What is the point of acting? It can be the embodying of goodness. We can see something worthy of our praise fleshed out before us. We are not merely praising the acting. A great play or a good movie can provide us with perspectives on a worthy life that might be hard to otherwise capture in our daily living.
Yet, it seems to me that some verisimilitude between our mundane lives and the lives portrayed on the stage is required. The actor bears a great responsibility in this. Somehow, she or he must convince us that they are somehow like us. Yet, they must also make us believe that they are different enough to bear our scrutiny.
At some point, a transition occurs. A mystery is revealed. I am drawn out of my world and into an other. I am decentred. Yet, I am central to the unfolding that takes place. I offer up my credulity. If the actor is up to it and the writing can bear the weight, I am borne away into another dimension. For a time, perhaps only for a breath, a worthier life is glimpsed.
