Photoplayer Hater

Acting isn't something you just do. An aspiring actor will have reasons for wanting to act. This actor may have never thought about this but it can affect their acting process and career in severe ways. What an actor wants out of acting isn't as important as knowing precisely what it is and compensating for it in areas where it may steer them wrong. There are long-term and short-term goals and an actor need be clear on both of them. Often conflicting goals can work against each other if you don't reconcile them.

What every actor needs to have as a short-term objective is to serve the story of the production they are involved in. By serving the production an actor serves the audience. Actors were not put on Earth for them to indulge their every desire and for rest of us to get nothing out of it. It's rare the actor that is simply happy to be a part of a great story, though. Most actors have others short-term desires that are fulfilled along with serving the story, and some of them can adversely affect their long-term goals.

Feel Things

Many don't have opportunities in everyday life to express emotions. You might be in a tenuous relationship or rocky work situation where any emotional outburst could spell doom. Expressing emotions is fun, that can't be denied. Yelling at someone is a great relaxer. Crying uncontrollably is an enlightening experience. I understand that acting can help you feel some of these emotions you lack the ability to express in your real life, just don't let them guide your every acting choice. You need to moderate your desire to feel it to the fullest, which the production may not call for.

Validation, Love

In real life there are no reviews. Once we are out of the house we can go years without hearing feedback on what we are doing on a daily basis. There are some that derive their self-image from what others say about them and they often go into acting to get that feedback. Some aren't satisfied with an acting teacher's opinions and seeks the world's approval. Everyone needs some outside feedback to gauge whether their efforts are effective, but don't put too much emphasis on what others say because you can easily be manipulated this way. Don't judge a project simply by how many people will see it or how many compliments you might get. There are many reasons to get involved in a project and only one of them is for you to reach lots of people. Moderate your desire for validation with a little internal fortitude.

Do Certain Actions

Along with expression of emotions there are lots of physical actions we don't get to perform in our everyday lives. You don't often get to scale walls in your daily routine. Rarely are you called upon to slap a woman and push her onto the floor. Some actors are motivated by their ability to do these things in a setting that is close to reality without the real world consequences. It's easy to find yourself in poor productions that allow you to do cool things and not reaching a bigger acting goal. So temper your desire to perform certain actions here and now with a solid understanding of your overall objectives for best results.

Elicit Audience Reaction

These people exist in real life. They are people that do whatever necessary to get people to react to them. Smokers, crazy dressers, loud people, rude people. There's a similar type of actor that often just wants to piss off or rouse an audience. They aren't worried about authentic character portrayal or telling a story well, they simply want to exert their will or make others do something in reaction to their acting. This temperament is something that can get you taken off a project quickly if you don't keep it under control and it can also adversely affect the kinds of productions you get involved in.

Elicit Audience Feelings

This mostly breaks down into tear-jerkers and clowns, actors that want you to cry or laugh no matter what. The problem with this and many of the other short-term objectives is that it often doesn't make sense for the overall production by calling too much attention to itself. This is the thing I struggle most with. If I get a laugh I feel compelled to keep them coming and this is something I used to get a great deal of pleasure from. Over the years I've been able to temper this desire by enjoying the few times I get laughs and gaining pleasure in other ways.

Nobody will deny you the right to getting something personal out of acting aside from being a part of the machinery of the story. For longevity's sake and your stature as a professional it's crucial to understand your own desires and work to fit them into the reality of collaborative storytelling. You can't get all of what you want anymore than a director can. Since compromise is a necessity, do it in the privacy of your own head instead of on stage when a director decides you need a lashing.