J. Michael Miller
The Actor’s Center Journal Vol. 1 Num. 1 September 2009
Publisher’s Piece
Why should you pay attention to this bi-monthly attempt to keep you abreast of the issues in your field? Because you care, and you need to know what others are thinking about the things you are thinking about.
For example: What is the relationship of our theatre to our culture from the actor’s point of view? Thirty years ago, the actor could make a living in the theatre. Why is that no longer the case? According to the National Endowment’s latest study, the number of not-for-profit theatres has more than doubled and their management has greatly improved. But, the study concludes, audiences are not responding accordingly. Why? This past spring, one long-respected New York-based casting director received 104 invitations to attend 104 separate graduating class showcases in a three month period. Twenty years ago, less than 25 schools showcased their graduates in NYC. Is the talent pool that much deeper now than it was then? No! Then, why so many new schools? Hopefully, these issues and the myriad questions that flow from them will be addressed in this Journal by established figures in the field, and opened to discussion by all through our online forum.
September 2009 begins the 13th year of The Actors Center, and we believe our 13th year will be one of our luckiest as well as most productive to date. We began in 1996 by making some of the finest acting teachers in America available to younger actors of promise who had not been previously exposed to that level of instruction and, separately, to established actors who wished to re-engage in the exploration of their own creative process. Over the last decade, our mission has evolved to one of advocacy. Advocacy for better teaching, better acting, a better profession, and a better understanding of the actor’s place in this society. We have developed a Workshop Company of 100 established actors, whose sole purpose is to reach further. We have a Teacher Development Program that exposes selected candidates to Master Teachers, people who have influenced a generation of artists. We have established a bi-annual National Congress of Actors and Acting Teachers (the third meeting will take place in January, 2010). And, we are initiating the “Week of the Actor as Artist” national campaign early this coming year (see our website).
There is much percolating here in our 13th year, and it wants to be shared with all who would share our concerns and are inclined to take part. THUS, The Actors Center Journal. Join the discussion. Letters to the editor are welcomed. “Guest articles” will be considered. And the action is on the “forum” page.
Join our effort by registering your name and email address on our website. Keep the faith by letting us know what you think and alerting those colleagues and special students who miss this invitation to sign up. There is no cost for this service. In our view, the integrity and future of our theatre is very much worth every effort we can make.
Our best wishes to you in this difficult economic time,
J. Michael Miller