A few words of professional advice to the fresh cast of supporting actresses joining that bold, new traveling production of The Emperor’s New Clothes…
I’m going to level with you: this role will take everything you’ve got. I hope you’re up for it. When I saw the casting call, I knew I’d never be able to hack it, so I didn’t even bother trying out. You’re going to need to stage a continuous performance of your submission and that means always learning new lines and subjecting yourself to arbitrary and bewildering teardowns. You’ve got to be ‘on’ 24/7: no joking around while waiting in the wings. The role you’ve been cast in is frankly inhuman in its demands. So it’s inevitable that you’ll make mistakes. Own them. Start rehearsing your abject apologies now. Debase yourself enough and you can stick around to screw up another day. Those teardowns may hurt but they’ll make you a better actress.
Look, this isn’t improv. You got this role because of your sight-reading abilities, not your ability to think up fresh material mid-act. Stick to the script and you’ll be alright. And don’t quibble about last-minute changes, even if your new lines don’t make any sense. Never forget: you’re an actress, not a director, and yours is strictly a supporting role.
You’ll find yourself in real trouble if—and only if—you find you have something of your own to say. If you get sloppy and start connecting your speech to your real experience of the world, it won’t be long before you flub your lines. So don’t let your guard down. No ad-libbing!
Fortunately, what you can’t say loses language. Don’t worry: just give it time and the constraints on your tongue will become the constraints on your thoughts. You’ll learn to stop yourself from going too far. Isn’t it better to just not ask questions that can’t be answered? At first, it’ll feel like a performance, a mask, but wear that mask long enough and it will just become your face.
Of course there’s always a risk something will catch you off-balance and you’ll forget your role for a moment. If you aren’t careful, your real feelings may show. I don’t need to remind you that that would spoil the performance and imperil your budding career as a supporting actress. You know there are steep costs to veering off-script. You watch other women improvise and speak freely for once and you see the price they pay for it. Perhaps you make them pay for it. So you know the drill: No matter what happens, be a professional. Stick to your lines.
I sure hope you’ve got what it takes. God knows I don’t.
This is so beautifully explained.
I'm constantly amazed by how people in the public eye (politicians, celebrities, etc.) can say what is required of them in order to maintain favor/power/etc. rather than what they might actually believe or want... I could never do that, I certainly know that!