Why the AP?

A few years ago I was spending a great deal of thought on who the actor is.  I thought about what it means today to be an actor in New York or LA--or in Chicago, Washington DC, Philadelphia, Atlanta, San Francisco...what it means to be an actor in America.  I thought about our union challenges--how actors continue to struggle for rights at the negotiating table.  How our sister unions argue amongst themselves for individual guild benefits versus collective ACTOR benefits.  How more and more traditional union jobs are going non-union--and for the record, I'm encouraged that more actors are given the opportunity to work and be PAID to work BUT I'm concerned by how this will affect our collective bargaining power in the future. 

I thought about the current career models for the actor to make a living in theatre, television, or film.  I thought about the regional theatres, the bus and truck tours, and the nomadic nature an actor's professional life often takes.  I thought about the "star" system and how it has truly become standard business practice with Hollywood stars on Broadway, television stars on Off Broadway, and "Names" on the marquees in the regions.  Obviously, this is nothing new here and in a capitalistic culture it is impossible to run a business--even an artistic one--without productive sales.  But this prompted me to raise more questions, "is this the only way to sell tickets?"  Is this the only bar for success that an actor can aspire to?  What if you do not break into this "inner circle" of success?  Is it failure?  What IS success?  I thought about ways an actor might find stability within their career.  I thought about the old repertory models and could an acting company be considered "paid employees of the firm" so to speak, with full benefits instead of being independent contractors.  I know a few theatres around the country currently do something similar to this but could it, SHOULD it grow to be the norm?

I thought about the Internet, and You Tube, American Idol, and the onslaught of reality television.  I thought about the growth of cable networks and new venues for actors to find work but these thoughts also led to considering how flooded the market was/had become.  The scales were tipped and now the serious pursuers of the profession are competing with thousands upon thousands of fame mongers desperate for their fifteen seconds.  I even found myself considering what shortcuts I could take to secure better odds for "success!"

But as I considered all of these things I couldn't help but find my thoughts returning to what kind of actor I WAS and WANTED to be going forward.  How could I evolve as an artist?  What kind of actor would I strive to train?  What type of actor do I hope to inspire?  And the answer was always the same--the type of actor so many of my friends and colleagues have become and strive to be every day.  What I consider the WORKING CLASS ACTORS.  The actors who are not in that inner circle but year after year work as actors, teachers, and story tellers.  The actors who are STARS in their OWN community all year round.  The actors who create new avenues to reach their audience simply for the joy it brings them.  The actors who have to hustle to find sporadic acting work--and if they are lucky, they earn their union health insurance by securing the required number of weeks.  The actors who supplement their income with a number of odd jobs during the slow times--but never cease to carry on as actors and artists.  The actors who find a way to finance their passion to whatever capacity they can.

This thinking led me to THE ACTOR'S PROLETARIAT. 

The AP was started as an IDEA.  A concept.  A vision for a future community.  I want to shine a light on the committed work horses of the art form.  I want to celebrate the working actors who don't live in luxury or the tabloids.  The working actors who struggle to work AS actors.  I wanted to celebrate the backbone of the community by celebrating the essence of acting itself--the WORK.

In Stanislavsky's writings it is evident he was an advocate of the actor as an artist but he is also an opponent of the actor as a trade person.  To the contrary, I've always thought of artists as superb tradesmen and women.  I understand that his position is to elevate the status of the actor and give him/her a greater respect and purpose but I have never viewed the talents of a trades person to be lowly.  I will agree that perhaps it is possible to be a tradesman without being an artist but I do not think it is possible to be an artist without being a master tradesman.  Maybe Stanislavsky's prejudices are lost in translation or maybe I'm missing something but I have always valued the work ethic and moral character that hard working masters of trade exemplify.  I have always thought that craftsmanship and artistry went hand in hand.  I value the pride that rises out of hard work as it produces results that surpass even the individual's expectations.  And I'm moved by the humility that comes from being a member of a talented collective.

I am in no means suggesting a bias for a particular group of actor or artist with the inception of the Actor's Proletariat.  This is not an actor CLASS war.  No matter where you are in your career--no matter how you view success as an actor--no matter if you work in movies or non-profit theatre every actor does the same job!  We all ACT!  We all know and understand the work and dedication that is put into each creation, each job, and each production.  With the AP, I'm hoping to encourage dignity in EVERY actor's journey.  I want to restore faith in the romantic and idealistic reasons we all stepped in front of an audience in the first place.  It's easy to be realistic and cynical about the BUSINESS.  It's easy to forget why you wanted to be an actor under all the professional anxiety of your career.  It's easy be bitter about lost opportunities or ones you never had.  It's easy to abandon your artistic ideals to pay your bills.  And it's HARD to stay committed to your FIRST LOVE when your acting life seems so fickle.  But now is the time when the arts are on the chopping block.  Being an actor will only become more difficult in the years to come so it is now more important than ever to champion dedicated artistry.  To champion hard work.  To champion creativity and creation.  To champion actor entrepreneurship.  And I hope in a small way the Actor's Proletariat is doing just that!