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For other uses, see Actor (disambiguation).
Actors in period costume sharing a joke while waiting between takes during location filming.
Actors in period costume sharing a joke while waiting between takes during location filming.

An actor, actress, player or rarely thespian (see terminology) is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity. An actor, actress, player or thespian (see terminology) is a person who Acts in a Dramatic production and who works Drama is the specific mode of Fiction represented in Performance. Television ( TV) is a widely used Telecommunication medium for sending ( Broadcasting) and receiving moving Images, either monochromatic Theatre (or theater, see spelling differences) is the branch of the Performing arts defined by Bernard Beckerman as what "occurs when one Radio programming is the content that is broadcast by Radio stations The original inventors of radio such as Nikola Tesla and Guglielmo The ancient Greek word for an actor, ὑποκριτής (hypokrites), when rendered as a verb means "to interpret";[1] in this sense, an actor is one who interprets a dramatic character do you know how much they get??? . For English usage of verbs see the wiki article English verbs. A role, or rôle, in the Performing arts, is usually taken to mean an Actor 's Characterization, or Interpretation [2]

Contents

Terminology

The word actor refers to one who acts, while actress refers specifically to a female who acts. The Oxford English Dictionary states that originally "'actor' was used for both sexes". The Oxford English Dictionary ( OED) published by the Oxford University Press (OUP is a comprehensive Dictionary of the English The English word actress does not derive from the Latin actrix, probably not even by way of French actrice; according to the Oxford English Dictionary, actress was "probably formed independently" in English. As actress is a specifically feminine word, some feminists assert that the word is sexist. Feminism is a discourse that involves various movements theories, and Philosophies which are concerned with the issue of Gender difference, advocate Gender-neutral usage of actor has re-emerged in modern English,[3] especially when referring to male and female performers collectively, but actress remains a commonly used word.

The gender-neutral term player was common in film in the early days of the Production Code, but is now generally deemed archaic. For the television broadcasting term please see Production code number. However, it remains in use in the theatre, often incorporated into the name of a theatre group or company (such as the East West Players). East West Players is an Asian American theatre organization in Los Angeles founded in 1965.

History

Two actors performing during a theatric play.
Two actors performing during a theatric play. A play, or stageplay, is a form of Literature written by a Playwright, almost always consisting of Dialogue between Fictional characters

The first recorded case of an actor performing took place in 534 BC (probably on 23 November, though the changes in calendar over the years make it hard to determine exactly) when the Greek performer Thespis stepped on to the stage at the Theatre Dionysus and became the first known person to speak words as a character in a play or story. Events 800 - Charlemagne arrives at Rome to investigate the alleged crimes of Greece (Ελλάδα transliterated: Elláda, historically, Ellás,) officially the Hellenic Republic (Ελληνική Δημοκρατία Thespis of Icaria (present-day Icaria) (6th century BC is claimed to be the first person ever to appear on stage as an Actor in a play, although Prior to Thespis' act, stories were only known to be told in song and dance and in third person narrative. A song is a Musical composition. Songs contain vocal parts that are performed 'sung' and generally feature Words ( Lyrics) commonly followed In honour of Thespis,a 6th century B. C poet, actors are commonly called Thespians. Theatrical legend to this day maintains that Thespis exists as a mischievous spirit, and disasters in the theatre are sometimes blamed on his ghostly intervention. A ghost is said to be the apparition of a Deceased person frequently similar in appearance to that person and usually encountered in places she or he frequented

Actors were traditionally not people of high status, and in the Early Middle Ages travelling acting troupes were often viewed with distrust. The Early Middle Ages is a period in the History of Europe following the fall of the Western Roman Empire spanning roughly five centuries from AD 500 In many parts of Europe, actors could not even receive a Christian burial, and traditional beliefs of the region and time period held that this left any actor forever condemned. However, this negative perception was largely reversed in the 19th and 20th centuries as acting has become an honored and popular profession and art. Part of the cause is the easier popular access to dramatic film entertainment and the resulting rise of the movie star—as regards both their social status and the salaries they command. For other uses including various songs titled "Movie Star" see Movie star (disambiguation. The combination of public presence and wealth has profoundly rehabilitated their image.

In the past, only men could become actors in some societies. In the ancient Greece and Rome [4] and the medieval world, it was considered disgraceful for a woman to go on the stage, and this belief continued right up until the 17th century, when in Venice it was broken. Venice ( Italian: Venezia, Venetian: Venesia or Venexia) is a city in Northern Italy, the capital of the In the time of William Shakespeare, women's roles were generally played by men or boys. William Shakespeare ( baptised The British prohibition(Victor Andersen) was ended in the reign of Charles II who enjoyed watching female actors (actresses) on stage. Charles II (Charles Stuart 29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685 was the King of England, Scotland, and Ireland.

