THE ACTOR'S OATH

The May 2008 edition of Equity News published an “ethics of the theatre” document that was used by the Circle Theatre in the 40's.  It has been passed around recently on the internet and has engendered a lot of discussion.  Basically, it outlines some of the professional expectations of an actor as an employee.  “Don’t miss a performance, be on time, make your commitment to the play a priority, do your best job, listen and respect the director, be courteous and respectful to the play and your colleagues.” For most actors, these are elementary and born of common sense - the kind of team-building lessons that school-children learn when playing together. The rules are not so much ‘ethical’ as they are the foundations of courtesy. 

There is however, an an element of condescension in the document -  like a handful of dashed off 'cider house rules'.  While no actor would overtly disagree with the sentiments, being asked to sign such a document presupposes an alarming lack of faith in the cast or company.   You might as well ask a pilot to make sure his plane has wings before he takes off. 

An artist in the theatre walks into rehearsal with a fundamental dedication – one that makes these ‘rules’ part and parcel of daily life on the stage. If there is to be a vow, let it be a vow, that when spoken, becomes a rite of passage in the theatre - and one that speaks to our struggle as artists.

• I am an actor in the theatre. As such I promise:
  
  
  • to embrace a life-long study my art
    
    
  • to respect and nurture my body, voice, mind, feelings and spirit, which are the instruments of my art. "I will learn to know my stops; ...and pluck out the heart of my mystery; ...there is much music, excellent voice, in this little organ..."**
    
    
  • to always serve the play
    
    
  • to seek personal truth in every action
    
    
  • to open myself to my imagination without reserve or fear
    
    
  • to become expert in the world of each play I have been chosen to inhabit
    
    
  • to respect my instincts and follow my impulses instantly, without judgment. For it is in the spontaneous heat of the moment that life is kindled
    
    
  • as it is my artistic home, to respect my theatre and always wipe my feet at the door, leaving it a better place than when I arrived
    
    
  • to approach my work in the theatre with gratitude. Whether I am cast well or cast badly, I will deem it a privilege to be offered the opportunity to create
    
    
  • to establish and preserve an atmosphere of creativity in every rehearsal by quietly affirming the work of my colleagues
    
    
  • to rouse the spirit of ensemble by humbly respecting the playwright, my colleagues, my director and all who have gathered to create
    
    
  • to accept my artistic struggles and failures without self-doubt, for success is not in the result, but rather in the value, the rightness, and the truth of the work itself
    
    
  • to receive my critics' disapproval without rancor, for they offer only an opinion of a small slice of time and do not know the journey of my heart
    
    
  • to honor my teachers and mentors and to always strive, in rehearsal and performance, to work in harmony with the high standards they have set before me
    
    
  • to always ‘love the art myself and not myself in the art’ *
    
    
• With this vow, I rededicate myself to theatre as an art and will celebrate these promises as I study, as I rehearse, as I play.

by Tom Fulton

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*Stanislavski's fundamental maxim
**Hamlet

 

© Copyright 2005 by Tom Fulton.  All rights reserved