the stage, is pictured here as Doctor Emmett in Curious Savage.
Of course, many talented theatre folk work behind the scenes. There is a whole world beyond the stage, comprised of people who never see the spotlight. (Except the guy actually operating it.) Without them, there would be no production. Here is a group teeming with introverts, too, because there’s so much work to be done and expertise to apply, that one hardly has time to think of oneself. Designing lights, operating the sound table, adjusting and managing microphones, creating the overall color scheme and feel to the production, and making sure the costumes, hair, makeup, and set design all adhere to it. There’s so much work to be done! Come out here and help!
Marlis Nielsen, who has worked with TVT both behind the stage designing lights and helping with tech, as well as excelling on stage, says, “I love being onstage because you get to create characters with different quirks, create chemistry within a cast, and it’s such a great feeling to take an audience into a story with you! I love being backstage because it’s us that makes the actors look good. We are the magic behind the story: making sure everything is working at all times and becoming professional problem-solvers if something goes wrong.”
Never deny yourself, or someone else, the joy of theatre. Don’t write it off as the job for extroverts, because, just like in the real world, the stage takes all types. Audition!
Even if you find there’s no part for you on stage for a specific production, backstage is calling your name. Besides, it never hurts to have a little applause in your life!
Enjoy TVT’s next Arts Smarts production, High School Musical Jr., playing June 10, 11, 17 and 18. Tomorrow is opening night! Purchase tickets here.
2016-06-09 16:31:50
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