Techniques

General

Main article: Acting

Acting and actresses employ a variety of techniques that are learned through training and experience. Acting is the work of an Actor or Actress, which is a person in Theatre, Television, Film, or any other Storytelling Some of these are:

  1. The rigorous use of the voice to communicate a character's lines and express emotion. This is achieved through attention to diction and projection through correct breathing and articulation. It is also achieved through the tone and emphasis that an actor puts on words
  2. Physicalisation of a role in order to create a believable character for the audience and to use the acting space appropriately and correctly
  3. Use of gesture to complement the voice, interact with other actors and to bring emphasis to the words in a play, as well as having symbolic meaning.

Shakespeare is believed to have been commenting on the acting style and techniques of his era when Hamlet gives his advice to the players in the play-within-the-play. William Shakespeare ( baptised Hamlet is a Tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601 He encourages the actors to “speak the speech . . . as I pronounced it to you,” and avoid “saw[ing] the air too much with your hand” , because even in a “whirlwind of passion, you must . . . give it smoothness. ” On the other hand, Hamlet urges the players to “Be not too tame neither. ” He suggests that they make sure to “suit the action to the word, the word to the action”, taking care to “o'erstep not the modesty of nature. ” As well, he told the players to not “. . . let those that play your clowns . . . laugh, to set on some quantity of barren spectators to laugh too,” which Hamlet considered to be a “villainous” and “pitiful” tactic.

The English critic Benedict Nightingale discussed and compared great classical actors of the long dead past, and the present, and their magical effects upon audiences, in this 1983 article from the New York Times, available online. Benedict Nightingale is a British Journalist and the regular Theatre critic of The Times newspaper [5]

As opposite sex

Historically, acting was considered a man's profession; so, in Shakespeare's time, for instance, men and boys played all roles, including the female parts. However when an eighteen year Puritan prohibition of drama was lifted after the English Restoration of 1660, women began to appear on stage. A Puritan of 16th and 17th century England was an associate of any number of religious groups advocating for more "purity" of Worship and Doctrine, Restoration comedy is the name given to English comedies written and performed in the Restoration period from 1660 to 1710 The English Restoration, or simply The Restoration began in 1660 when the English monarchy, Scottish monarchy and Irish monarchy were restored Margaret Hughes ( May 29, 1630 &ndash February 6, 1685) is often credited as the first professional actress on the English stage The first occurrence of the term actress in the OED being by Dryden in 1700. The Oxford English Dictionary ( OED) published by the Oxford University Press (OUP is a comprehensive Dictionary of the English John Dryden (– was an influential English poet Literary critic, Translator and playwright who dominated the literary life of Restoration England

In Japan, men (onnagata) took over the female roles in kabuki theatre when women were banned from performing on stage during the Edo period. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics. is a form of traditional Japanese theatre. Kabuki theatre is known for the stylization of its drama and for the elaborate Make-up worn by some of its performers is a form of traditional Japanese theatre. Kabuki theatre is known for the stylization of its drama and for the elaborate Make-up worn by some of its performers The, also referred to as the Tokugawa period (徳川時代 Tokugawa-jidai) is a division of Japanese history running from 1603 to 1868 However, some forms of Chinese drama have women playing all the roles. The Culture of China (traditional Chinese 中國文化 simplified Chinese 中国文化 is home to one of the world's oldest and most complex Civilizations covering a history

In modern times, women sometimes play the roles of prepubescent boys. CHILD syndrome (or congenital hemidysplasia with ichthyosiform erythroderma and limb defects) is a genetic disorder The stage role of Peter Pan, for example, is traditionally played by a woman, as are the principal boy and dame in British pantomime. Peter Pan is a fictional character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J In Pantomime, a principal boy role is the young male protagonist of the play traditionally played by a young Actress in boy's clothes A pantomime dame is a traditional character in British Pantomime. Pantomime (informally panto) (not to be confused with a Mime artist, referring to a theatrical performer of mime is a performance genre traditionally found This is uncommon in film, however, except in animated films and television programmes, where boys are sometimes voiced by women. The bouncing ball animation (below consists of these 6 frames For example, in The Simpsons the voice of Bart Simpson is provided by Nancy Cartwright. Bartholomew J "Bart" Simpson is a character in the animated television series The Simpsons Nancy Campbell Cartwright (born October 25, 1957) is an American Voice actress. Opera has several "pants roles" traditionally sung by women, usually mezzo-sopranos. Opera is an art form in which Singers and Musicians perform a Dramatic work (called an opera which combines a text (called a Libretto A breeches role (also pants role or trouser role) is a role in which an actress appears in male clothing ( Breeches being tight-fitting knee-length pants This article is related to a series of articles under the main article Voice type. Examples are Hansel in Hänsel und Gretel, and Cherubino in The Marriage of Figaro. Hänsel und Gretel is an Opera by Engelbert Humperdinck (Humperdinck himself described it as a Fairy opera. Le nozze di Figaro ossia la folle giornata (Trans The Marriage of Figaro or the Day of Madness) K Le nozze di Figaro ossia la folle giornata (Trans The Marriage of Figaro or the Day of Madness) K

