Acting and Personality Change: The Measurement of Change in Self-Perceived Personality Characteristics during the Actors Character Development Process

Testimonial theatre-making: Establishing or dissociating the self.

“…It was surprising to see more actors (32%) endorsing dissociation at pathological levels, including depersonalization, as compared to the control group (23%), since it was hypothesized that testimonial theater-making and Stanislavski-based actor training would enhance an integrated embodied sense of self. This finding contradicted our first hypothesis and lends support to the work of Burgoyne et al (1999) and Hannah et al (1994), who claimed that actors were vulnerable to boundary blurring and unstable selfidentity.…”

Holding a mirror up to nature: Psychological vulnerability in actors.

“…The findings in other studies indicated that performing artists engage in intensive years of training to achieve expertise (Kogan, 2002;O'Quin, 2008), actors recalled greater engagement in imaginary worlds as children (Goldstein & Winner, 2009), and artistic training enhanced a capacity to form images (Peréz-Fabello & Campos, 2007), Second, the premise in testimonial theater-making is to create new theatrical works that draw from personal stories that are collectively gathered and coUaboratively honed into new theatrical productions (Malpede, 1999), This process is done through a process of oscillating between empathy and distancing as the stories emerge. Ultimately, the process helps heal the performers and their audiences (Kaplan, 2005), Third, in psychodrama, the core processes include: (1) dramatic projection, (2) empathy and distancing, (3) role-playing and personification, (4) interactive audience and witnessing, (5) embodiment, (6) life-drama connection, (7) and transformation (Jones, 2008), Regardless of specific techniques, methods, or models, these core processes promote a reduction in posttraumatic stress symptoms and combat violent behavior (Dutton, 2001;Fong, 2006;Malpede, 1999), Despite these positive findings, we are well aware that actors generally have minimal family support with few fatnily members involved in the performing arts (Kogan & Kangas, 2006), and yet they elect to participate in careers in the performing arts despite parental discouragement (Goldstein & Winner, 2009), Furthermore, actors are vulnerable to increased dysregulation and selfdestabilization (Thomson & Jaque, 2011), boundary blurring (Burgoyne, Poulin, & Rearden, 1999;Nemiro, 1997), and that their self-perceived personality becomes more similar to the character during rehearsal and performance (Hannah, Domino, Hanson, & Hannah, 1994), In fact, although histories of trauma and conflict have been found to be no greater in performing artists than in control groups (Ayers, Beaton, & Hunt, 1999;Thomson & Jaque, 2011), emotional connections with the character may cause a trauma response in actors, a premise supported by research that suggests that increased attention to past trauma and loss may actually enhance posttraumatic stress symptoms (Bemtsen & Rubin, 2006), These studies provide persuasive arguments that would suggest that actors are more vulnerable to psychological instability, a conclusion that runs counter to our hypothesis. By implementing the AAI, we are able to assess the actors' psychological processes regarding ...…”

Do actors possess traits associated with high hypnotizability?

“…Actors are expected to be able to actually "see" anything on the stage (Moore, 1966). This is a skill that can be learned; acting students become more efficient at recalling specific memories and imagining them as real through the practice of drawing on their history, memories, and emotions (Hannah, Domino, Hanson, & Hannah, 1994).…”