ABSTRACT
Actors have been called “the divine among mortals”. They become the glamorous focal point for dreams and seem to fill the role that gods once occupied. Jake notes that actors have been exalted and idealized throughout history. The assassination of President Lincoln by an actor, John Wilkes Booth, entrenched distrust of actors, who were regularly denied charity and often were refused a proper burial. The latter 19th century continued this prejudice. Within the theater, playwrights such as Shaw and Coward struggled with the dilemma of how to produce plays without actors. Even into the 20th century, the phrase, “no dogs or actors allowed” maintained its legendary status. Actors adapt to the acting styles that are popular in any given time, and they must be flexible in their emotional, physical, and psychological abilities to play various roles in a range of styles. Naturalism in acting emerged as a reaction to the perceived falseness that preceded it.
