Feudal positions and the pathology of contentment: sites of disconnection for Australian theatre actors

Abstract

This article surveys symbolic sites of disconnection and disenfranchisement of actors, while holding connection and enfranchisement as crucial to wellbeing, and so suggests potential threats to wellbeing across the breadth of the acting challenge. The research leans upon both general and specific proximities: the first is my more than thirty years of experience as a professional actor, acting teacher, and writer in the field; the second, a period of observation of actors in rehearsal for four diverse though mainstream theatre productions in Adelaide, South Australia, in 2012, and interviews with those actors.