Ensemble Diaries:TSP Ensemble Member Joshua George

The Seeing Place Theater is thrilled to announce its 2016 Fundraising Initiative. As a part of the initiative we want you to give you a chance to get to know our members, so we gave them a little challenge. To start, the Seeing Place asked each of its members 3 questions which they could answer via text or video:

1) What is your hometown?
2) What is your dream role?
3) When was the last time you contributed to a campaign and how did it make you feel?

We then asked them to craft a little blog post about what brought them to The Seeing Place and why it means so much to them. We hope you enjoy getting to know our ensemble!


"THE POWER IN TRUTH" BY JOSHUA GEORGE

Joshua George

   “I would be a great actor, you know why?”

   “Why?” 

   “Because I can lie my way out of anything.”

I’ve had that exchange with people more times than I can count. And I smile, maybe laugh with them, but there’s always this part of me that cringes inside.

“I hate actors because they’re all liars.” 

“Most actors are fakes, they’re just phony people.”

Acting and lies just seem to go together for so many people I meet. But I knew it wasn’t true. I knew there was something more profound in this craft and I meant to seek it out. So I moved to New York to study here. I made the pilgrimage like so many actors before me who wanted to find something more in their craft. I knew deep down that actors are not liars. Actors are truth tellers, they are the most honest people in the world.

When I chose to study in the Meisner Technique at The William Esper Studio a big part of that decision came from Sanford Meisners philosophy on acting, “to live truthfully under imaginary circumstances.” That’s the secret I’ve been searching for. But it seems to be this paradox, how can someone be honest in a situation that doesn’t actually exist?

Joshua in production of LINE at 13th Street Rep

Because actors aren’t trying to fool the audience, they’re trying to show the audience. The situation may not be real, but the journey is. And that expression is a craft. Actors strip themselves of the masks everyone wears in life and reveal their honest selves. We put up guards and shields in real life to protect us from the outside world. An actors job is to get rid of those and expose themselves fully. And this vulnerability is where the catharsis for the audience comes from. They’re seeing a human being on stage, a living breathing human being who is not hiding behind anything. And that’s powerful. That’s uplifting.

The theater is where we come to see ourselves, and that’s what The Seeing Place is. When I began reading about this company all I could think was, "YES, they get it." There’s a responsibility we all have as actors. And that responsibility is to truth and honesty. And only when the actor is fully honest on stage can the audience really be transported and moved. And only through truth on stage can the audience really see themselves.

Otherwise it’s just a lie, and actors aren’t liars.


3 Questions

1. Hometown: New Orleans, LA
2. Dream Role: Hamlet
3. Last time I gave: I donated money to a creative endeavor and I felt honored to help someone live their dreams

Learn more about Joshua at www.joshua-george.com


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To help create new work with Joshua and The Seeing Place by contributing to our campaign, visit www.TheSeeingPlaceTheater.com