Drive and the Student Actor

This past week, I began reading Daniel Pink's book, Drive. (I know that I'm late to the party on this one, but many things happen only when it's time). I'm one chapter in and already a fan of Pink's thesis that human motivation is not necessarily driven by rewards (money, fame, praise, etc). There's something more intrinsic involved. That makes a lot of sense to me and I'm eager to find out more.

One quote from the first chapter really hit home for me: "If you need me to motivate you, I probably don't want to hire you." While the source comes from a "business leader, who didn't want to be identified", I immediately related it to casting actors and team building in the collaborative realm of theatre. I've adapted that into the quote in the graphic on this post. It's harsher than what I would say to a student, but it is easy to imagine it being said outside of the school setting and in the "real world" - professional theatre and beyond!

Student actors often ask me what they can do to really stand out in an audition. Whether that audition is for me or for another director, I tend to give two pieces of advice: make a choice and be open to direction. It's less about being the best and more about being eager to work. If you're not eager or excited to do the work necessary to perform in a show, then you're going to have a hard time doing that work. It goes for theatre; it goes for anything.

Sometimes people just aren't "into it" and, for some things, that's fine. When it comes to school theatre, I want to work with anyone who wants to put in the work to create an exciting experience with me. What I look for in student artists are motivation and excitement. However, I don't expect anyone to be as excited about the work as I am. (I LOVE this stuff).

More to come as I keep reading, I'm sure!

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