How Acting Influenced My Life

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It is one thing to act, and it another to tell a story. Acting is described as playing the part of someone you are not, while telling a story is described as the vibrant recollection of events of the past which have shaped the future. Much of my childhood was spent with my father reciting story after story of his experiences as a Zimbabwean man who went from being dirt poor to achieving the American Dream. Every once in a while, he would order books filled cover to cover with the fables and tales from all across Africa to ensure there was never an end to the stories I would hear. Whether it was the tale of how elephant attained his tusks or the numerous times my father walked over ten miles to school, what captivated me the most was the way in which these stories were presented. The performance …show more content…

Whenever there was a story which he was unsure of all of the details, he would call on my mother and others in our family to help him fill in the blanks. Now, there is no actor who will say that they quite literally did everything themselves, but what was different about my father was that when he worked with others to fill in the gaps, the discussion would often lead to new connections and recollections of old memories. The discussion would become less about the story and more about how and why and when and all of the other questions that did not focus solely on the "what". University of Michigan's undergraduate theater program is exactly like this in the sense that much of the focus is on having stimulating collaboration with others and really delving into the less obvious questions about a piece of work rather than simply working on a production together. There is a focus on having a diverse environment where actors can learn and grow from each other which breeds not only successful discussion, but the most beautiful

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