A thought on acting that occurred to me

In both theater and larping, I would like to be thought of as a workhorse actor. By this I mean the kind of actor that you can trust with a difficult, particular, or demanding part to get into it, make something of it, and give it their all. I want people casting me to think "I can trust Phoebe with this part." Most recently I was going for that in Romeo and Juliet, and while I don't think the relationship I was aiming for was quite established, I do feel like I got my part based on my efforts to cultivate that attitude. Paris needed an actor who was going to keep the role sympathetic, would keep from taking too much of the spotlight, and (if female) be willing to play the character as a man. That meant I had to be willing to support other actors more than own the stage myself, and I definitely couldn't have hangups about subverting my femininity for the role. That's just one example, but it's a pretty good one. I don't want people worrying that I'll revert to my default acting settings if they give me a part that's outside my typical range. I don't want people thinking that there's something I "can't" do onstage. I want them to feel like if they have a part with something challenging to it that they need to trust to someone who'll get the job done, they can turn to me. This goes for larps as well as plays. Though I worry sometimes by saying this I'm asking to get stuck with thin characters, I do want GMs thinking that I will be able to handle the parts they're worried won't play well unless a strong enough larper to move them is cast in those roles.

As a director and a GM, I know I've commented plenty of times about people who can do this but can't do that, about people who can be counted on to do something in particular even if it's not what is being asked, about players' and actors' limitations and bad habits. I want to be the actor and larper who is seen to have neither. Even if I may not be the best, I want to be seen as one who will take the demands of the role that is given and find the way to get them done.