Opinion

Taking to the stage

By Tony Laszlo

In simple terms, acting consists only of conveying a message to an audience through one's most basic natural assets: the body, the voice, the inner spirit ... and the courage to present it all before the public. Or, in the even simpler terms of English actor Ralph Richardson, acting is merely the art of keeping a large group of people from coughing.

Anyone who has witnessed fine theater knows what Sir Ralph means. Audience members who had been wheezing and sniffling before the curtain went up magically fall silent and stay silent as the drama unfolds. It is as if everyone in the house had been suddenly cured of their colds, allergies and even asthma.

If all goes according to plan, I will have a chance to see this odd phenomenon up close. For, truth be told, I have been asked to take on a small role in a play produced by a Japan-based theater group with the support of the Korean Embassy in Japan.

After performances in Seoul and Pusan, the play will be presented in Tokyo in mid-April. It is based on the actual story of pianist Choi Sun-Ae, a third-generation Korean resident of Japan famous for her protests against the Japanese government's policy of fingerprinting foreign esidents, which was later abolished via a revision of the Alien Registration Law. Ms. Choi was stripped of her permanent resident status and denied a re-entry permit to the land of her birth. Hence the play's title, "Destination Japan".

Acting is a pretty grueling proposition. It takes days for the actors just to commit their lines to memory. Life must then be breathed into each of the characters and into each interacton betwen those characters. By the time they are ready for the stage, each and every member of the cast will have spent several weeks wrestling with the Muse.

For me, the time and effort is more than worth it. Having written, directed and produced theater in recent years, I have had some involvement in the industry. But standing in an actor's shoes is a rare treat and privilege for me. The experience has already helped me to better appreciate the enormous talent and commitment of the professionals in the theater business. And as a writer, I will be able to view the fingerprinting and other issues from a different angle.

While I have my own special reasons for taking on this challenge, I strongly recommend the experience to anyone. Acting demands that you look yourself squarely in the eye and ask just who you really are. Only after you answer this for yourself can you begin to convince others ? on the tage or in real life ? that you are not only real, but also worthy of their attention. It pays to have acting skills and experience when making presentations in meeting rooms, as well, where the same barometer for success applies. You'll know you're connecting if everyone has stopped coughing.

Shukan ST: April 8, 2005

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