Having an actor dress as the opposite sex for comic effect is also a long standing tradition in comic theatre and film. Most of Shakespeare's comedies include instances of overt cross-dressing, such as Francis Flute in A Midsummer Night's Dream. Cross-dressing is the act of wearing clothing commonly associated with another gender within a particular Society. Francis Flute is a character in the play A Midsummer Night's Dream. A Midsummer Night's Dream is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, suggested by " The Knight's Tale " from The movie A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum stars Jack Gilford dressing as a young bride. A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by Burt Shevelove and Larry Jack Gilford ( July 25, 1908  &ndash June 4, 1990 was an Academy Award - and Tony Award -nominated and Daytime Emmy Award Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon famously posed as women to escape gangsters in the Billy Wilder film Some Like It Hot. Tony Curtis (born Bernard Schwartz June 3, 1925) is an American film actor John Uhler "Jack" Lemmon III (February 8 1925 &ndash June 27 2001 was an American Actor known principally for his comedic roles Billy Wilder ( June 22, 1906 – March 27, 2002) was an Austrian born Jewish - American Journalist Some Like It Hot is a 1959 Comedy film directed by Billy Wilder and starring Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, and Jack Cross-dressing for comic effect was a frequently used device in most of the thirty Carry On films. The Carry On films were a long-running series of low-budget British comedy films directed by Gerald Thomas and produced by Peter Rogers. Dustin Hoffman and Robin Williams each appeared in a hit comedy film in which they played most scenes dressed as a woman. Dustin Lee Hoffman (born August 8 1937 His brother Ronald is a lawyer and economist Robin McLaurim Williams (born July 21 1951 or 1952 is an American television stage and film actor and Comedian who has won an Academy Award for his performance

Several roles in modern plays and musicals are played by a member of the opposite sex (rather than a character cross-dressing), such as the character Edna Turnblad in Hairspray — played by Divine in the original film, Harvey Fierstein in the Broadway musical, and John Travolta in the 2007 movie musical. Harris Glenn Milstead ( October 19, 1945 – March 7, 1988) was an actor and singer known by his drag persona Divine. Hairspray is a 1988 comedy written and directed by John Waters. Harvey Forbes Fierstein (born June 6 1952) is a Tony Award winning American Actor, Playwright, and Screenwriter. Hairspray is a musical with music by Marc Shaiman, lyrics by Scott Wittman and Shaiman and a book by Mark O'Donnell and Thomas Meehan based Hairspray is a 2007 Musical film produced by Zadan / Meron Productions and distributed by New Line Cinema. Occasionally the issue is further complicated through a woman acting as a man pretending to be a woman, like Julie Andrews in Victor/Victoria or Gwyneth Paltrow in Shakespeare in Love. Dame Julie Elizabeth Andrews, DBE (born Julia Elizabeth Wells on October 1 1935) is an award-winning English Actress ---- Victor/Victoria is a 1982 Musical comedy film which involves Transvestism and Sexual identity as central themes Gwyneth Kate Paltrow (born September 27 1972 is an Academy Award - Golden Globe - and double Screen Actors Guild Award -winning American Shakespeare in Love is a 1998 Romantic comedy / Drama Film. The film was directed by John Madden and co-written by playwright

Acting awards

See also

Further reading

Works cited

References

  1. ^ Hypokrites (related to our word for hypocrite) also means, less often, "to answer" the tragic chorus. Hypocrisy (or the state of being a hypocrite) is the act of preaching a certain belief religion or way of life but not in fact holding these same virtues oneself See Weimann (1978, 2).
  2. ^ This is true whether the character than an actor plays is based on a real person or a fictional one, even themselves (when the actor is 'playing themselves,' as in some forms of experimental performance art, or, more commonly, as in John Malkovich's performance in the film Being John Malkovich); to act is to create a character in performance: "The dramatic world can be extended to include the 'author', the 'audience' and even the 'theatre'; but these remain 'possible' surrogates, not the 'actual' referents as such" (Elam 1980, 110). This article is about Performance art For other uses see Performance (disambiguation Being John Malkovich is a 1999 Film written by Charlie Kaufman and directed by Spike Jonze.
  3. ^ dictionary. com actor retrieved 13 November 2007
  4. ^ Women Actors in Ancient Rome 27 December 2002, BBC
  5. ^ [1] New York Times

External links

Dictionary

actor

-noun

  1. a person who performs in a theatrical play or film
  2. one who acts; a doer
  3. one who takes part in a situation
  4. (law) An advocate or proctor in civil courts or causes.
  5. (law) One who institutes a suit; plaintiff or complainant.
  6. (policy debate) One who enacts a certain policy action.
  7. (software engineering) The entity that performs a role (in use case analysis).
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