scribbles

i usually only write creatively because i think you can hide behind it. when you write you can take on a different self, your characters can be anyone, and they don’t neccesarily have to be a reflection of yourself. i guess that goes with most art forms, its the freedom to be someone else and live in a different world that attracts most people. the actor, the performer is always somebody else on stage, the writer can be someone else through words and the artist’s art is usually a physical representation of this fantasy.

focusing on writing now, most people say that you should write what you know. i can understand that, emotion and feeling can be best described and conveyed if you’ve actually been through it yourself. experience is a wonderful tool. but then, what happens to imagination? imagination - the ability to imagine is what sets us apart from animals, its part of what makes us human. books like the lord of the rings would have be unheard of without imagination as we can be sure that jrr tolkein did not know of any hobbits personally. so writing what you know can’t always be a good thing. sometimes people want to be lost in a book because its about something that’s so far removed from their lives. if art can’t provide a means to escape, or provide solace…what will it do for society?

the same goes for acting. some schools of thought say that when acting you should you bring the emotions and experiences from your own life in order to create a more convincing performance. logically this makes sense, if you’ve actually gone through an emotion then bringing it out again on stage will make your performance more realistic. but then is regurgitating old emotions acting? acting is about presenting something you’re not, creating an illusion – but if you’re using past experiences in your acting then you’re not acting, you’re representing reality. isn’t the ability to express emotion and character that is so far removed from yourself the makings of a truly great actor?

now since i’ve probably labelled myself as pretentious to all those who happen to read this, i might as well stop before i start getting hate mail or something. well maybe atleast that would liven up this site.