Transforming Actor Education in the Digital Age

I wrote this manifesto following a faculty meeting that occurred in my department at Michigan State University (MSU) in April 2013. During that meeting a challenging conversation arose regarding the changing face of theatre in an ever-expanding digital entertainment environment. Debates about the definition of theatre as solely a live art form, the inclusion of digital media as an area of study in theatre history, and the expansion of theatrical design for film (“costume” versus “wardrobe”) were understandably territorially—and philosophically—based. The one thing that remained clear, however, is that the actor crosses all platforms mentioned in our debate.

I seek to advocate for a broader definition of “digital theatre,” as our colleagues have done in the humanities by embracing the new realm of “digital humanities.”¹ My goal is to convince actor educators that any curriculum should focus on the vocabulary and practice of acting for contemporary media. Traditional theatrical making should take on an auxiliary role. As I am primarily an acting teacher, this manifesto is focused on actor training in the digital age.

The acting faculty at MSU accepts the ubiquity of digital performance, but my colleagues are divided regarding the “intrusion” of media in all aspects of actor training. We are a relatively young faculty coming to academia from professional careers. We are all forward-thinking and respectful of each other, yet we could not agree on this issue. As I found this healthy debate among my colleagues fascinating and edifying, I wanted to present my side of the issue as well as some of their objections to this reconfigured focus in actor training.

Acting Pedagogy in the Digital Age

It is often argued that traditional theater work is foundational and elemental to any good actor training. Yet perhaps the inverse is true. Should not stage work be a smaller component of the newly reconfigured training of the twenty-first-century artist? If we expect universities to be viable training sites for actors of the present and future, the traditional conservatory training that created the great stage actors of the past must be rethought and transformed. As actor educators, we must assist in finding the obvious crossover between stage and media training as well as the nuanced differences. Should students be flexible theatrical artists ready to take on any period piece for the stage? Should the actor have the facility to speak to the back of the house? Should the actor have a wealth of knowledge of Chekhov, Ibsen, and Shakespeare? Yes, but in a supplementary role. Certainly a good actor should be able to do all of those things. But in reality, he or she will most probably spend less time working in this way on stage in a large theatre than he or she will in front of a camera. Why, then, does foundational actor education, in many cases, still rely on the dated model of training an actor for the stage?

The transforming professional landscape for actors is noted in the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook: [End Page E-1]

Job growth in the motion picture industry will stem from continued strong demand for new movies and television shows. . . . Production companies are experimenting with new content delivery methods, such as video on demand and online television, which may lead to more work for actors in the future. . . . Actors who work in performing arts companies are expected to see slower job growth than those in film. Many small and medium-size theaters have difficulty getting funding. As a result, the number of performances is expected to decline.

In a traditional theatre actor training program like ours, the curriculum adheres to a version of this model: voice for stage, movement for stage, acting for stage, and a class or two on acting for the camera. There are currently a few new programs, like the BFA in Screen Acting at the New York Film Academy, that eschew a theatrical foundation. And some schools like Chapman University or Pace University have separate BFA programs in Screen Acting in the same department or school that they teach acting for the theatre.^2...