The Truths About Acting

Acting is not a mad scramble for this week’s script, lunch with so-and-so, next week’s audition, then a 14-hour vigil of desperation by the phone. This is not a business where a divining rod chooses who can or cannot be an actor. Acting is truth. The searching for it, the revealing of it, the joy within it.

The approach to this profession is a noble one that commands a great deal of respect along with relentless attention. The work is essential to good acting. The exploration jubilant!

It is not the roles that are scarce, it’s the actors. The actors willing to surrender to the creative drive within. . . . The business will take care of itself if the work is being done by the actor (the monetary success is a bonus to the artist, not a requirement).

When you start to pulverize that misleading figure of 5,842,663 actors in America, a simpler image will emerge: a solid pillar of artists thirsty for more pure souls to join them in their quest for truth.

Oh, we do need more actors, Mr. Christon, there are so few!

DANIEL McDONALD

West Hollywood